MEDIA CLIPS – May 9, 2018

Gray keeps rotation rolling; Rox win 6th straight Right-hander’s scoreless outing is Colorado’s 9th consecutive quality start

Thomas Harding / MLB.com | May 8, 2018

DENVER -- Righty Jon Gray helped the Rockies' rotation make some history Tuesday night.

Gray fanned eight over seven scoreless innings to deliver the starters' club-record ninth straight quality start. He led the

Rockies to their sixth consecutive victory, a 4-2 win over the Angels at Coors Field in the opener of a two-game set and six-game homestand.

During the club-record streak, Rockies starters have posted a 1.92 ERA in 61 innings, with 57 against 10 walks.

The nine straight quality starts break the previous record of eight, accomplished twice -- July 8-Aug. 6, 2006, and June 4-

11, 2009.

"Aggressiveness -- we're not walking guys, we're going at them," Gray said. "That has a lot to do with it. We set the tone ourselves. If you do that, you can control the game. That's what I see a lot of our guys doing."

Gray (4-4), who held the Angels to four hits, began his solid before the club's streak. He has held opponents to one run in 20 innings -- with 25 strikeouts and three walks -- in his last three outings as he demonstrates why manager Bud

Black has made him the team's No. 1 starter the last two years. Most importantly, Gray's effort helped the Rockies (21-15) improve to a game below .500 at Coors, at 6-7.

"That's what this game is all about, pitching," said , who tripled and scored in the sixth off Angels starter Andrew Heaney (1-2), and doubled in two runs with two out in the seventh off Noe Ramirez. "When they compete like that, we're a very confident team."

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After two groundouts in the first, Justin Upton and singled, and Andrelton Simmons took a close pitch for a walk to load the bases. But with the count full to Zack Cozart, Gray delivered a 90.3 mph slider -- the pitch that was awful at the start of the year but has improved with his last three starts -- for a .

"That's the part of the game where you've just got to lock it down right there, make your best pitches then," Gray said.

"Things could get out of hand, and [if] you give up a few runs early, it doesn't set well with the rest of the team.

"I knew I had good stuff. I was going to be fine if I just executed."

Gray also had to change his plan. He expected a veteran Angels lineup with , Upton and Pujols holding the 2-4 spots to attack aggressively, but they began the game sitting on the slider. Gray worked his and his changeup – a pitch he had not used often against righty hitters -- inside against them, and opened up the outer part of the plate for the slider.

"He pitched -- he gained confidence as the game went on," Black said.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia said, "He had a lot working for him out there. We couldn't get the kind of looks we thought we would to kind of pressure him, and he pitched a good ballgame for them."

Gray didn't face trouble until the seventh. Simmons led off with a single and was at second with one out when Scioscia called upon Japanese rookie sensation Shohei Ohtani, who put on a pregame batting-practice display with two balls that nearly reached restaurants at the top of the park.

Thomas Harding

@harding_at_mlb

#Angels Shohei Ohtani is putting in a batting practice show at Coors Field. One of his drives nearly made it to the Jack

Daniels Bar above the third deck in right. Another reached The Rooftop.

Here are your visuals.

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"I'm glad I didn't see that," said Gray, who was in the clubhouse preparing while Ohtani was wowing the crowd. "That's awesome, though."

Gray attacked inside -- up with the fastball and down with the slider to set up a 3-1 fastball that Ohtani rolled to first base.

Then Gray coaxed a fly ball from Martin Maldonado to end his night at 99 pitches.

The game turned tighter with two out in the seventh, when Upton drove a deep to left off Rockies reliever Adam

Ottavino, who had given up one run all season to that point. But Wade Davis pitched the ninth for his 14th save in 15 chances.

SOUND SMART

It's not just the Rockies' starters who have been dominant. Since the Rockies gave up 13 runs at home against the

Padres on April 23, Rockies pitching -- relievers included -- has posted a 2.06 ERA in the last 12 games.

YOU GOTTA SEE THIS

Well, get a load of this on the stat sheet: When Gray pitches to Tony Wolters, his ERA this season is 1.65 -- six runs in 32 2/3 innings. Keep in mind four of those occurred in one inning, during an April 14 loss at Washington.

Wolters complimented Gray on being able to execute the strategy swerve.

"With a more veteran team, they know Jon has a really good slider," Wolters said. "You would think they would be a little more aggressive, just knowing. But at the beginning of the game, they were very patient.

"We came back in the dugout, talked with the pitching [] and Bud and decided, 'OK, we need to get the fastball where you want it. That's the No. 1 priority, then get that slider working.'

"Jon simplified it to, 'That's all I need to do? Let's do it.'"

MITEL REPLAY OF THE DAY

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Nolan Arenado, not the fastest runner by any means, needed a review -- and a real good angle to uphold home-plate umpire Jordan Baker's call -- to score from first for the second run of Story's in the seventh. Arenado slid past the plate and tapped it with his left hand.

It took a magnified angle to show that although Maldonado's catcher's mitt was there in time, it didn't make contact with

Arenado's hand.

UP NEXT

A deft mix of pitches helped Rockies left-hander (2-0, 3.78 ERA) pitch seven innings with nine strikeouts -- both season highs -- in a win over the Cubs in his last start. On Wednesday afternoon at Coors Field, Anderson will face the Angels for the first time in his career. Angels starter Jaime Barria (2-1, 3.46) beat the Orioles in his last start by throwing six solid innings -- the first 5 1/3 hitless. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. MT.

