MEDIA CLIPS – June 29, 2018

LeMahieu's clutch HR, 5 RBIs Rockies Arenado ties NL home lead; Black stays above .500 vs. Giants

Thomas Harding / MLB.com | Jun 28, 2018

SAN FRANCISCO -- Relieved Rockies relief Adam Ottavino leaned over the back of the leather chair that DJ

LeMahieu was sitting in and gave him a hug and a smile.

LeMahieu's two-run homer off with one out in the top of the ninth capped a five-RBI performance to help the

Rockies end their losing streak at four games with a 9-8 victory over the Giants on Thursday.

And now, there are three months and change left in this season -- plenty of time to recover from a 39-42 record.

But the Rockies absorbed 3-2 and 1-0 losses the previous two nights. Then, on Thursday, they watched No. 1 starter Jon

Gray squander a 5-2 lead and leave without managing an out in the fifth. Star third baseman made a key error to set up Andrew McCutchen's RBI double off Jake McGee in the seventh, bringing the Giants within a run. And

Ottavino experienced tough luck while losing the lead in the eighth.

But LeMahieu's homer, his eighth of the season, gave the Rockies their first victory in 38 games when trailing after eight innings.

"We really didn't do a whole lot of anything the last couple days, came out with a whole lot of energy, good mindset,"

LeMahieu said. "We were out to win a ballgame today. We were on a mission. It was really good to win that one."

Throughout, LeMahieu keyed the Rockies' refusal to walk away with another one-run disappointment.

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"This was a tough game," Rockies manager Bud Black said. "I've said it so many times over the years in this ballpark against the Giants. Names change, years change, it seems like in this park against this organization, there are a lot of games like this.

"It was a day game when some funky things happen, but our guys are resilient."

The Rockies had gone 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position the first two games against the Giants and 1-for-16 during their losing streak. But LeMahieu was primarily responsible for the Rockies' 5-for-10 performance in the same situation on

Thursday.

LeMahieu's RBI single in the fourth was the Rockies' third hit with runners in scoring position in the four-run inning, after Gerardo Parra's RBI single and Ian Desmond's two-run , all against Giants starter Chris Stratton.

LeMahieu added a two-run single in the seventh off Ty Blach for a 7-5 lead. And he was there for the team after Ottavino

(4-1) gave up two soft hits as well as a walk, then Alen Hanson's double, which bounced inside the first-base line to drive in two eighth-inning runs to put the Rockies behind, 8-7.

"It was big. I snapped after my inning was over," said Ottavino, who ended up kicking a wall after his outing. "I let the team down there. Stuff didn't go right."

Chris Iannetta singled to open the ninth, and LeMahieu homered two batters later. Not known as a power hitter,

LeMahieu hit five in the season's first 17 games. Since then the homers have been well-spaced, and Thursday's was timely.

"I just used my knowledge from a couple nights ago, pretty much the same situation," LeMahieu said. "I just put a good swing on the fastball."

Arenado homered off Stratton in the top of the first to tie the Nationals' Bryce Harper and the Brewers' Jesus

Aguilar for the National League lead with 19. But Gray hung a slider that parked for two runs in the bottom of the frame. After the big top of the fourth, Gray's puzzling issues surfaced.

After two walks and 's two-run double, Gorkys Hernandez's RBI single tied the game. Gray escaped without further damage. But two infield singles -- Belt's bunt to beat a shift, and McCutchen's single that a diving LeMahieu

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couldn't corral behind second -- chased Gray. Lefty Chris Rusin pitched out of the mess, going two innings to forge his sixth scoreless outing in his last seven.

Gray, the Rockies' Opening Day starter the last two years, has been inconsistent all year, and his recent drop in velocity adds to the issues. He averaged a season-low 93.1 mph on his four-seam fastball -- a full two mph below his season average.

"Its [velocity] is down a little bit right now, but then again, a good pitch is a good pitch, and an executed pitch is a good one, too," Gray said. "I'm just focused on being at the bottom of the zone."

Like Ottavino, Gray was appreciative of LeMahieu for keeping his bad day from being a losing one for the Rockies.

"The guys couldn't pick me up any better in every part of the game -- defensively, bullpen and of course, DJ," Gray said.

"The last hit was big-time."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

When Rusin replaced Gray with no outs in the fifth, lined a pitch toward second base, but the ball landed in the glove of perfectly positioned shortstop Trevor Story, who stepped on second to eliminate Belt for an unassisted double play. With the score tied, the play ended that segment of the Giants' momentum.

HE SAID IT

From the time he walks through the clubhouse doors, his focus is on winning the game. As it gets closer to game time, in the dugout prior to the first pitch, man, he is all in. It's great to witness his intensity, his focus and his desire to win. It's every day. He'll remember this. It's a good one. -- Black, on LeMahieu

SOUND SMART

With the win, Black stayed above .500 when managing against the Giants. The victory left him 92-90 vs. San Francisco, the former pitcher's team from 1991-94.

UP NEXT

Left-hander (4-3, 4.62 ERA) will try to extend a trend of solid road pitching when he faces the Dodgers and left-hander Rich Hill (1-2, 5.30) on Friday night at 8:10 p.m. MT at Dodger Stadium, in the opener of a three-game

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series. Anderson is 3-0 with a 4.08 ERA in nine road starts this season, and 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA, 11 and one walk in 14 innings over his last two road starts.

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Arenado adds to 1st-inning HR total vs. Giants

Thomas Harding / MLB.com | Jun 28, 2018

SAN FRANCISCO -- It's hard to keep Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado down long.

After going 0-for-7 in the first two games at AT&T Park, both one-run Rockies losses, Arenado highlighted the top of the first on Thursday by clubbing his 19th homer of the season off Giants starter Chris Stratton, helping the Rockies to a 9-8 win over San Francisco. The put him in a tie with the Nationals' Bryce Harper for the National League lead and was his Major League-leading 10th homer in the first inning this season.

Arenado had homered five times in six games in the Rockies' last homestand before this series began. The hitless first two games were an aberration for Arenado at AT&T Park. The home run, his 10th in 48 career games at the park, increased his lifetime average there to .299 (55-for-184).

With Thursday's homer, he surpassed Troy Tulowitzki (now with the Blue Jays) for the club mark for homers at AT&T

Park, which opened in 2000. Tulowitzki hit nine between 2006-15.

Arenado has been the NL leader at third base throughout the 2018 Camping World MLB All-Star Ballotvoting -- accessible on computers, tablets and smartphones, through MLB.com and the 30 club sites. Voting runs through

Thursday, July 5, at 9:59 p.m. MT (11:59 p.m. ET).

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Gray fighting velocity dip but not concerned Rockies starter working to fix mechanics, location problems

Thomas Harding / MLB.com | Jun 28, 2018

SAN FRANCISCO -- Rockies right-handed pitcher Jon Gray is more concerned about the season-long streak of ineffectiveness than his three-game run of reduced velocity.

At least Gray's struggles didn't cost the Rockies on Thursday afternoon against the Giants. Handed a three-run lead in the bottom of the fourth, Gray languished as the Giants tied the game. He was a helpless observer of a wild game that saw DJ LeMahieu hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth to give the Rockies a 9-8 victory.

The Rockies' Opening Day starter the last two years, Gray has an unsavory 5.77 ERA through 17 starts.

