MEDIA CLIPS – July 15, 2017

The and : A tale of struggles, homers and acceptance

By Albert Chen / Sports Illustrated | July 14th, 2017

Before we get to the top-secret projects, or the ghost stories that will make your hair stand on end, or the key to cracking the most baffling puzzle in , let’s begin with the first chewed up and spit out by the beast.

It was 1993, the first year of in Colorado. In front of 67,000 fans at Mile High Stadium, freshly minted Rockies closer Darren Holmes dashed from the to the mound, unaware that he was heading straight into the teeth of the monster. “I thought I was Lee Smith,” recalls Holmes, then a brash, goateed 27-year-old righthander whom the Rockies regarded so highly that they had taken him with the fifth overall pick in the expansion draft five months earlier.

In his debut Holmes gave up three straight singles, a double and a walk before recording his first out. He threw 24 pitches and allowed seven runs in a 19–9 loss. He took the mound again in the following game, and with the chance to close out a 4–2 win, Holmes—suddenly unable to locate his , his signature pitch—walked the first three hitters he faced, allowed three runs to score, blew the and took the loss.

The previous season, in Milwaukee, he had been one of the best relievers in the game. It took two weeks in

Colorado for him to be banished to the minors, his confidence in pieces.

The list of who have been crushed by the beast is long—they range from the prominent to the obscure, from high-priced free agents to waiver-wire pickups, from that first Colorado team to members of the 2016 staff, which

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was among the majors’ worst. Holmes and his 1993 teammates could not pinpoint the reasons for their diminished powers in their home park, but they did begin to notice strange things in the thin air: breaking balls that didn’t break and that jumped off the bat “like golf balls on the moon,” as Tony Gywnn would put it. “The second season, people started talking about the effects of altitude,” says Holmes. “Then we moved to Coors Field [in 1995], and the mystique of pitching in altitude got bigger and bigger, and the beast has gotten so big now that it’s all people think about.”

Holmes rejoined the big league team later in 1993, and he ended up pitching for the Rockies for five often successful seasons before leaving as a free agent. Three years ago, while enjoying a quiet life in retirement as an independent pitching in North Carolina, he got an unexpected phone call. It was the Rockies, coming off a 96-loss season and still trying to solve the puzzle of high-altitude baseball, asking Holmes to return as a coach. “To come back to the scene of the crime,” he says.

As he spoke, Holmes, now in his third season as a bullpen coach, was sitting in the coach’s locker room in

Philadelphia one afternoon in late May. Colorado was the surprise of baseball: the leader in the NL West with a young pitching staff that was then on pace to post the lowest ERA in franchise history, in a season in which home rates across the majors were at a record high. (The team has cooled off since then but still has a 7.5-game wild- card lead with a nearly league-average 4.45 ERA through Sunday.) The start was beginning to prompt questions about whether the Rockies, after all these years, might have finally figured out how to slay the beast.

To those questions, Holmes only laughs. The man knows better. He will tell you: No one will ever kill the beast.

*****

This is the 25th season of the Rockies franchise, and there is still something refreshingly singular about baseball in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains: the electric purple uniforms that make traditionalists’ stomachs turn; the breathtaking vistas—a life-sized Bierstadt painting just beyond the outfield—and hail storms that seem to have blown in from north of The Wall in Westeros; a brand of homer-happy baseball that seems controlled by 12-year-olds with joysticks. After years of analysis—physicists across the country have made a second living off Coors Field–related study—there are no more mysteries about why baseball in Colorado is the way it is. It’s no secret that because games are being played at 5,200 feet, where the air density is about 80% of what it is at sea level, air resistance is

20% less, baseballs carry 20% farther and breaking pitches move 20% less. (If you have your doubts, “The 2

Coefficient of Restitution of Baseballs as a Function of Relative Humidity” is available online.) It’s also no secret that pitchers are at a further disadvantage because reduced oxygen levels at altitude tax the body and make recovery after each game and workout more difficult than at sea level.