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Jon Gray propels Rockies over Angels and to sixth straight win With the bases loaded in the opening frame, Gray struck out Zack Cozart swinging on a 3-2 slider

Kyle Newman / DenverPost.com | May 9, 2018

It was only the first inning of Jon Gray‘s outing against the Angels on Tuesday, and he already faced a decisive moment.

After recording two quick outs, a couple hits and a walk loaded the bases for Los Angeles, and the Coors Field crowd — anxious and likely remembering Gray’s stretch of three straight askew starts in April — rose to its feet for a 3-2 pitch on

Zack Cozart.

But unlike those starts that went sour, Gray struck out Cozart swinging on a well-located slider down in the zone, ending the inning and the Angels’ threat.

From there, he settled in, finishing with an impressive line of four hits, one walk, eight strikeouts and no earned runs in seven while the Rockies got a few sparks on offense in a 4-2 win.

“(Gray’s slider) was better as the game went on,” manager said. “The first inning it was a little shaky — he didn’t really have the feel for the breaking ball or the fastball command — but to throw a good one to Cozart there to finally end the inning, that was a big pitch, no doubt about that.”

Gray’s outing gave the Rockies a franchise record ninth straight quality start. Colorado’s rotation has allowed just 1.08 runs per start over the past dozen games, and is pitching with a perceptible aggressiveness.

“We’re not walking guys — we’re going at them — and that has a lot to do with it,” Gray said. “We set the tone ourselves, and if you do that, you control the game.”

The continuation of that consistency on the mound gave the Rockies’ erratic offense another pass on a night in which they had a few clutch hits but were unable to string any big innings together.

DJ LeMahieu had an RBI single in the third in his return from the disabled list, and Gerardo Parra also brought home a run with a single in the sixth to give Colorado a 2-0 lead while Gray cruised. 5

Trevor Story‘s two-out, two-RBI double then made it 4-0 in the seventh, a that provided valuable insurance against

Justin Upton’s two-run homer against Adam Ottavino in the eighth. It was the first homer the steady Ottavino has given up in 20 innings pitched this season.

Wade Davis held the Angels at bay in the ninth, recording his -leading 14th save.

Looking ahead

Starting Tyler Anderson of the delivers the ball against the at Wrigley Field on

May 2, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois.(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) Tyler Anderson of the Colorado

Rockies delivers the ball against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on May 2, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois.

Angels RHP Jaime Barria (2-1, 3.46 ERA) at Rockies LHP Tyler Anderson (2-0, 3.78), 1:10 p.m., ATTRM

The Rockies have won the last four games Anderson’s started, although he’s only gotten credit for two of those victories, and the southpaw flashed consistency again last week in a two-run, seven-inning outing in the Rockies’ 11-2 victory in

Chicago. The Angels only have eight career at-bats against Anderson, and Los Angeles is likely to be free-swinging at the plate considering opponents are hitting .444 against him with an 0-0 count. Meanwhile, Barria is coming off a quality start against Baltimore last week and has never faced anyone in the Rockies lineup, and the rookie’s control issues (his 4.15 walk rate is seventh-worst in the National League) should be an advantage for Colorado.

Thursday: Brewers RHP Jhoulys Chacin (2-1, 4.54) at Rockies RHP German Marquez (2-3, 4.76), 6:40 p.m., ATTRM

Friday: Brewers RHP (3-3, 3.97) at Rockies RHP Chad Bettis (4-1, 2.05), 6:40 p.m., ATTRM

Saturday: Brewers T.B.A. at Rockies LHP (2-4, 3.95), 6:10 p.m., ATTRM

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The Morning After: Jon Gray’s been fiddling with his slider. It’s working, just like everything else with the Rockies’ rotation right now Plus, insight into a notable win over the Angels at Coors, what Trevor Story thinks of his mental state at the plate and more

Kyle Newman / DenverPost.com | May 9, 2018

Another ballgame, another gem for the Rockies pitching staff. On Tuesday night in the series opener against the Angels at

Coors Field, it was Jon Gray’s turn to carry the torch with seven scoreless innings to propel Colorado to its sixth straight win.

The right-hander’s recent upward trajectory — three straight shutdown outings following an alarming 1-4 start to the season — empitomizes the quick learning curve for a Rockies’ rotation laden with sophomore in Gray as well as

German Marquez and Kyle Freeland.

“We talked about it early in , that one of the pitfalls of a young pitcher is that second year where you don’t make adjustments, and the league makes adjustments against you,” manager Bud Black said. “We’re seeing our guys adjust back from some early season starts.”

The major adjustment Gray made has been with his slider, which he’s put a renewed emphasis on in bullpen sessions over the past several weeks. He’s fiddled with his grip and changed the pressure of his index finger in order to make it a more effective, and controllable, pitch.

Five takeaways from the Rockies’ win on Tuesday:

No. 1 — The Rockies snapped an eight-game home losing streak to Los Angeles to earn their first win over the Angels at

Coors Field since July 11, 1999. The win also gave Colorado its first series-opening victory at home this year.

No. 2 — Two-way Angels rookie sensation Shohei Ohtani made his Coors Field debut as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning. His at-bat proved to be the final passed gut-check for Gray, who induced a Ohtani ground-out and then a Martin

Maldonado flyout to end the inning and leave a runner stranded at second.

No. 3 — Colorado pitchers will need to contain the Angels’ Andrelton Simmons on Wednesday, as the Los Angeles shortstop is riding a 12-game hit streak while batting .438 with 13 RBI during that span. 7

No. 4 — Nolan Arenado had a fairly run-of-the-mill night at the plate by Golden Nolan standards, going 1-for-3 with a walk.