Thursday, he hung a first-inning slider to Brandon Belt for a homer that gave the Giants a 2-1 lead. After the Rockies scored four times in the fourth for a 5-2 lead, Gray yielded three runs on three hits and two walks in the fourth, then was out of the game after surrendering two infield hits in the fifth.

His recent velocity drop bears watching.

He entered Thursday averaging 95.1 mph on his four-seam fastball, but in the finale, he produced a 2018 single-game low

93.1 mph and didn't break 94 mph until the fourth. In the last two starts before Thursday's game -- one a six-run outing in

Texas, the other a 12- win at home against Miami -- he averaged 93.8 and 93.9.

He averaged an eyebrow-raising 92.5 mph in the first inning against the Giants, well below his first-inning average of 95.7 mph on the season.

In some cases, a velocity drop points to health issues, but Gray and manager Bud Black focused on location rather than velocity.

"It'll pick back up on its own," Gray said. "I just need to throw every ball with intent, then I don't think [velocity] should matter."

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Gray has gone through some mechanical work. With the fastball, the coaches have emphasized pulling the ball out of his glove quicker to give his arm a chance to catch up with his body during his stride toward the plate. An arm whipping through late means don't hit the bottom of the strike zone.

"I know that we've placed an emphasis on keeping the ball down -- mid-thigh to the knees," Black said. "Whether he sacrificed velocity for command, that's a better question for Jon. I did notice when it got a little hot -- a few crisis situations

-- I saw some 95s. But it was down a little bit."

Good or bad, Gray stays in the strike zone. He finished Thursday with seven strikeouts, but he also yielded five runs on seven hits in just four-plus innings.

However, Gray's struggles when the Rockies really need him are concerning. He had just two walks, but one was to Andrew McCutchen to open the bottom of the fourth after his team had given him a lead. The other came three batters later.

"That was frustrating for Jon, for all of us," Black said. "The leadoff walk to McCutchen, you gotta go after that guy. You gotta really set the tone when it's your opportunity to really send a message to not only the Giants but to our group. We just scored four. Go out there and start pumping strikes, and Jon wasn't able to do it."

The Rockies lost the first two games of the series but had solid work from Chad Bettis on Tuesday night and seven scoreless innings from Kyle Freeland on Wednesday. Until he finds answers, whether they be in delivery, velocity or location, Gray will not be the pitcher the Rockies need -- one to keep runs going or to stop bad streaks.

"Not a lot of feel for anything today, didn't have very much good stuff," Gray said. "I was trying to get stuff in the strike zone. I had plenty of movement, but I just felt I didn't put stuff in the right spots.

"Its [velocity] is down a little bit right now, but then again a good pitch is a good pitch. An executed pitch is a good one. I'm just focused on being at the bottom of the zone."

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This is the top Rockies int'l prospect to watch

Thomas Harding / MLB.com | Jun 28, 2018

It's Christmas in July for baseball prospects outside of the 50 states, Canada and Puerto Rico -- Monday's opening of the international signing period for players not subject to the MLB Draft.

A player may sign that day through June 15 of the next year, if he is 16 or will turn 16 by the end of the first season of his contract. So teenagers are dreaming of their opportunities, not to mention money.

Here is a look at some of the prospects in the NL West on the verge of not only completing their climb to the Majors, but becoming impact players for their clubs.

D-backs:

Shortstop Jasrado Chisholm (signed in 2015)

How's he doing: Chisholm was signed for $200,000 out of the Bahamas and ranks No. 3 on the D-backs' prospect list, according to MLB Pipeline. He played well in his pro debut in 2016 in the short-season Pioneer League, but appeared in just 29 games in 2017 after suffering a torn right lateral meniscus. The D-backs like Chisholm's ability at shortstop and he has flashed some of his raw power this year, hitting 11 homers through his first 239 games for Class A Kane County in the

Midwest League.

ETA: 2021

Dodgers:

Catcher Keibert Ruiz (signed in 2014)

How he is doing: Ruiz is the No. 2 Dodgers prospect, per MLB Pipeline. He signed for $140,000 out of Venezuela on his 16th birthday. He, along with and Connor Wong, give the Dodgers three good catching prospects -- perhaps their deepest position in the system.

Ruiz is an advanced defender and improving offensively as a line-drive hitter better from the left side. He's still 19, but already at Double-A and hasn't been overmatched.

ETA: With Yasmani Grandal a free agent after this season, Ruiz could be up next year. 8

Giants:

Outfielder Sandro Fabian (signed in 2014)

How he is doing: An aggressive hitter, Fabian struck out 88 times in 480 at-bats last season -- his first full Minor League season -- and finished .277/.297/.408 at Augusta in the Class A . But he shot to No. 5 on the

Giants' MLB Pipeline list because of a .352/.266/.535 finish in the final six weeks.

Fabian is off to a .232./.282/.368 start at Class A Advanced San Jose with 65 strikeouts in 228 at-bats. But of his 53 hits, he has six home runs and 18 total extra-base hits, which shows that there is the ability to produce runs in his bat. He also receives scouting points for his arm and instincts in right field.

ETA: 2021

Padres:

Second baseman Luis Urias (signed in 2013)

How he is doing: The Padres went on an unprecedented spending spree during the 2016-17 signing period, spending north of $80 million (including tax) to acquire talented youngsters like Michel Baez, Adrian Morejon and Gabriel Arias, all of whom are currently ranked among the club's top 10 prospects. It was a savvy investment, given that spending would be capped in the CBA beginning the following year.

Despite the success of that class, however, their best international free agent is the relatively unheralded Urias, 21, who was signed out of the Mexican League that December. He's developed into one of the organization's best pure hitters, and is considered the of the future -- perhaps to be paired alongside shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., who was a 2015 international signing for the White Sox.

ETA: Second half of this season

Rockies

Outfielder Yonathan Daza (signed in 2010)

How he is doing: Daza, 24, signed out of Venezuela, hit .341 with 48 extra-base hits and 31 steals last year at Class A

Lancaster to earn a 40-man Major League roster spot this year. In his first Major League Spring Training, he showed his

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tools, going 8-for-21 (.318) with two doubles, a triple and two steals in 16 games. However, Daza, the Rockies' No. 18 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, has played once for Double-A Hartford since early May because of a hamstring injury. But player development director Zach Wilson says he will be back in a couple weeks.

ETA: Even with the outfield depth, Daza was a candidate for his Major League debut this season. With the injury setback, next season may be more realistic.

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Rockies avoid ugly sweep in San Francisco behind DJ LeMahieu’s clutch ninth-inning homer San Francisco used a couple dink singles, combined with a walk & Alen Hanson’s deciding double, to comeback in the 8th

Kyle Newman / Denver Post | Jun 28, 2018

SAN FRANCISCO — The quiet in the Rockies’ dugout contrasted starkly with the raucous home crowd at AT&T Park.

Adam Ottavino had just surrendered two runs in the eighth to give a one-run lead back to San Francisco, and Colorado was three outs from its tenth-straight divisional defeat.

Then, with one on and one out in the ninth, DJ LeMahieu stepped to the dish and smacked a two-run homer to left, yanking the Rockies up from the baseball abyss — for Thursday, anyway.

“When the momentum shifted back to them in a big way after they scored two runs against Ottavino, it takes a special moment and a special swing to get it back on our side,” manager Bud Black said. “DJ put a great swing on that ball.”