And it’s no secret that pitching at Coors Field is the toughest and, perhaps, the least desired job in baseball. Any longtime Rockies player will tell you so. They remember what Mike Hampton, still the highest-paid free-agent pitcher in franchise history, said after he left in 2002 with a 6.15 ERA just two seasons into a eight-year, $121 million deal: “I was going to prove it could be done or die trying. I almost died trying.” They remember what venerated pitching coach Dave Duncan said while with the Cardinals: “I don’t think there’s any circumstance I would feel comfortable as a coach in this ballpark. It would challenge me beyond my ability to accept the challenge.” Holmes, who played with the Braves after leaving Colorado, recalls the Atlanta teams of the early 2000s adjusting their all-world rotation so that their best pitchers at the time would be skipped in Colorado. “It was, Which one of the three is going to win the

Cy Young?” he says. “Because whoever’s got the best statistics, we’ll hold them out.”

Still, one can find evidence—sporadic, not sustained—of pitchers enjoying success in Colorado. When Dodgers starter Hideo Nomo tossed a no-hitter in 1996 at Coors, the event was hailed like a moon landing. “I’m betting it won’t be done again,” L.A. first baseman Eric Karros said at the time, and 21 years later he’s still waiting. The

Rockies, with a better-than-league-average staff, went to the in 2007, and the team made the postseason again in 2009. But they haven’t returned since.

Year after year, while Colorado’s offense consistently ranks among the league’s best, the pitching conundrum remains at the root of the losing. (In all but eight years of the team’s existence, the staff has ranked dead last in the

NL in ERA.) To solve the riddle, the Rockies have gone to extreme measures, from the installation of a ball-storing humidor in 2002 to the implementation of a four-man rotation in 2012 to last season’s raising of fences. Five years ago the Rockies held their starters to a 75-pitch limit, with three ‘piggyback’ relievers eating the middle . The plan was initiated by then general Dan O’Dowd and referred to within the executive offices as Project 5183, in honor of Coors Field’s base elevation. When it was unveiled to the public, it was bold, it was revolutionary—and it was a massive failure: The staff again finished last in ERA as the team lost a franchise-worst 98 games. “You start to think of every freaking thing to not get your ass handed to you year after year,” says one longtime official. “And I mean every freaking thing.”

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The Rockies have conducted studies into weather patterns, into heat and humidity on game days. (The Rockies are the only team in baseball with their own weather station at the ballpark.) They have hired a slew of consultants. For every idea that has been put in place, dozens have been discussed but either scrapped or set aside. Years ago officials considered turning the ballpark into a dome and pressurizing it to mitigate the effects of the thin air. More recently the front office and training staff discussed converting the entire home clubhouse at Coors Field into a hyperbaric chamber to help players recover in an environment where there’s a lack of oxygen.

“Every little thing has been studied. One approach was, ‘We’re going to run all the time to be more in shape than the other guys,” says reliever Adam Ottavino, who, in his sixth season, is the longest-tenured pitcher on staff. “But the only thing that happened was that everyone was just tired all the time.”

While the humidor did restore some sanity (scoring dropped by nearly 20% in its first year, before going up again in recent seasons), Coors continues to be by far the most inflated offensive environment in the sport. Since 2001 runs per game are about 33% higher there than the league average.

The franchise that’s undergone more reboots than Spider-Man has hit the reset button again this spring with the hiring of former Padres manager Bud Black, the team’s fourth skipper in nine years. The current organizational shift actually began in 2012, with O’Dowd stepping down as GM to focus on revamping the minor league system and longtime pitching coach Mark Wiley coming on as pitching coordinator. Senior director of player development Jeff

Bridich was promoted to GM in 2014 and quickly began stockpiling elite young pitching through the draft: and Robert Tyler (2016), Mike Nikorak (2015), (2014) and (2013) were all first-round selections.

Beginning last year, despite the club’s posting a 4.92 ERA, there were signs that the investment in development was beginning to pay off: Gray went 10–10 with a 4.61 ERA in his first full season; according to Fangraphs WAR—which adjusts for ballpark—it was the best rookie season in baseball. And this season Colorado has fielded an all- homegrown rotation that is the youngest in the majors, featuring Gray (age 25), Freeland (24), (27),

Tyler Chatwood (27), German Márquez (22) and Antonio Senzatela (22), who replaced Gray in the rotation after the ace went down with a foot injury in April. It’s a mix of power pitchers (Gray, Márquez), ground ball specialists

(Chatwood, Freeland) and command artists (Anderson, Senzatela).