But he did score one of the Rockies’ four runs, and it came on a play at the plate off Trevor Story’s seventh-inning double.

In that play, in which Arenado was confirmed safe by replay review, he used a crafty hand move to avoid the tag and touch the dish.

No. 5 — The Rockies’ nine straight quality starts are a franchise record, but the rotation’s dominance really extends back a dozen games to April 24 against San Diego. Over the past nine outings, Colorado starters posted a 1.92 ERA in 61 innings with 57 strikeouts and just 10 walks.

Quotable — Story was 2-for-3 with a walk, a run scored and two RBIs, both of which came on his seventh-inning double.

The shortstop, who is now hitting .225 with seven homers and 46 strikeouts, is still feeling confident in a revamped mental approach at the plate: “I was making adjustments towards the end of the year last year, and I wanted to ride those adjustments out into spring training and into this year. I’ve still struck out more than I want to, but I’m getting better I think.”

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With in-game advice and a loose clubhouse demeanor, Bud Black’s impact on Rockies’ starting rotation is becoming more clear Southpaw Kyle Freeland noted Colorado’s second-year manager “definitely plays a big role with a lot of the pitchers”

Kyle Newman / DenverPost.com | May 8, 2018

At some point in every game, Rockies’ manager Bud Black finds his way to the team’s off-duty starting pitchers clustered on one end of the bench. The timing of his arrival is never accidental.

“He’ll always come down and point out some sort of situation in the game, and what we should be thinking about and try to do in it,” left-hander Tyler Anderson said. “Whether it’s how to pitch to a guy, or a certain guy on deck, counts or bunt defense, he has a habit of finding those moments of teaching throughout the game and throughout the season.”

How much credit Black deserves for the Rockies’ workable 20-15 record entering Tuesday’s game against the Angels despite an anemic offense (their .228 team batting average ranked third-worst in the National League) and a slow 5-7 start at home is debatable. He certainly deserves some, especially amid the early-season shuffling of guys such as David

Dahl and Daniel Castro from -A while also dealing with disabled list stints (Carlos Gonzalez, DJ LeMahieu) and a five-game suspension for Nolan Arenado.

But where Black’s impact is clearest is with a starting rotation that, after a collectively shaky beginning to 2018, had suddenly found its groove heading into the start of Tuesday’s six-game homestand.

Over the past 11 games, Colorado recorded 10 quality starts and its starters were yielding a stringent average of 1.2 earned runs during that span. Southpaw Kyle Freeland believes Black’s in-game assessments for Rockies’ starters —

“usually something short and sweet, just a few words and something you can understand quickly and change quickly” — have been critical for the unit’s continued maturation.

“He definitely plays a big role with a lot of the pitchers, especially since our starting rotation is so young,” Freeland said.

“With me personally, he constantly communicates my mechanics to me and whether they look sound in the game. If he sees something I need to be conscious of, he’ll make sure I know that.”

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As the first former hurler hired to manage Colorado, Black’s also created a braintrust with pitching coach Steve Foster and bullpen coach Darren Holmes that enables the 15-year MLB veteran to remain plugged in to each starter’s progression.

“Black, (the pitching coaches) and I talk about these young guys all the time — what makes them good, what we can do to keep improving,” catcher Chris Iannetta said. “He knows everything about mechanics, about game-planning and how to teach it. It’s awesome to have a manager that knows that much about pitching, and who’s invested in it.”

And while the Rockies continue to demonstrate their willingness to play hard for Black — “That’s what I love about this group, every day, the effort’s awesome,” he pointed out pregame — their manager, in turn, continues to be a steadying influence in the clubhouse.

“He’s really funny, he’s sarcastic, he brings laughter but he also brings a seriousness in his expectations,” Steve Foster said. “When you mix the fun and the laughter with the serious, that’s critical, and that’s what he’s brought to our team: a looseness but also a seriousness at the right times.”

Footnotes. The Angels being in town meant the arrival of the Shohei Ohtani hype train and all the foreign media and fans who have been following the rapid rise of the two-way Japanese star, who was not in Tuesday’s starting lineup but wowed with several upper-deck homers during batting practice. Numerous Rockies indicated their respect for what the sensation has been able to do in his rookie season. Gonzalez noted, “Whatever he’s doing right now, it’s impressive, because you have to focus on both hitting and pitching. I can’t imagine how difficult that is. I think (lots of position players) can pitch an inning. But not the way he’s doing it. Ohtani’s throwing 101, starting games, dominating. He’s a special player.”

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Gray's 7 shutout innings lead Rockies past Angels, 4-2

Associated Press / ESPN.com | May 9, 2018

DENVER -- Jon Gray was staring at a big first-inning jam, but one good pitch got him out of it and kept the Colorado

Rockies rolling.

Gray continued Colorado's strong stretch of starts with seven scoreless innings, and the Rockies beat the Los Angeles

Angels 4-2 on Tuesday night for their sixth straight win.

Gray walked one and struck out eight to notch Colorado's ninth straight quality start, a franchise record. He shook off a

28-pitch first inning to hold the Angels' potent lineup to four hits.

"All of them are pitching with a great deal of confidence," Rockies manager Bud Black said of his starting staff. "They have conviction of what they're going to throw. You can see during the game, even when there's some stress I've noticed poise and calmness through this stretch."

Colorado's starters have combined for an ERA of 1.92 over the last 12 games while the Rockies are 9-3 in that stretch.

"We always want to outdo each other," Gray said.