Nolan Arenado put Colorado ahead in the first with a 409-foot blast to center, his 10th career home run at AT&T Park which surpassed Troy Tulowitzki for the most dingers by a Rockies’ hitter at the stadium. But San Francisco immediately responded in the bottom of the frame via Brandon Belt’s two-run homer off Jon Gray, putting the Giants back ahead 2-1.

From there, Gray and Giants starter Chris Stratton put up a couple zeros on the scoreboard before more momentum swings, first by way of Colorado’s four-run fourth.

The Rockies began that frame with four straight hits, with Gerardo Parra’s single and Ian Desmond’s triple swinging the lead back to 4-2. LeMahieu’s two-out single further extended the score to 5-2, figuring to give Gray a sizable cushion to work with.

But as Gray noted, he “didn’t have a whole lot of feel for anything today”.

The Colorado right-hander gave the lead right back in the bottom of the inning, as Joe Panik’s double and Gorkys

Hernandez’s two-RBI single tied the game at 5-5 in the latest yo-yo loop that has been Gray’s promise-laden season.

“That was frustrating for Jon, and frustrating for all of us,” Black said. “He gave up a leadoff walk to (Andrew) McCutchen, and he’s got to go after that guy and really set the tone when it’s your opportunity to really send a message not only to the

Giants, but to our group who had just scored four.”

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It then turned into a relief battle in the fifth, with Chris Rusin spelling Gray for two scoreless innings while Ty Blach, a

Regis Jesuit High School graduate, did the same for San Francisco as the score held heading into the seventh.

In that inning, Colorado finally got to Blach. Chris Iannetta — pinch hitting for Tony Wolters in a move enabled by the

Rockies’ choice to carry three catchers on the roster — singled to lead off. Then Noel Cuevas, swinging for Rusin, doubled to set up LeMahieu’s go-ahead, two-run single that made it 7-5.

The Giants then nicked Jake McGee for an unearned run following the stretch, cutting the score to 7-6, before Ottavino led the lead get away for the second game this series. Wade Davis recorded his 22nd save with a one-two-three ninth following LeMahieu’s homer, and the Rockies cemented their first win this season when trailing after eighth innings (1-37).

“It was a good one for us to win like that, because I feel like we’ve been on the other end of that for the last couple weeks,” LeMahieu said. “We came out with a lot of energy, a good mind-set — we were out to win a ballgame today.”

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Journal: With Rockies’ fading playoff hopes pegged at around 4 percent, Colorado must catch fire to get back in the picture A promising season has gone south quickly, and the current road trip could sink Colorado if they don’t play well in California

Kyle Newman / Denver Post | Jun 28, 2018

SAN FRANCISCO — Now is the time to sound the alarm for a Colorado club laden with high expectations: If the Rockies don’t start ripping off wins, and ripping them off with consistency well into September, they’ll be watching the postseason from the couch.

As of Wednesday, the team’s playoff chances were unavoidably bleak considering the all-star break is still three weeks out. Per FanGraphs, Colorado has a 4.2 percent chance of making the playoffs, FiveThirtyEight’s projections were even harsher at just 3 percent. Both databases give Colorado a 1 percent chance of winning its first division title.

And amid a crucial six-game California road trip against National League West foes San Francisco and Los Angeles — followed by a three-game set at Coors against the Giants, and Arizona looming after that — the Rockies, already seven games back in the division and 4.5 behind in the wild card, realize the gap between them and the Diamondbacks and

Dodgers can’t balloon any further.

“When you get to this point in the season, of any season, it’s a critical time,” second baseman DJ LeMahieu said. “Our homestand was pretty big for us. We didn’t play the way we wanted to even though we had a real opportunity to gain some ground. We need to start winning a lot of games, and that takes everyone, from the 25th man on the roster to the top.”

The club’s most glaring issue, a cash-infused bullpen with a major league-worst 5.56 ERA, has been compounded by a puzzlingly poor mark at Coors Field (15-22) and a slow-to-start offense that weighed Colorado down through the first couple months of the season.

But with the slide from first in the division on June 1 to fourth now, veteran catcher Chris Iannetta said the team remains focused on the incremental progress that will lead to the big inning, the big win, and then the big winning streak needed to make up ground in the standings.

“It’s still really early for us as baseball players to be thinking about playoff races and where we need to be,” Iannetta said.

“Our focus is, and needs to be on, trying to win tonight and trying to be the best team we can be in this game. That’s the only way you can have long-term success over 162 games. If we get caught up in the scenarios now, it’s just exhausting, and it wears on you mentally and detracts from your ability to play baseball.” 13

Even that hyperfocus, however, can’t alleviate the sense of emptiness that comes from losing games like the 3-2 decision

Tuesday night in the series opener at AT&T Park.Chad Bettis turned in one of his best starts of the season, but as has been the case in many of the team’s defeats this season, the performances of the other aspects of the Rockies’ game — the bullpen and the offense — didn’t match up.

That simply can’t keep happening the rest of the trip if Colorado wants to be in a remotely competitive spot at the start of the second half.

“We know this road trip’s important for us because winning a game is kind of like winning two games,” Jon Gray said. “So when you lose competitive games like we did (Tuesday), it’s really tough, especially when you’re trying to gain traction in the standings.”

Footnotes. The Rockies made several bullpen moves prior to Wednesday’s game,reinstating veterans Mike Dunn and

Scott Oberg from the disabled list while optioning Brooks Pounders and Jeff Hoffman to Triple-A Albuquerque. The left- handed Dunn (rhomboid strain) has a 9.00 ERA in 23 appearances this season, while the right-handed Oberg (back strain) is 1-0 with a 4.08 ERA in 16 games. Both pitchers made a rehab assignment with Single-A Advanced Lancaster as well as with the Isotopes, and Dunn said his injury could’ve been worse had he not been shut down. “It had been building up for a while, and that last appearance (June 7 in Cincinnati) didn’t help it any,” Dunn said. “The shoulder and the elbow had started barking, and I didn’t want to miss significant time because of the shoulder and elbow, so then my back was sore because I was changing my mechanics in an effort to protect my back. That was, in turn, affecting other things.”

Looking ahead

Rockies RHP Jon Gray (7-7, 5.52 ERA) at Giants RHP Chris Stratton (8-5, 4.14), 1:45 p.m., MLB Network

Gray looks to continue the momentum he earned from his last start, when he allowed one run in seven innings in a win over Miami. But the Giants have had the right-hander’s number this season, as Gray is 0-2 with an 11.57 ERA in two starts against San Francisco. Gray has had trouble against Andrew McCutchen (7-for-12). Meanwhile, Stratton has posted three consecutive quality starts since a rocky beginning to the season but has been hit at a .415 clip by Colorado

(17-for-41) and has struggled within AT&T Park in 2018 to the tune of a 5.08 ERA. — Kyle Newman, The Denver Post

- Friday: Rockies LHP Tyler Anderson (4-3, 4.62) at Dodgers LHP Rich Hill (1-2, 5.30), 8:10 p.m., ATTRM

- Saturday: Rockies RHP German Marquez (5-8, 5.53) at Dodgers RHP Kenta Maeda (4-4, 3.84), 5:15 p.m. FOX

- Sunday: Rockies RHP Chad Bettis (5-1, 5.07) at Dodgers RHP Ross Stripling (6-2, 1.98), 2:10 p.m., ATTRM

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Rockies killer Barry Bonds — who tagged the team for record 54 homers — reminisces on playing against Colorado Now a special advisor to the CEO in San Francisco, Bonds also blasted the most long balls at Coors Field by an opposing player

Kyle Newman / Denver Post | Jun 28, 2018

In a quarter-century of Rockies baseball, no one has blasted more homers off the franchise than former Giants slugger

Barry Bonds. His 54 long balls against Colorado rank first all-time, and he’s also hit the most homers at Coors Field by an opposing player (26).