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“For a long time there was a belief that sinker-slider was what worked best,” says Steve Foster, who in 2015 took over as Rockies pitching coach, working closely alongside Holmes. “Well, the problem is that sinkers don’t sink as much [at Coors], so you’re essentially going after pitchers who you want to move the ball more to get more ground balls, but it moves less, so you’re handcuffing those guys bringing them here.”

Says front office assistant Bob Apodaca, who was the team’s major league pitching coach for 10 years, “You can look back at the evidence over the years and see that there are no absolutes that might simplify how to win there.

Aaron Cook. Pedro Astacio. . Ubaldo Jiménez. Jorge de la Rosa. Those were my most successful guys— and they were different in the way they succeeded.”

The relievers Bridich acquired over the last two years are all hard throwers with high spin rates on their off-speed stuff: closer Greg Holland and Mike Dunn, signed this off-season, and Jake McGee and Chad Qualls, added a year ago, joined a bullpen that included Ottavino, a power pitcher who has been one of the better relievers in the league over the last six seasons despite pitching at Coors. “Our theory is that we’re looking for guys that have the least amount of contact—power arm, high guys with high spin rates on their breaking ball,” says Foster.

Colorado’s hurlers take the mound armed with information from the Rockies’ expanded analytics group and also from a staff of veteran coaches, from Apodaca to Holmes, who would be qualified to write a user’s guide to pitching in

Coors—one that might begin like this:

Tip No. 1: Change your “sights.” Because breaking balls don’t break as much at home as they do on the road, pitchers should change their aim depending on where they’re pitching. “You typically pick out spots on the catcher, whether it’s his left or right knee, but you make that small adjustment up or down depending on if you’re home or away,” says Freeland. “If you have a big breaking ball and want to get a lot of depth on it, in Colorado you’re going to have to start that pitch a little lower for it to end in the location you want.”

Tip No. 2: Dump your side sessions. The body is taxed more at Coors than at sea level, so to save energy some

Rockies cut their side sessions and workouts when they’re on a home stand.

Tip No. 3: Chew gum. “The air is so dry that no matter how much water I drink, I feel like I’m peeing it all out and I’m hungover without drinking any alcohol,” says Ottavino. Dry air results in dry fingers, which changes a pitcher’s grip.

Chewing gum allows a pitcher to retain more saliva; pitchers are permitted to lick their fingers on the mound.

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Of course, the tricks of the trade can only take a pitcher so far. “Most importantly, you have to be a tough son of a bitch to pitch well in Denver. Mental toughness is the thread that runs through the guys who succeed here,” says

Apodaca. Tough—or maybe even a little crazy. Last winter, when Dunn, a longtime Marlin, was on the market and expressed an interest in pitching for Colorado, the sentiment surprised even those inside the Coors Field offices.

“The reaction was, Wow, he’s f------nuts!” says one Rockies official. “That’s the kind of guy we want!”

*****

Jon Gray believes in ghosts. He was 10 years old when, in bed in his home in Oklahoma, he looked up and saw a woman walking across the room. Terrified, he crawled into bed with his parents, who at first dismissed his vision but later, after other strange occurrences, believed him enough to have the house blessed and, ultimately, to move out.

Gray doesn’t blame anyone for rolling their eyes—“I’d be doing that myself if someone told me about a ghost walking across the room”—but that experience has shaped the way he looks at the world. “Anything unexplained or mysterious has always been very interesting to me,” he says. “I want to know why strange things happen the way they do.”

Gray brought up the story one day at his locker to make a point about facing fears. He’s faced his by embracing them, turning ghost hunting into a hobby: He took his fiancée and dad for two nights to the Colorado hotel that inspired The Shining and had MLB Network follow him on one of his expeditions to Milwaukee’s notoriously spooky

Pfister Hotel. When he was drafted by the Rockies No. 3 overall out of Oklahoma, there were plenty of reasons to be scared. “My first year I was at Grand Junction [with the rookie league team, 240 miles from Denver], and I got winded really fast,” he says. “That was a moment when I was like, O.K., pitching here is going to be different. But so what? I liked the challenge.”