Justin Upton hit a two-run homer off Rockies reliever Adam Ottavino in the eighth to cut Colorado's lead in half but

Wade Davis got the last three outs for his major-league leading 14th save.

Los Angeles averaged 7.7 runs while winning five of its last six but was quieted by Gray in hitter-friendly Coors Field.

"He made good pitches. He didn't give away anything," the Angels' Andrelton Simmons said. "He was throwing some good sliders away, some backup sliders. He was just hitting corners."

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The Angels were poised for a big inning when they loaded the bases in the first on two singles and a walk but Gray struck out Zack Cozart on a full-count slider to end the threat. He was nearly unhittable after that, retiring 11 in a row and 18 of the last 20 he faced.

"We set the table early, had some good looks at him and he made some pitches to get out of some innings and then he got on a nice roll," Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia said. "He made a great pitch on (Cozart) 3-2."

The Rockies took a 1-0 lead on DJ LeMahieu's RBI single in the third off starter Andrew Healey (1-2) and tacked on another run in the sixth. Trevor Story led off with a triple and scored on Gerardo Parra's one-out single to left.

Los Angeles tried to rally in the seventh. Simmons led off with a single and moved to second on a ground out. Shohei

Ohtani, who didn't start because there is no in NL parks, came up as a pinch-hitter. He worked the count to 3-1 but grounded out sharply to first, and Gray escaped without allowing a run.

"I knew it was going to be a big part of the game. He's really talented; saw him in spring training a few times," Gray said. "I knew we were going to have to execute pitches and throw our best stuff."

Colorado added a pair of runs on Story's two-out double off reliever Noe Ramirez in the seventh.

SHOWSTOPPER

Ohtani wasn't in the starting lineup on Tuesday but he still thrilled the fans that arrived early for batting practice. Ohtani launched several moonshots in the cage, twice hitting balls into the third deck in right field as fans oohed and aahed.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Rockies: LeMahieu was activated from the 10-day disabled list and batted first. He missed nine games with a strained right hamstring. INF Pat Valaika was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque to make room on the roster for LeMahieu.

UP NEXT

Angels RHP Jaime Barria (2-1, 3.46) is scheduled to make his fourth start of the season on Wednesday in the finale of the two-game series. He will face Colorado LHP Tyler Anderson (2-0, 3.78). 12

Rockies reinstate DJ LeMahieu, sending Pat Valaika to minors

Associated Press / ESPN.com | May 9, 2018

DENVER -- The Colorado Rockies have reinstated DJ LeMahieu from the 10-day disabled list and optioned Pat Valaika to Triple-A Albuquerque.

LeMahieu left the game on April 27 in Miami with a strained right hamstring and wound up on the DL for the first time in his big league career. He was leading off Tuesday night's game against the Los Angeles Angels.

The two-time All-Star is hitting .290 this season with five homers and 12 RBIs.

Valaika was hitting .103 in 28 games with Colorado this season. He was originally selected by the Rockies in the ninth round of the 2013 draft out of UCLA.

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Jon Gray stares down a Shohei Ohtani threat and extends Rockies’ MLB-best pitching streak

Nick Groke / TheAthletic.com | May 9, 2018

DENVER — Shohei Ohtani bombed in batting practice Tuesday to parts of Coors Field only a select few ever reach. One landed on the party deck above right field’s third level to roust the early boozehounds. One sailed over the bullpen in center field to the third deck, what must have been a 500-foot shot, at least.

“I can imagine,” Jon Gray said. “He has a good swing. Good swing.”

Relegated to pinch-hitting duties with a bum ankle for his first visit to high-altitude baseball in Denver, Ohtani, the Angels’ sensational two-way player, finally came to bat in the seventh inning Tuesday. And Gray, the Rockies’ No. 1 pitcher, paused to take stock.

“I knew it would be a big part of the game,” Gray said. A visit on the mound with pitching coach Steve Foster followed.

Gray was rolling. In his previous two starts, he gave up six total hits and one run over 13 innings, striking out 17 while walking just two. But Ohtani is carving up the in his first stint stateside, with a 1.018 OPS before

Tuesday.

“He’s really talented,” Gray said. “I saw him in spring training a few times. I knew I had to bear down and lock it in and throw out my best stuff.”

In the Rockies’ 4-2 victory, their season-high sixth win in a row, Gray was never bothered over seven scoreless innings.

He forced Mike Trout, the best hitter in baseball, into three groundouts. He gave up just four hits, all singles. He struck out eight and walked just one.

And he threw Ohtani just one pitch in the strike zone before forcing him to ground out weakly to first base.

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Gray’s mastery continued a progression. For the first time in the team’s 26-year history, Colorado’s starting pitchers have strung together nine consecutive quality starts, an otherwise arbitrary term for at least six innings pitched with three or fewer runs allowed.

It is not arbitrary for a starting staff loaded with green arms, though. The average age of the Rockies’ rotation is 26.2 years old, among the youngest in baseball, all pre-arbitration pitchers who were largely developed in-house. Gray has pitched two of those nine quality starts, and over his past three appearances, he has a 0.45 ERA, including two games at Coors

Field.

“It’s impressive,” shortstop Trevor Story said. “That’s what this game is all about: pitching. Our guys have stepped up.

When they compete like that, we’re a very confident team. We like our chances with those guys out there.”