While the seven-time MVP and owner of the single-season and career home run records awaits a contentious call to

Cooperstown, he’s served as a special advisor to the CEO in San Francisco for the past two seasons.

Colorado played a three-game set at AT&T Park this week, and hosts the Giants for another three-game series starting

Monday. And as San Francisco took batting practice prior to its 1-0 walk-off victory Wednesday, Bonds — now an avid cyclist, and slimmed down considerably from his weight at retirement — leaned against the cage and reminisced about some of his favorite memories of competing against the Rockies.

“I liked playing against a lot of those classic Rockies in their time — Todd Helton, Larry Walker, Andrés Galarraga before he came over (to the Giants),” Bonds said. “They could hit.”

Bonds, 53, readily admits even his homer totals in Denver were inflated by the altitude, but also noted the park serves as a good litmus test for young power hitters who are still trying to establish themselves.

“It’s never a question of if (homers) are going to be hit there — it’s the Rockies, it’s high altitude,” Bonds said. “But if you can’t hit there, you won’t hit in a lot of ballparks.”

But even with all that victimization of Rockies’ pitchers, Bonds’ most vivid memory of the team remains its ineptitude against the Braves in their inaugural season, when Atlanta edged the Giants for the best record in the National League.

“They didn’t beat the Braves in 1993, which was disappointing — not one game (at 0-13),” Bonds said. “The Braves ended up winning 104 games that year, and we won 103 in San Francisco.”

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Denver Sports Omelette: The Rockies look like sellers. Who should they trade at the July 31 deadline? Your morning dish of Denver sports news, cooked up daily

Matt L. Stephens and Jeff Bailey / Denver Post | Jun 28, 2018

The Rockies are creeping their way toward becoming obvious sellers at the July 31 trade deadline. Just this month, they’ve fallen from first place to eight games back behind Arizona. With the hopes of their first NL West crown – or even a wild-card spot – fleeting, the question isn’t so much of if the Rockies deal, but who?

We know, because we’re adults who can use common sense, that getting rid of Nolan Arenado is off the table. He’s on contract through 2020, and in a perfect world, Colorado will sign the best third baseman in the world to a long-term blockbuster deal. That’s the goal. The problem in doing that, though – other than Colorado needing to make sure it has enough money to offer him – is that Arenado has said he wants to play for a club that’s regularly in the playoffs, an identity the Rockies lack.

We also know that no executive in their right mind would want to take one of Colorado’s high-priced relievers who can barely manage to record an out. Who could the Rockies trade?

Everybody loves him, and he was the hero in Thursday’s victory that snapped a nine-game losing streak in the division, but dumping D.J. LeMahieu at the trade deadline is looking more appetizing. The 2016 NL batting champ is hitting .280 with eight homers and 30 RBIs this summer. He becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2019, and Colorado has shown no signs of extending his deal in Denver. If he’s not in the Rockies’ long-term plans, likely thanks in part to versatile infield prospects Ryan McMahon and Brendan Rodgers on the farms, why not get something for him this year?

There’s Jon Gray, who played into columnist Mark Kiszla’snarrative of having a million-dollar arm but 10-cent head Thursday in San Francisco when he struck out seven in four innings, but allowed five earned runs and surrendered a 5-2 lead. He has a 5.77 ERA that’s showing no signs of significant improvement. Trading Gray, who enters arbitration next year, would mean giving up on a former third overall pick. He has plenty of talent, but something between him and the Rockies isn’t clicking.

Trading Gray could also bring at least the potential of packaging his personal catcher Tony Wolters (.146 average, .487

OPS), which, perhaps most importantly, would solve the issue of carrying three catchers on the active roster. There are more options out there, but what do you think? Who do you think the Rockies should trade this season, or are you holding out realistic hope they find a way to make a push for October? 16

Rockies 9, Giants 8: DJ LeMahieu home run wins it for Rox The Rockies and Giants played a back-and-forth game on Wednesday afternoon

Eric Garcia McKinley / Purple Row | Jun 28, 2018

DJ LeMahieu saved the day for the Rockies. After a missed call in the 8th inning led to two Giants’ runs and an 8-7 deficit for the Rockies, LeMahieu rocketed a home run to left field to give Colorado a 9-8 lead. It was all part of this beautifully erratic win expectancy chart:

The win prevented a three-game sweep, as well as a season-high five game losing streak. The Rockies are now 39-42 through their first 81 games, and they can head to Los Angeles tomorrow riding a win.

Same Gray, different day

The result of the game was great, but Jon Gray’s struggles continued. Gray allowed a double to start the game, and Brandon Belt followed that up by launching a home run into McCovey Cove. He settled down after that though and struck out five batters through three innings. The now characteristic inning of unravel took place in the fourth. It began with a walk that immediately led to a mound visit from Bud Black. Three hits and a walk later, and the Giants had turned a 5-2

Rockies lead into a 5-5 tie. With two runners on, Gray struck out Hunter Pence and Alen Hanson to keep it that way. The highlight, as usual, is that Gray still struck out seven in 4+ innings.

Thomas Harding posted a twitter thread about Gray’s velocity, which was low early but crept up to 94-95 in the fourth and fifth innings. That’s a trend that extends back at least two starts.

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Kyle Freeland needs a fan club The hometown lefty has been outstanding this season. It’s time we got him attention.

Connor Farrell / Purple Row | Jun 29, 2018

I’m a Kyle Freeland Guy. What do I mean by that, you ask? I’m a Kyle Freeland Guy because I get that Freeland is an excellent pitcher who gets lost in the fray. I’m a a Kyle Freeland Guy because Freeland’s the type of player who deserves a champion. I know I’m not alone, but this club needs to get bigger. Everyone reading this should take up the cause for

Kyle Freeland and become Kyle Freeland Guys, Gals, or however you identify. Everyone’s welcome in the Kyle Freeland

Fan Club.

The 25-year-old lefty, born in Denver just a month after the Rockies’ first game, is putting together an All-Star worthy first half and is currently fourth in the NL in rWAR. That’s more than media darling Ross Stripling, more than Miles Mikolas, and more than Jon Lester. Freeland’s 2018 has been one of the few bright spots in a rotation that has struggled to repeat its 2017 success. Kyle Freeland didn’t need me to become a Kyle Freeland Guy but I needed to become a Kyle Freeland

Guy. He needs you, too.

Since April 18 (an outing in which he surrendered five runs), Freeland has thrown 10 quality starts. He’s only started 12 times. Ten out of 12 is 83% of the time. When did you ever do something well 83% of the time? I tried to learn guitar and got frustrated I couldn’t do it well 10% of the time. If you tweeted 12 times and 10 went viral you would have 100,000 followers. Kyle Freeland is pitching like he runs one of the best accounts on Twitter.

In April, Kyle allowed 16 runs in 37 innings pitched, which is fine. That’s about what you’d expect a 25-year-old sophomore to surrender pitching half his games at Coors Field. Here is where it gets crazy: since April, Kyle has pitched

1 61 ⁄3 innings, and he’s only allowed 20 earned runs. He’s pitched 1.65 as many innings and he’s given up only 1.25 as many runs. That’s called math, learn it.