To some, the young ace of the Rockies, who gave the team a jolt when he rejoined the rotation in late June and won his first two games back, is Colorado’s great hope—IF JON GRAY CAN’T DO IT FOR THE COLORADO ROCKIES,

SHUT IT DOWN, read the headline in the Colorado Springs Gazette on the day of Gray’s 2015 debut. Gray, who last season was actually better at home (4.30 ERA) than on the road (4.91), has the arsenal to succeed anywhere, with a fastball that reaches the high 90s and one of the majors’ most effective sliders. He also represents a room full of pitchers who are undaunted by the Rockies’ haunted past. These players accept that they’ll see strange things in

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their time as Rockies, that giving up four or even five runs over five innings is more often than not a successful start here.

“Something we talk about is that for every team, there’s something,” says Holmes. “Seattle flies 20,000 miles for a road trip every time. Atlanta plays in dense humidity. If you want to be a Rockie, well, you just have to face different parameters.”

Of course in Colorado more than anywhere else, it’s about how you finish. “I’m the only guy left from the time I came in here, six years ago—every other guy has come and gone,” says Ottavino. “A lot of them are really good pitchers and have gone other places and done well. But half the guys I was with were just defeated by Coors Field. It just got to them eventually. By the end of it you saw them beaten by this place. They got off the plane, and they just didn’t want to show up to face it anymore. Things are going well now, but the true test is going to be what these guys are feeling coming off the plane come August and September.”

After 25 years of baseball in Colorado, a quarter century of madcap experiments and broken souls, this much is clear: There is no magic bullet for conquering the high altitude. If there’s a solution to the greatest puzzle in baseball, the Rockies now understand, it’s simply being better—better at drafting players, better at developing them; better at finding cheap, undervalued pitchers; better at staying strong and healthy, to withstand the inevitable challenges that come with playing in the most unpredictable environment in baseball.

“People think I’m crazy, but I’ve always loved Coors Field,” says Holmes. “There’s nothing like it. It is a great place for baseball. And it is, despite what everyone thinks, a place that can be pitched in.” Holmes thinks back to all the pitchers and coaches who have been shattered by the place. How they all looked for ways to outsmart it, to beat it, to kill it. But it took him more than two decades to understand that they had it all wrong.

You cannot slay the beast. The only thing to do is to learn to live with it.

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Black: LeMahieu 'shows up' in key moments Infielder returns to lineup after sitting out All-Star Game

By Max Gelman / MLB.com | July 14th, 2017

DENVER -- The Rockies sent a franchise-record four All-Stars to Miami on Tuesday, but one of them -- DJ LeMahieu -- didn't see any action.

LeMahieu, who celebrated his 29th birthday Thursday, was back in the lineup Friday in the Rockies' 14-2 loss to the Mets after sitting out the 2017 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard to rest his nagging groin injury. He went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored, and he played all nine innings. LeMahieu had played a full nine- game just twice this month, but manager Bud Black said he believes his second baseman is getting closer to being at full strength.

"He's getting better," Black said Friday afternoon. "He's doing a better job moving around. He feels like he's moving better.

My confidence is growing."

Black admits he has had to manage some recent games around what LeMahieu has been able to do, taking him out for a pinch-runner or a defensive replacement. "Hopefully we'll be looking [at the injury] in the rear-view mirror soon," Black said.

Controversy arose about LeMahieu's selection as an All-Star. From the outside, it had appeared leaving off 2016 National

League Most Valuable Player Award winner Kris Bryant in favor of LeMahieu -- himself the reigning batting champion -- was a major snub.

Part of that reasoning had to do with LeMahieu's sabermetric statistics. Though he's hitting .307/.365/.389, LeMahieu trails Bryant 2.9 to 0.8 in Wins Above Replacement, according to Fangraphs.com.