The Rockies’ run of impressive starting pitching dates to their previous homestand, when they won two of three against the Padres. In their past 12 games, Rockies starters have a 1.55 ERA. Their innings total is skewed only by Tyler

Anderson’s injury-shortened start on April 27, when he left the second inning short of breath. They have won nine of those

12 games:

Game Pitcher IP H ER SO BB W-L

4/24 vs SD Kyle Freeland 7 3 0 8 2 W

4/25 vs SD Jon Gray 6 3 0 11 1 W

4/27 at MIA Tyler Anderson 1.1 1 0 1 1 W

4/28 at MIA German Marquez 6 6 1 6 3 L

4/29 at MIA Chad Bettis 7 4 2 5 1 L

4/30 at CHC Kyle Freeland 7 6 3 5 1 L

5/1 at CHC Jon Gray 7 3 1 6 1 W

5/2 at CHC Tyler Anderson 7 3 2 9 1 W

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5/4 at NYM German Marquez 6 2 2 8 0 W

5/5 at NYM Chad Bettis 7 6 0 2 1 W

5/6 at NYM Kyle Freeland 7 4 2 8 1 W

5/8 vs LAA Jon Gray 7 4 0 8 1 W

“All of them are pitching with a great deal of confidence,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “You can see during games, even when there’s stress, I’ve noticed poise and some calmness. If they want to get to a different level, they have to maintain a clear focus and awareness. And they’re doing it.”

Gray found stress immediately Tuesday. Justin Upton and Albert Pujols singled. Andrelton Simmons walked to load the bases. But Gray buckled down in a full count to strike out Zack Cozart with a 90-mph slider.

Gray then whipped through the Angels lineup. He needed only 10 pitches to set down the side in the third. He forced

Trout to ground out weakly to first base. Gray, who recently changed the finger pressure on his slider to create more sink, then threw two sliders and a to strike out Upton, who looked blindfolded.

He faced an issue only in the seventh, when Ohtani came to bat with one out and one on and the Rockies ahead 2-0. Los

Angeles manager Mike Scioscia burned a pinch-hitter early trying to pounce on Gray. But his 95-mph fastball in on

Ohtani’s hands rolled into an out and catcher Martin Maldonado flied out softly on the next pitch to end the inning.

“Aggressiveness,” Gray said of the Rockies’ pitching streak. “We’re not walking guys. We’re going at them. We set the tone for ourselves. And we always want to outdo each other.”

DJ LeMahieu, who returned from the 10-day disabled list Tuesday afternoon after resting an injured right hamstring, lined a single to right field in the third that scored Tony Wolters and gave the Rockies a 1-0 lead.

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They didn’t score again until the sixth when Story tripled on a long fly ball to the right-field corner and Gerardo Parra hit a bloop off the bat handle to left field to drive in a run. Story doubled in the seventh to score and Nolan

Arenado, who chugged around from first base and inched past a tag with a slide into home plate.

Adam Ottavino gave up a two-run homer to Upton in the eighth, just his sixth hit allowed this season over 20 innings. And

Wade Davis earned his MLB-best 14th save with a scoreless ninth.

The Rockies, though, are edging toward dominance on the mound. Their 1.55 ERA since April 24 is the best in the major leagues over that span.

“Our guys are thirsty to learn,” Black said. “One of the pitfalls for a young pitcher is that second year, when you don’t make adjustments and the league adjusts to you. We’re seeing our guys adjust back to some early-season starts.”

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DJ LeMahieu promises he’s not trying to hit homers. So how does he keep hitting them?

Nick Groke / TheAthletic.com | May , 2018

In the vogue world of fly-ball swings that shoot for the moon, DJ LeMahieu bats like a throwback, an off-trend contact hitter never enamored by the home run.

“I’m not trying to hit homers,” he said after hitting another homer, his third in one series at Washington in mid-April. “I could go into a long story about it.”

What gives? The Rockies’ veteran second baseman by his nature is more than Reggie Jackson. He hits line drives. He became a two-time all-star and National League batting champion by excelling in the consistency of the humdrum.

But then this year, LeMahieu hit five home runs through just more than two weeks to start the season. He didn’t hit a fifth homer last season until Aug. 26. After the first month, he had more home runs than Nolan Arenado and a team-high 13 extra-base hits.

LeMahieu is suddenly pulling the ball to left field after loving the right side most of his career. He’s turning on instead of swinging inside-out. He’s lofting more balls where once he drove hits like fence rails.

Did baseball’s true outcome era finally gobble up one of its staunchest holdouts?

“I used to be defensive,” LeMahieu said. “I wasn’t an offensive offensive player. I was a defensive offensive player. I was getting pitches to hit that I wasn’t driving like I should. It’s still a small sample. But I am being more aggressive. I feel like

I’m being a more offensive player. I’m in better control of the situation.”

LeMahieu returned from the 10-day disabled list Tuesday at the start of a six-game homestand at Coors Field after resting a strained right hamstring. His offensive surge has already altered the Rockies’ lineup, sending him to the leadoff spot in place of Charlie Blackmon. Rockies manager Bud Black likes the right-left-right matchup gantlet imposed on opposing managers in late innings, forcing them to deal with LeMahieu-Blackmon-Arenado in order.

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And if LeMahieu’s alteration at the plate sticks, he could make it difficult for Colorado general manager Jeff Bridich to let

LeMahieu walk in free agency after this season.

“He’s not afraid to hit with two strikes. He’s not afraid to take pitches for the other fellas starting off the game,” Black said.

“And he’s shown a bit of danger this season with the homers. Not that he will try to hit homers. But this surge of power early in the year is something that pitchers have to be aware of.”

His power stroke, LeMahieu swears, is not the product of reinvention. He is not LeMahieu version 2.0, more like v1.3, an update to his standard approach. He will never be Joey Gallo, with more home runs than singles. But LeMahieu is making contact with pitches in front of the plate, using the boost of his back leg to produce more power and becoming the kind of rounded hitter that Blackmon became in recent seasons.