Freeland’s starts have been everywhere; this hasn’t been a lucky stretch where he’s avoided Coors Field for two months.

He shut out the Brewers at home, he beat the Giants at home, he locked down the Reds and Rangersin their gimmick ballparks. Kyle Freeland is the Alabama University football team of pitchers—he’s going to any stadium you want and he’s going to beat you. That’s what he does. Just get used to it.

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Kyle didn’t come into the season as someone to watch. That’s okay, he doesn’t need your eyes. All he needs is a ball and

60 feet of dirt. When people started naming rotation members sometimes they’d leave Freeland out or consider him a fringe starter that could get replaced by Jeff Hoffmanor Antonio Senzatela. Uhh, sure pal. Not this Kyle Freeland. Surely you were mistaken.

So far, Kyle has shown every sign of improvement that you look for in pitchers. He’s lowered his walk rate (3.6 to 2.9) and upped his K rate (6.2 to 7.4). He’s making guys swing and miss more, he’s putting them on base less, and he’s getting just about everybody out.

Last year, Freeland was a 24-year-old rookie who showed some promise. He impressed in spurts but finished the year with a .284 BAA and allowed batters to OPS .792 against him. This year, he’s 25 and decided that those numbers are much too high. He’s keeping hitters at a .241 BAA and only allowing a .685 OPS against him. Batters are reaching less, they’re hitting for fewer extra bases, and they’re striking out more. This is math but it’s not rocket science folks. Kyle

Freeland is good, and he deserves your attention.

If you’re into ERA+ (and you should be) check out Kyle Freeland’s ERA+. It’s 144. That’s good for 8th in the National

League. ERA+ is park adjusted so it takes into account Kyle Freeland pitches in a stadium with chasms between and a cigar cooler making sure the balls don’t fly 600 feet into passing cars. Freeland is like those guys who write a best selling novel while working on security for the nuclear plant or something. Constantly working in danger, crushing it anyway.

Say you took Kyle Freeland out of Coors Field, what do you think would happen? He’d kick your ass is what would happen. Baseball Reference neutralizes pitching environments to tell you how a guy would pitch if he didn’t start half his games in a gravity free space pod where giant dragons tear your ball into a gap regardless of where or how hard it was hit. Freeland’s hits allowed drop a full point, his career ERA drops to 2.39, and he earns a couple no-decisions instead of losses.

Basically, if Kyle Freeland pitched in a non-Coors ballpark he’d be a Cy Young candidate. But he doesn’t care about that—he wants to pitch in Coors. He’s pretty good at that too.

Check this out: in six starts at home this season he’s been outstanding. All that stuff about park neutralization I just talked about? Throw it in the damn trash. Kyle Freeland is a Coors Guy and he is making sure you know it. At home he’s 19

sporting a 2.95 ERA this season, and batters are only hitting .231 against him. And he’s doing it all in a stadium that is famous for consuming the soul of thousands of pitchers.

There are ghosts of pitchers lining the sidewalk warning people from trying to pitch here like it’s a haunted mansion with a mysterious evil. But Kyle doesn’t care. He goes into the evil mansion with a smile on his face and a haircut that I still don’t totally understand. He walks out with a ghost’s head on his shoulder and some kind of ectoplasm keeping his hair in place. Kyle Freeland doesn’t care if you’re scared of Coors because he’s not. He’ll protect you, don’t worry.

In a year in which everyone is going to yell about which pitcher has disappointed them the most in terms of hits allowed, why not instead just forget it all and throw your support behind the Kyle Freeland cause? He’s the favorite son. He just moved down the street. He’s unable to disappoint. Instead of yelling at strangers online, consider this: Don’t. Cheer for

Freeland instead.

Join the Kyle Freeland Fan Club today.

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Colorado Rockies: Frustration setting in once again with Jon Gray

Kevin Henry / Rox Pile | Jun 28, 2018

Let the Jon Gray debate rage on. Let the haters continue to say he isn’t worthy of a spot in the rotation.

Let the “bust” tag continue to be thrown around like a football on John Elway’s birthday.

Let all of those things happen … but here is the simple truth. There is no one who is more frustrated about what is going on with Jon Gray than Jon Gray.

In mid-April in Washington, D.C., I stood at Gray’s locker as he explained another loss after the Rockies had given him an early 2-0 lead. You could see the frustration in his reddening eyes. He knew he was better than this and that the

Rockies deserved better than this.

Flash forward to Thursday in San Francisco. Colorado’s offense clicks to give Gray a 5-2 lead in the top of the fourth. San

Francisco answers quickly, starting with a walk by Andrew McCutchen and a hard lineout by Brandon Crawford. Two things showed just in those two at-bats. First, Gray’s control was wobbling. Second, his pitches were starting to elevate.

Single. Walk. Double. Single. That’s what followed and that’s why the Giants tied the game 5-5. Yet Gray ended the frame by striking out Hunter Pence and Alen Hanson. Perhaps that is what is so maddening about Gray in 2018. Moments of complete dominance can be followed by examples of poor pitching.

A bunt single and hard single up the middle spelled the end for Gray in the top of the fifth. A hard slap on the back from

Colorado manager Bud Black sent him off the field as Gray stared straight ahead. Frustration from the manager and pitcher showed in that brief moment on the mound.

What will it take for Jon Gray to become a solid starter in every outing? Right now, it could take a trip to the disabled list to clear his head. The Rockies are trying it with Bryan Shaw. Perhaps it’s time for the same course of action to occur with a pitcher who has a lot riding on his shoulders. Gray knows he is supposed to be the cornerstone of the rotation. He also knows he’s not living up to that moniker right now, partially because he can’t stop an inning from going south in a hurry when things start to unravel.

Losers of four straight games, including a pair of heartbreaking losses in the first two games in San Francisco, Colorado needed something good to happen on Thursday. In a disappointing and underwhelming season so far, in the 81st game of the season, it didn’t come from their starting pitcher. 21

Yes, there were some positives during Gray’s time on the mound from the offense, including Ian Desmond continuing his rejuvenation with a two-run triple during Colorado’s fourth-inning outburst. The Rockies need all the positives they can muster right now.

And whatever positive energy and solid play they can find, they need it to follow them down the California coast to Los

Angeles, where they will open a three-game set against the Dodgers on Friday night. Chasing every team except the San

Diego Padres in the division standings, every game against a National League West foe becomes even more important now that the second half of the season is officially underway.

If the schedule holds, Gray will get another chance at the Giants when the Rockies return home for a three-game set against San Francisco beginning on Monday. It will be another chance for Gray to step up for the Rockies … and another chance for every pitch to be dissected and judged. Such is the life of a pitcher who is believed to have ace qualities … but isn’t pitching like one on a consistent basis.

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Colorado Rockies: Comparing 2018’s first half to 2017

Aaron Hurt / Rox Pile | Jun 28, 2018

It’s 81 games down and 81 games to go. The Colorado Rockies have reached the midway point of the season, which means we are drawing closer to the All-Star break and, more importantly, the trade deadline.

As the Rockies continue to play their way out of playoff contention with the recent series loss to the ,

I thought it would be a good time to do one of my favorite exercises and compare this season to last through the first 81 games.

So let’s take a look back and do some comparing as I stack up the numbers from this season to the 2017 playoff-bound

Rockies at the halfway mark of the season.

2017 2018

Record 47-34 39-42

Home 22-15 15-22

Road 25-19 24-20

Games Back 5.5 8

Wildcard GB +6.5 5

RS/RA 410/377 382/430

Runs Per Game 5.06 4.72

RA Per Game 4.65 5.31

1-Run Games 11-3 11-9

Vs NL WEST 25-19 13-19

The biggest eye-popping stat is the reversal of the run differential between this season and last. The Rockies have gone from +33 runs to -48. Both pitching and hitting deserve some blame but since teams are scoring more than a half a run more a game, let’s start with the pitching.

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The regression of the starting pitching staff, not including Kyle Freeland, has been a big factor in the Rockies struggles this season. The regression has been so bad that even Mr. himself, Tyler Chatwood, had a lower ERA

(4.32) through 81 games last season than every starter except Freeland this season.

The letdown by so-called “ace” Jon Gray has been the biggest surprise. As our Kevin Henry wrote yesterday, frustration and the lack of consistency is killing Gray and has led to his ERA to balloon to an unacceptable 5.77.

The bullpen issues have been talked about immensely so I won’t bore you with that but the ‘pen’s struggles does help explain why the Rockies are 11-9 in one-run games compared to 11-3 last season.

On the offensive side, Charlie Blackmon and DJ LeMahieu‘s lack of production at the top of the lineup has hindered this team compared to last season. Through 81 games last year, Blackmon’s and LeMahieu’s slash lines were .314/.369/.575 and .302/.360/.381, respectively, with 106 combined runs scored and 95 RBI. Now they are sitting at .274/.350/.466 and

.280/.332/.444 with a combined 101 runs scored and 65 RBI (this includes DJ’s Thursday afternoon heroics).

Obviously the slow start by Ian Desmond and poor production from the bench has also helped the in the offensive woes, but the bats have woken up lately as they have scored 90 runs in the last 15 games.

Honestly, the Rockies are very lucky at this point be only three games under .500. With the flip-flop in run differential, the

Rockies could easily be completely out of the playoff picture and it is not even July. Hopefully LeMahieu’s ninth-inning blast is exactly what the Rockies needed to energize them back into the playoff race.

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LeMahieu wills Rockies to comeback win in San Fran

Drew Creasman / BSN Denver | Jun 28, 2018

David John LeMahieu was just not going to let his team lose this one.

Looking at a 3-2 count with a runner at first down by one, having already given his team the lead twice earlier in the game—seemingly out of sheer will—he smashed a screaming line drive to left for a two-run home run, his eighth of the season, seven coming out on the road. Those were his fourth and fifth RBI in the game, a masterful performance to power the Colorado Rockies to a 9-8 victory over the San Francisco Giants in one of the wildest games of the season.

The Rockies took the lead in the first on a solo home run off the bat of Nolan Arenado who has become a kind of first- inning-home-run artist.

The lead didn’t last long, however, as the Giants swung the score in their favor in just two batters in the bottom of the second. Gray left fastballs up for Alen Hanson, who doubles, and Brandon Belt who homered into the bay to give San

Francisco a 2-1 lead.

But Colorado came storming back with a big fourth inning. It began with Carlos Gonzalez ripping a double to right field and moving up to third on a Trevor Story single to center. Gerardo Parra knocked in Gonzalez on a single through the hole on the right side and Ian Desmond made it four consecutive hits, delivering the big shot by lining one into the gap appropriately nicknamed “Triples Alley” for a three-bagger.

With the infield pulled in, a Tony Wolters groundball failed to score Desmond and Gray struck out looking, but DJ

LeMahieu came through with a two-out single back up the middle to cash in on the triple and give the Rockies a 5-2 advantage.

That advantage was immediately squandered.

As has often been the case this season, Gray seemed to lose his focus for a moment, leading to a dreadful inning. He began the fourth by walking Andrew McCutchen. He then got away with a poorly located fastball to Brandon Crawford to lined out to right but didn’t get away with another one, giving up a single to Pablo Sandoval.

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After a mound visit from manager Bud Black, Gray walked Nick Hundley to load the bases then surrendered an opposite- field double to Joe Panik that scored a pair, pulling the Giants to within one. Gorkys Hernandez followed with a game- tying single just past a diving attempt from Story at shortstop.

With a pair of runners still aboard and Chris Rusin rapidly warming up in the bullpen, it seemed Gray was at the end of his rope, but he settled down and struck out Hunter Pence and Hanson to end the frame with the game tied at five runs apiece.

Rusin stayed on for the sixth and worked a 1-2-3 inning.

The Rockies backed him up by mounting a rally in the top of the seventh. Chris Iannetta, pinch-hitting for Wolters, lined a single to center and moved up to third on a second-straight pinch-hit, a double off the bat of Noel Cuevas.

LeMahieu came to the plate in another clutch situation and did what he does best once again, taking a measured approach and hitting a hard groundball up the middle to score two and put the Rockies back on top at 7-5.

Colorado gave one back in as unlikely a fashion as you are going to see. Hanson reached on a fielding error by Arenad0

(not a typo) on a groundball that just went right between his legs. Jake McGee got Belt but McCutchen would make the

Rockies pay for the error with a groundball double just inside the third-base bag to make it 7-6.

McGee struck out Crawford and got Sandoval to fly out to center, stranding the tying run at second base.

In an odd half-inning, both Story and Parra reached on singles but were thrown out at second base by Nick Hundley who had only successfully done that three other times all year.

Those missed opportunities held extra sting when everything that could go wrong did go wrong for Adam Ottavino in the eighth.

It began with a bloop single by Joe Panik. Then, for the second time in three games, Otto issued a walk to Hernandez after a pitch that was clearly in the strike zone—and should have been strike three—was called a ball. Naturally, that was followed up by a second bloop single, this one from pinch-hitter who lofted one to left that Parra seemed to settle near then lose in the sun.

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With the bases loaded and one out, the Rockies were still clinging to the lead and brought the infield in just a bit. That backfired when Hanson bounced a double just inside the first-base bag, scoring a pair of runs to give the Giants an 8-7 lead. Had Desmond been playing in a normal position, that would likely have been an inning-ending-lead-saving double play.

Otto then intentionally walked Belt before striking out McCutchen and getting Crawford to ground out to first, but the damage had been done.

But the Rockies would not go away.

Chris Iannetta set the stage for LeMahieu’s dramatics and Wade Davis, who had been knocked around in his last few appearances, secured a mercifully quick save with a 1-2-3 inning to salvage a game in the series for Colorado.

This is the first game in 2018 that the Rockies won after trailing going into the final frame.

FINAL STATS:

Jon Gray: 4 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 7 K

Chris Rusin: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Jake McGee: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Adam Ottavino: 1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

Wade Davis: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 K (S: 22)

DJ LeMahieu: 3-for-4, 1 R, 5 RBI, (HR: 8)

Trevor Story: 3-for-4, 1 R

Nolan Arenado: 1-for-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, HR (19)

Chris Iannetta: 2-for-2, 1 R

Gerardo Parra: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI

Carlos Gonzalez: 1-for-4, 1 R

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In need of pitching relief, the Rockies can’t seek shelter

Derek Kessinger / Mile High Sports | Jun 28, 2018

Colorado Rockies General Manager Jeff Bridich tried to throw money at his team’s bullpen in the offseason and it cost the team a shot at the playoffs. With the Rockies trailing in the National League West by nearly double-digits, the hope of a division title is gone. The Wild Card also isn’t going to play into their hands. This team is sliding fast—without much hope in the way of relief (or relievers).