He just needed to hone in on what makes his swing unique.

In November, LeMahieu dove into his statistics and spray charts like he was cramming for a test. He talked to the

Rockies’ advanced scouts and asked video coordinator Brian Jones to send him tape of every pitch he put in play from

2017, separated by fastballs and off-speed pitches, about 500 clips.

His 2017 was nothing to shrug off. LeMahieu slashed .310/.374/.409 with 64 RBIs from the second spot in the order, two off his career-high from 2016. He was named an NL all-star for the second time. “But I didn’t affect games how I could have and should have,” LeMahieu said. “And that doesn’t mean homers — just big hits, driving guys in. I want to impact games more.”

The problem was a correction. Pitchers adjusted to the one area they thought LeMahieu was vulnerable. Because he was not a home run threat and because he grew so adept at hitting to the opposite field, pitchers stopped throwing him off- speed pitches on the outside of the plate. They attacked him low with fastballs.

So he adjusted.

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“It’s a product of how they’re pitching him,” Arenado said. “They know his game, that he likes to shoot the ball. But he’s learned to get the head out. He’s letting it eat to left-center. He’s not afraid to look for that pitch and drive it, instead of shooting it to right. He’s more gap-to-gap now instead of just one way. The game tells you what adjustments to make. And he’s making them.”

Over his first eight seasons, LeMahieu hit against type. At 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, the scouts and coaches who crossed his path in college at LSU and in the Cubs’ minor-league system assumed he should be a power hitter. LeMahieu resisted, constructing himself instead into a career .301 average, .356 OBP and a lack of homers.

And still, when LeMahieu, now 29, returned to Michigan last winter to work with his hitting coach, Casey Smith, the tug against his nature came again.

“He loves home runs,” LeMahieu said of Smith. “He loves them more than anything. And I’m the opposite.”

Smith, a ninth-round pick of the Padres in 2005 who runs a hitting facility north of Detroit, was not trying to Ruth-anize

LeMahieu’s swing. Instead they collaborated on making it more efficient. That meant keeping the barrel of the bat in the zone longer, matching the swing patch with the path of a pitch and making his swing completely consistent.

The goal was to make LeMahieu’s newly-aggressive swing easily repeatable, so he can find himself again when he’s stuck in slumps.

“His hand-eye is on such a different level — he can almost will himself into a hit,” Smith said. “And he still finds a way to get the barrel out. That’s when damage starts happening. He knows exactly what he wants to do every time. And all of a sudden he can get to pitches he couldn’t before and the game slows down. He really trusts what he’s doing.”

LeMahieu is seemingly hitting everything. He is making more contact on pitches in the strike zone than any player in the game (Z-contact%, below), at 96.6 percent. His overall contact percentage, at 89.7 percent, ranks third in the majors (as seen below, according to Fangraphs). And his .299 batting average on balls in play, far below his number the past several seasons, suggests he was hampered only by bad luck in the first month.

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Name Team Z-Contact% Contact%

1. DJ LeMahieu Rockies 96.6% 89.7%

2. Red Sox 96.0% 88.0%

3. Miguel Rojas Marlins 95.9% 87.6%

4. Jose Peraza Reds 95.6% 85.4%

5. Jean Segura Mariners 95.3% 87.2%

6. Jose Ramirez Indians 95.2% 89.8%

7. Jose Iglesias Tigers 94.6% 86.2%

8. Dee Gordon Mariners 94.6% 85.9%

9. James McCann Tigers 94.5% 80.2%

10. Ketel Marte D-backs 93.8% 91.9%

Through his career, LeMahieu proved to be a reliable average hitter. In 2016, he edged out Nationals second baseman

Daniel Murphy to win the 2016 NL batting title with a .348 average. His next season saw a dip, dropping his slugging percentage by more than 100 points to .783.

He wanted to be a more imposing threat, more aggressive and rounded, more able to impact a game in any inning. But

LeMahieu swears he will not chase higher launch angle numbers or more home runs. If those things happen, they are happy accidents.

“I’ve been a good hitter without hitting a ton of homers. I don’t want to sacrifice anything to hit the ball higher, to hit the ball harder. I don’t want to sacrifice anything I’ve built. I’m a good hitter,” LeMahieu said.

“But I won’t ever run out of things to try to prove wrong. Try to prove other people wrong. Trying to prove it to myself. I enjoy that.”

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Jon Gray shines as Rockies down Angels, 4-2, for sixth consecutive victory

Aniello Piro / MileHighSports.com | May 9, 2018

The Colorado Rockies defeated the Los Angeles Angels 4-2 Tuesday night to claim their sixth straight win. Starting pitcher Jon Gray dominated throughout the night as he helped pitch the Rockies to victory in their first game at Coors

Field since returning from their nine-game road trip.

The Angels put the pressure on Gray from the get-go by recording two hits in the first inning, but Gray managed to buckle down and escape the inning unscathed before settling into a groove on the mound for Colorado.

Gray hurled seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out eight batters to improve his record to 4-4 on the season. Tuesday’s start was easily Gray’s best outing at home this season.

After two scoreless innings to open up the ballgame, the Rockies were able to score first in the third inning. Tony Wolters started the inning with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt hit by Gray. From there, Rockies’ leadoff man

D.J. LeMahieu poked a single to right field to score Wolters and give Colorado an early 1-0 lead.

The score did not change during the fourth and fifth innings, but the Rockies manufactured an additional run in the sixth inning when Gerardo Parra hit a single to left field to score Trevor Story, who led-off the inning with a triple.