If Jeff Bridich went to Princeton instead of Harvard, perhaps he would have read one of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s books. Fitzgerald’s novels, backed by a Princeton education, have similar morals. Throwing money at a problem will not solve it.

I don’t blame Bridich for boldly trying to fix the bullpen this offseason. The Rockies play at altitude, so there’s not an easy way to heal a bullpen, other than through development and/or taking chances on older guys or pitchers with a history of injuries. He just overcommitted this year to create the most expensive bullpen in league history.

Jake McGee’s big contract wasn’t quite deserved, but the choice to retain him is understandable since he was already a proven member of the bullpen. The Rockies probably should have picked between Wade Davis and Brian Shaw. I take that back—they should have looked into the future somehow and not signed Brian Shaw.

Shaw is zero for four in save opportunities and that’s just the first woeful stat for a sorry season that has finally found

Shaw on the disabled list.

The other problem with this money spending is that it’s taking up resources that could have been spent on their own guys.

While no one could have foreseen the reemergence and utter dominance of Adam Ottavino, he’s now due a big raise next season.

The Rockies best taste of the offseason may be trading some assets like Ottavino and D.J. LeMaheuiu. At least fans would be able to watch them pursue a ring elsewhere.

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At this point, the Rockies performances from the bullpen feel like a Road Runner cartoon. How is the Rockies pitching staff going to let this one get away? Stay tuned. It will be spectacular. I just wish they could add some Looney Tunes sound effects to lessen the pain.

Some of the ‘best’ bullpen losses have included the three leads blown on Father’s Day, Brian Shaw giving up his first career grand slam in another wasted 7th inning and Adam Ottavino being squeezed by the umpire in the strike zone this week. All of those happened in the second half of June.

The number of losses attributed to the bullpen actually seems pretty small in comparison with their overall record—just 15 at the writing of this article out of 42. Brian Shaw has lost five; Musgraves three; Davis, McGee and Rusin two. Three more losses came out of the bullpen, including one from Ottavino.

The Rockies bullpen ERA is the worst in the league. They’ve given up the second most runs of any set of relievers in baseball. This doesn’t even factor in the implosions by the bullpen when the games were still manageable.

No relief from the summer heat? Blame the Rockies bullpen.

Sadly, the rest of the team started to get it together in June. The Rockies have miraculously only used five starters and

Jon Gray was settling back into his position there. The early struggles of Ian Desmond and Carlos Gonzalez were fading, as the Rockies bats got hot around the lineup.

Everything was setting up well for the Rockies except for the set-up men themselves. Teams don’t often go on miraculous runs in baseball and the Rockies used both of their’s last decade in 2007 and 2009. Another miracle is all that can keep Colorado’s baseball hopes alive in 2018.

With Nolan Arenado’s contract expiring after next season, the rest of this season might be best spent trying to fix things for next year. Hopefully, the solution is something other than throwing money at the plate.

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Rockies rock Giants, come back in ninth to win 9-8 on LeMahieu’s home run

Rich Kurtzman / Mile High Sports | Jun 28, 2018

Offense, get your offense here!

The Colorado Rockies rocked the baseball in San Francisco Thursday afternoon for 14 hits, including the comeback home run in the ninth inning to win 9-8.

This contest was a see-saw affair, in which the Rockies and Giants each led three times — and they were tied 5-5 — until

D.J. LeMahieu’s two-run bomb left the building to push the Rockies ahead for the win late in the game.

The game got off to a quick start as Nolan Arenado hit a solo homer into the centerfield bleachers for the 1-0 Rockies lead. But San Francisco’s Brandon Belt belted one off of Jon Gray, a two-run bomb, to steal the lead at 2-1 in the bottom of the first inning.

After some hits left Colorado runners stranded on the bases, the fourth inning brought fireworks.

Colorado scored four in the inning starting with Gerardo Parra knocking a single to score Carlos Gonzalez. Then, Ian

Desmond came through huge as his triple scored two more to take the 4-2 lead. That was pushed to 5-2, Rockies, when

D.J. LeMahieu singled and scored Desmond.

That lead was quickly erased, though, as Gray gave up three runs in the bottom of the fourth; Joe Panik doubled to score two, then Gorkys Hernandez singled to score one more and knot the game up at 5-5.

That fourth — and then allowing the first two batters to reach base in the fifth inning — ended Gray’s day; he went 4.0 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits while striking out seven. Trevor Story came up with a superb unassisted double play as he caught a line drive and doubled up Belt at second quickly, and Chris Rusin was able to get the final out of the inning without allowing a run.

Fast forward to the seventh inning and Colorado stole the lead back at 7-5. That scoring started when Chris Iannetta singled, followed by a Noel Cuevas double — who pinch-hit for Rusin — and then LeMahieu singled to score those two.

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Jake McGee then came in to pitch for the Rockies, allowing San Francisco to get back within a run when Andrew

McCutchen doubled to score in the seventh.

And then in the eighth, Adam Ottavino gave up two more runs and gave up the lead, too. Panik singled, Hernandez walked, Buster Posey singled and then Alen Hanson doubled to score two and take the 8-7 advantage after eight innings.

But, the Rockies weren’t dead yet. Iannetta hit a single and then LeMahieu went yard, taking the lead and scoring the winning runs. Wade Davis then came in and retired the side to save the win for the purple and black.

It wasn’t just the road team hitting well in this one, San Francisco hit 12 of their own, but came up just short.

For Colorado, it meant breaking a four-game losing streak and avoiding a sweep at the hands of the Giants.

The Rockies are now 39-42 on the year, eight games back of the NL West leading Arizona Diamondbacks. Next up,

Colorado faces the Dodgers for three games in L.A.

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‘I’m tired of coming to the ballpark and losing’: Nolan Arenado feeling the strain of another Rockies season stuck in the middle

Nick Groke / The Athletic | June 29, 2018

SAN FRANCISCO — Nolan Arenado processes losing on a blunt and personal level, as if any pitch he missed was the sole cause of a slide down the standings. But the gap between his ability and the Rockies’ place in baseball has never been more stark than it is now.

Arenado, who homered again in the first inning Thursday in the Rockies’ come-from-behind 9-8 victory over the Giants, is among the front-runners for National League MVP, a Gold Glove third baseman with a league-best .976 OPS.

His surge has not coincided with victories. Their win Thursday snapped a four-game skid. But the Rockies at the halfway point are three games south of even, a mediocre team stuck in the middle. And Arenado is tired of it.

“I just get pissed because I don’t want to lose anymore,” he said. “I’ve only been to the playoffs once and it was only one game. And I really want more than that.”

With free agency speeding toward him after the 2019 season, Arenado and the Rockies are quickly approaching a reckoning. His two-year, $29.5 million contract in arbitration ends this season, but while Colorado retains his rights next season, it seems unlikely he would play through the end if the Rockies are not contending for the postseason.

“I’m tired of coming to the ballpark and losing,” he said. “We work too hard as a group to experience that. I’m not saying I go home questioning, like, ‘I don’t like this place.’ I love it here. But yeah, I want to win. And the more we lose, the more I

— if you lose all the time, nobody wants to be there.”

In Arenado’s five previous seasons, the Rockies never finished better than third in their division and they sank to last place twice. Among baseball’s best players since 2015, according to Fangraph’s WAR, no player in the top 30 has played in fewer postseason games in their career than Arenado.