The Rockies added an additional two runs in the following inning. Charlie Blackmon worked a two-out walk in the bottom of the seventh inning and then advanced to third on a single hit by Rockies’ All-Star Nolan Arenado. From there, Story ripped a double to left field to score the two runs and push Colorado ahead 4-0.

The Angels’ runs came off the bat of Justin Upton, who blasted a two-run home run to left field in the eighth inning off of

Adam Ottavino.

NEXT UP: The Rockies and Angels will conclude their two-game series tomorrow afternoon at Coors Field. Tyler

Anderson is set to face Jamie Barria, with the first pitch scheduled for 1:10 MST.

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Rockies break franchise record, extend win streakDrew Creasman

Drew Creasman / BSNDenver.com | May 8, 2018

DENVER – The Los Angeles Angels don’t come to Colorado very often, and considering their roster features some all- time great players—and one incredibly intriguing two-way rookie—it was understandable that the Denver crowd gave nice ovations to Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, and even Shohei Ohtani. It’s an impressive lineup and worth taking a moment to appreciate.

But Colorado Rockies pitcher Jon Gray was in no mood to appreciate his opposition. He preferred to dominate them.

The Rockies were looking for the man at the top of the rotation to secure their ninth-straight quality start, which would be a new franchise record, and Gray did much better than that, cruising past the minimum qualifications, tossing seven innings of shutout baseball.

It looked dicey early when, after he recorded a pair of quick outs, Gray managed to load the bases. Singles from Justin

Upton and Albert Pujols weren’t hit incredibly hard but they found the grass and a walk of Andrelton Simmons added to the pressure. Zack Cozart made it even tenser by working the count full, but Gray found a good slider and got the strikeout to escape the jam.

He threw 28 pitches in the first but locked in after that, allowing just two more singles and one walk in the game. He struck out eight.

Colorado got on the board thanks to some small ball in the third. Catcher Tony Wolters reached on an infield single and advanced on a perfect sac bunt from Gray. LeMahieu delivered the run with his patented line drive single to right field, coming on an 0-2 count.

They added another in the sixth thanks to a leadoff triple to right field off the bat of Trevor Story who came in after a fantastic situational at-bat from Gerardo Parra. The eccentric fought off a number of tough pitches, abandoned his normal batting stance and kept fighting until he was finally able to lift one into the air in left field for an RBI single.

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Gray escaped one final bit of trouble in the seventh to put a bow on his third straight excellent start. Simmons led off with a single to left and moved to second on a groundout. The crowd came to life as Ohtani was announced to pinch-hit but he hit a weak grounder to first and Gray stranded the runner at third by getting Martin Maldanado to fly out to left.

The Rockies doubled their run total in the eighth with one swing from Trevor Story. Charlie Blackmon walked and advanced on a single up the middle from Nolan Arenado. Both runners scored on a double to left from Story who continues to pace the team in RBI with 23.

That turned out to be hugely important when Trout walked and Upton shocked everyone by taking Adam Ottavino deep.

That ballooned Otto’s ERA all the way up to 1.35.

Wade Davis came on in the ninth and gave up a one-out single to Cozart but got Kole Calhoun to ground into a game- ending , collecting his 14th save of the year to just one blown.

Colorado improved to 21-15 and are now on a six-game winning streak.

FINAL STATS:

Jon Gray: 7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K (4.24 ERA)

Adam Ottavino: 1 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 1 BB (1.35 ERA)

Wade Davis: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER (S: 14)

Trevor Story: 2-for-3, 1 R, 2 RBI

DJ LeMahieu: 1-for-4, 1 RBI

Nolan Arenado: 1-for-3, 1 R, BB

Charlie Blackmon: 0-for-2, 1 R, 2 BB

Tony Wolters: 1-for-4, 1 R

WHAT’S NEXT:

The second and final game of the series is set for Wednesday at 1:10 Mountain Time. The 21-year-old rookie Jaime

Barria will take on Tyler Anderson who is sporting a 2.03 ERA over his last six starts.

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Rockies-Mets Series Grades: Colorado pitching on another level

Drew Creasman / BSNDenver.com | May 8, 2018

The Colorado Rockies swept the in their own city to extend a winning streak out to five games. And they did it without getting overwhelming contributions from their best position players.

The backend of the rotation (yes these ratings exclude the top two pitchers in the Rockies rotation) were absolutely magnificent starting with the old man of the group. The young guys got it done too, as did the bullpen, and the scattered contributions from the offense proved to be just enough to deliver the sweep.

Interestingly, the Rockies would be looking at much different results if not for the production of the much-maligned Ian

Desmond and Gerardo Parra.

Here are our individual player grades for the series win in New York:

Chad Bettis (A): He allowed six singles and one walk. That’s it. He only recorded two strikeouts but Bettis was in complete control, powering the Rockies to their fourth shutout of the year in seven brilliant innings. He has been one of the best pitchers in baseball so far in 2018. It’s that simple.

Kyle Freeland (A-): Out of context, the final line is more like a “B+” effort but understanding that the Mets scored two runs in the first four batters of the game and then never again bumps it up a level of impressiveness in my mind. One of the gutsiest outings of the year, Freeland went seven innings, giving up two runs on four hits, striking out eight and walking one.

German Marquez (B+): It’s crazy to think that Marquez’ six-inning, two-run performance—featuring eight strikeouts—was actually one of the more pedestrian starts for the Rockies on the road trip. These guys are on a roll.

Adam Ottavino (A): Otto picked up two innings, getting his first save since 2016 in the final game of the set, striking out four batters and allowing just two baserunners on a single and a walk. He is reaching historic levels of production. More on that soon.

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Wade Davis (B+): The Rockies closer had a scary one in the opening game, giving up an inherited run and one of his own on a couple of hits and a walk. He allowed the tying run to reach third and the winning run to reach base, but he shut it down to keep from blowing his second save of the year. His inning the next night was far less adventurous. So far,

Colorado has won every game Davis has appeared in.

Ian Desmond (A-): Desmond was the offensive MVP of the series, going 4-for-13 with a pair of home runs, a double, and three RBI. His two-homer game in the finale delivered the sweep.

Gerardo Parra (A-): Parra went 4-for-8 (.500) with a double, a run scored, a key RBI, and two walks. He was instrumental in winning the final game against Noah Syndergaard and helped spark the rally in the first inning that saw Colorado put up five runs in one frame.

Charlie Blackmon (B): Going 4-for-12 (.333) with a couple of walks and a home run, Blackmon was pretty much his normal self.

David Dahl (B): Making the most of his seven at-bats, Dahl delivered three hits including a pressure single with the bases loaded late, helping to secure a 2-0 victory. His base hit and against Noah Syndergaard played an important part of the key inning that swung the game in the Rockies favor.

Nolan Arenado (C+): Arenado went 3-for-11 (.272) with a pair of walks, a pair of RBI, three runs scored and a homer. Not his usual offensive domination but the home run in Game 2 would turn out to be all the scoring his team would need.

Tony Wolters (C-): The Rockies backup catcher only got one hit in the series, though it was a big one considering it was his first home run of the season and came in what ended up being a one-run game. But his 1-for-11 really doesn’t tell the whole story as he deserves a ton of credit for the insane run that the Rockies pitching staff is currently on. He also gets bonus points for his first stolen base and a memorable slide into second.

Carlos Gonzalez (D-): CarGo went 0-for-7 still shaking off the rust from his DL stint. He did draw a couple of walks and get an RBI on a sac fly. 26

Rockies 4, Angels 2: Jon Gray dominates as Rockies win This pitching is no joke.

Hayden Kane / PurpleRow.com | May 9, 2018

The Colorado Rockies have been playing lots of good baseball on the road and lots of shaky baseball at home in 2018.

They picked up a nice win at Coors Field on Tuesday night by defeating the Los Angeles Angels 4-2 in what was hopefully a sign of things to come.

A very good Gray day

Jon Gray was truly dominant against a very good Angels lineup. He threw seven shutout innings and seemed in control the whole time. Gray struck out eight and issued just one walk. He had life on his fastball and lots of movement on his slider and curveball. It’s a night like this where your eyes and the numbers tell you Gray can be an ace.

Welcome back DJ

The Rockies were more than happy to welcome back one of their three good offensive players on Tuesday night. DJ

LeMahieu drove in the first run of the game and made a couple slick plays in the field.

Extra-base hits for Trevor Story

The offensive star for the Rockies is the guy they are hoping will become their fourth good hitter. Story had a double and a triple with a couple runs driven in. The batting average and strikeouts aren’t great, but there are plenty of signs that Story is showing he can contribute. Whenever he has a night like this, it is a welcome sight for a team still searching for consistent offense.

The Mike Trout effect

Adam Ottavino has been comically good this year. Mike Trout is comically good all the time, however, and he drew a careful four-pitch walk from Ottavino in the eighth inning. Justin Upton was the next hitter and blasted a home run to approximately the moon. Mike Trout will get you one way or another.

Looking ahead

The Rockies will try for a two-game sweep on Wednesday afternoon with Tyler Anderson starting against Jaime Barria.

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Colorado Rockies roster: DJ LeMahieu returns and a surprise demotion

Jake Shapiro / RoxPile.com | May 9, 2018

DENVER – On Tuesday, the Colorado Rockies regained their All-Star second baseman as DJ LeMahieu was reinstated from the disabled list.

One could make the case that his .290 batting average, five home runs and 12 RBI (coupled with three stolen bases) production was the most valuable out of any player on the roster.

A right hamstring strain has held him out of the lineup since April 30 and his teammates were able to keep the club in good shape as they just went 6-3 on a nine-game road trip.

LeMahieu not only returns to the lineup but returns to the leadoff spot, a job he and Charlie Blackmon have split this season.

This is somewhat surprising even given Valaika’s rough start. The sophomore from UCLA is slashing just .103/.175/.155 in 28 games (64 plate appearances) in 2018.

He came onto the seen hot in 2017 as the Rockies best pinch hitter and was a steady backup infielder with a powerful right-handed bat.

Bud Black noted regular at-bats as one of the reasons for the send down.

Valaika and Ryan McMahon are the only two players to back up first base this season behind starter , who also plays left field. Valaika and McMahon have each started at first seven times this season.

Valaika has also played second — mainly in spell of LeMahieu — and had been the primary backup up shortstop and third baseman.

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With a four-man bench, this leaves a ton of weight on rookie Daniel Castro as he’s the warmest body for four different positions, including first base … which he has never played in his nine professional seasons. Castro is primarily a middle infielder and has provided three knocks in 16 plate appearances across five games for the Rockies.

This move is surprising in one sense and limits the versatility of Desmond. It also brings into play a question of who is the backup . Gerardo Parra might be another candidate.

In another sense, as Bud Black said the best version of the Rockies includes Pat Valaika so they’ll need him to get right.

The 25-year-old is more important than to toil in Triple-A and struggle on the bench.

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