And 2018 is trending in the same direction. The Rockies held first place in the National League West as recently as June

6, but in the past 25 games before Thursday, they went 8-17. And six of those victories came against three of the worst teams in baseball, the Reds, Mets and Marlins.

At 39-42, the Rockies remain nearer to last place than to first, a full eight games behind the division-leading

Diamondbacks.

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“We can talk about it all we want,” Arenado said. “We’ve been talking about this since April. How are we going to turn it around? Blah blah. We haven’t yet.”

The Rockies were not a good baseball team through the first half — and the causes are clear. By wRC+, a park-adjusted measure of overall offensive production, the Rockies are worst in the NL. Their pitcher’s park-adjusted ERA is fourth- worst.

This teetering toward irrelevancy has left the Rockies and general manager Jeff Bridich in the difficult position of waiting.

True, they are a small winning streak away from reaching .500. True, the NL West is an imminently winnable division. And they are just 4 1/2 games away from the wild-card cutoff line before late games Thursday, but five teams were in front of them for the last spot.

“We’re only seven or eight games out (in the division) and I feel like we’ve played absolutely terrible,” Arenado said.

The Nationals, one game away from a wild-card spot through Wednesday, two weeks ago traded for Royals closer Kelvin

Herrera in a move to bolster their bullpen. Washington is prepared to contend. USA Today on Wednesday reported that the Dodgers are a front-runner to acquire Orioles all-star Manny Machado. The Diamondbacks are also in the running.

They are preparing for the postseason.

So the Rockies are forced to wait on the bubble. If they were to make a blockbuster trade at this point, one month from the trade deadline, it would smack of desperation more than contention.

“They’re in an awkward position,” Arenado said of Colorado’s front office. “They’re probably wondering. They probably don’t know how to approach it right now. Only we know how to approach it and that’s winning ballgames. Hopefully we can put the pressure on them to go get guys. The more we win, the more they’re going to have to make a move.”

He would certainly welcome some assistance. The Rockies last season traded for sidearm reliever and catcher , two veterans who pushed them over a hump as Colorado qualified for a wild-card playoff, their first postseason since 2009.

Those moves, though, arrived in July when the Rockies were hovering 15 games above .500. At this point, they are 16 games worse compared to last season.

“There’s urgency. There has to be,” Arenado said. “I know we’re only at the halfway point, but we’re not trying to lose ground. These other teams, they’re going to pick up guys. The Diamondbacks, the Dodgers, the Giants, they’re going to make moves if they’re close. We have to stay close because we want to be able to compete with those teams. 33

“But the more ground we lose, we’re going to be in trouble,” he said. “They’re going to be better and we have to trust who we have in here because that’s how (the front office) usually approach it.”

Arenado at times cannot look past his own blame, even as the disparity between his production and his team’s fortune grows. He crushed the Dodgers for six hits in a three-game series at Coors Field to start June, as his OPS ran to 1.007.

But the Rockies were swept with three losses. An 0-19 slump a week later left his OPS at .931, but the Rockies went 2-3 over that stretch.

“When you’re losing, those weeks are harder because you’re struggling and you feel like you’re not contributing. And those hurt the most,” Arenado said. “You feel like you’re hurting the team more than helping it.”

Arenado’s homer off Chris Stratton in the first inning Thursday was his 10th at AT&T Park, second-most among active visiting players, one short of and one more than Troy Tulowitzki.

His numbers continue to impress. But it is difficult to win an MVP award on an irrelevant team. And the Rockies are stuck in the middle.

“Big picture, I know I am helping the team,” Arenado said. “I know I come to the park every day and work hard. I know my teammates appreciate that. Just like I appreciate my teammates who might be struggling, because they’re working hard trying to find a way. They may not feel it, but I see it. And I appreciate it.

“But it does hurt.”

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LeMahieu caps big day with HR in 9th, Rockies top Giants 9-8

Associated Press / ESPN.com | June 29, 2018

SAN FRANCISCO -- It didn't seem to matter much who was pitching against DJ LeMahieu. After striking out in his first at- bat, the Rockies leadoff hitter was as locked in as he's been all season.

Especially in the ninth inning when Colorado trailed.

LeMahieu hit a two-run homer in the ninth and set a career best with five RBI as the Rockies rallied past the San

Francisco Giants 9-8 on Thursday to snap a four-game losing streak.

"It was a good one to win," LeMahieu said. "I feel like we've been on the other end of that for the last couple of weeks so it was good to win that one late."

Nolan Arenado hit his 19th home run, tying him for the National League lead with Washington's Bryce Harper. Trevor

Story added three hits for Colorado, which had lost four straight at San Francisco.

The Rockies blew leads of 5-2 and 7-5 and were down 8-7 before scoring twice off closer Sam Dyson (2-2) to avoid a series sweep.

Chris Iannetta hit a leadoff single in the ninth and was replaced by pinch-runner Pat Valaika. After pinch-hitter Tom

Murphy popped out, LeMahieu sent a full-count pitch from Dyson into the left-field stands.

Two nights earlier, Dyson got LeMahieu to ground into a game-ending double play with the tying run on base.

"It was roughly where we wanted," Dyson said. "I figured we'd go (inside) like we did two nights ago. Just didn't get it far enough in there."

It was a big hit for a ballclub that had been 0-37 when trailing going into the ninth.

"That was a big swing when the momentum shifted back to them in a big way," Rockies manager Bud Black said. "It takes a special moment and a special swing to get it back on our side and DJ put a great swing on that ball. It was awesome."

LeMahieu had an RBI single as part of Colorado's four-run fourth. His two-run single off Ty Blach in the seventh gave the

Rockies a 7-5 lead.

Each of LeMahieu's hits came off different pitchers.

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"He knows the opposition, he knows pitchers," Black said. "He's as prepared as any player I've been around."

Adam Ottavino (4-1) gave up two runs but retired three batters to win. Wade Davis pitched the ninth for his 22nd save.

All three games in the series were decided by one run.

Brandon Belt hit a two-run homer, Joe Panik had two hits and two RBI while Pablo Sandoval and Andrew McCutchen also had two hits for San Francisco.

The Giants trailed most of the afternoon but took an 8-7 lead in the eighth when Alen Hanson doubled in two runs.

"That was a hard fought game," San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. "Tough one when you have a lead in the ninth and we couldn't hold on to it. Sam was just a little bit off."

Arenado homered off starter Chris Stratton in the first, his 10th this season in the opening frame.

It was also Arenado's 10th career home run at AT&T Park, tying former Rockies infielder Troy Tulowitzki for second-most among visiting players. Arizona's Paul Goldschmidt has 11.

Neither starter factored in the decision and had nearly identical lines.

Stratton allowed five runs on eight hits in four innings. Colorado's Jon Gray also gave up five runs in four innings but yielded seven hits with seven strikeouts.

BACK TO BACK

Giants catcher Nick Hundley threw out a pair of runners trying to steal second base in consecutive at-bats in the eighth.

Story hit a leadoff single but was thrown out. Gerardo Parra then reached on an error but was quickly erased when he tried to take second

GOLDEN COMPANY

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, a noted Dodgers fan, attended the game and sat next to the Giants dugout, at one point reaching over to shake hands with Bochy.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Giants: C Buster Posey was held out of the starting lineup due to the pitching matchup but had a pinch-hit single in the eighth.

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