LeMahieu said although he thinks exit velocity is cool, he "doesn't think there has to be a number for everything" when measuring players.

"I just try to help the team win and try to be a complete player," LeMahieu said last week. "I don't have unbelievable tools or anything, so I just need to be a good solid player trying to help the team win every night."

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Black faced LeMahieu from the division-rival Padres' dugout for 3 1/2 seasons. Black said from that standpoint, one gets a sense of all the little things LeMahieu does to win.

"He's one of those players that when you're on the other side, he beats you," Black said. "Whether it's an instinctual play, whether it's turning the double play, whether it's a sliding play in the hole, whether it's a relay throw, whether it's a base hit

-- all those things.

"You remember David Eckstein? ... He showed up, like, every day, and he helped them win. So he's one of those players, for me."

Black seemed to acknowledge LeMahieu's statistical disadvantage, but he said LeMahieu makes up for it with his "beating the other team" factor.

"In the one game, like [how] the most important thing today is this game, he has a way of showing up," Black said. "You take every at-bat, all the Statcast™ and exit velocities and maybe he doesn't show up, but in a game to win, he shows up in that category."

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Gray on tough start: 'I've got a lot to learn' Starter hoping to be 'back on' after yielding uncharacteristic 8 runs in 2-plus innings

By Danny Knobler / Special to MLB.com | 2:31 AM ET

NEW YORK -- This wasn't the way Jon Gray wanted the second half of the season to begin. It wasn't the way the

Rockies wanted it to begin.

"Our overall game has to get better," Nolan Arenado said Friday, before the Rockies took the field against the Mets for their first game after the All-Star break.

Their game was very good for much of the first half of the season, despite 13 losses in the past 18 games coming into the break. Their hopes remain high for the second half, even after Friday's 14-2 loss to the Mets.

"It's one game, against a guy who was on," manager Bud Black said.

The guy who was on was Mets starter Jacob deGrom, who allowed just four hits in eight innings. The guy who wasn't on was Gray, the 25-year-old right-hander who didn't get an out in the third inning and ended up allowing eight runs on nine hits.

"I just wanted to get some positive energy going," Gray said. "It stinks to let down the team. I think they know I'm going to be back on. Back on, for sure."

Gray pitched well in winning his first two starts since coming off the disabled list. He didn't pitch well Friday, even though four of the Mets' nine hits off him came on softly-hit balls.

"Just a bad start overall," Gray said.

With so many rookies in their rotation, the Rockies look to Gray for some stability, even though this was just his 44th start in the Major Leagues. In this game, at least, Gray wasn't able to provide it.

"There's still a progression to be made," Black said. "Jon's still a guy who has to clear some hurdles."

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Gray wasn't able to clear Friday's hurdles. The Rockies gave him an early lead with an unearned run in the first inning, but

Gray wasn't able to make it last. He made it through the first inning after two Mets reached base, but he gave up two runs in the second and allowed the first six batters to reach in the third.

That third inning began with a softly hit double by Yoenis Cespedes and a bloop single by Jay Bruce, but Gray missed his spot and T.J. Rivera ripped a double past center fielder Charlie Blackmon. Gray made it worse by walking two of the next three batters, sandwiched around a Jose Reyes base hit.

When the inning began to go bad, Gray couldn't find a way to stop it.

"That is something good pitchers do," Black said. "They're able to keep a game at a certain point."

Gray isn't a bad pitcher by any means, but games like this prove he's still not as good as the Rockies believe he can be.

"Oh yeah, I've got a lot to learn," Gray agreed. "Baseball is not going to stop teaching me."

The Mets led, 5-1, when Black went to the bullpen, and reliever Zac Rosscup allowed all three inherited runners to score.

The Mets kept adding on against the rest of the Rockies bullpen, with Jordan Lyles allowing a three-run to Michael Conforto in the seventh inning and Scott Oberg walking in a run in the ninth.

The 14 runs and 19 hits were both the most the Rockies have allowed in a road game this year.

As Black said, it's just one game.

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Rox thumped in opener as staff struggles

By Chris Bumbaca and Danny Knobler / MLB.com | 2:32 AM ET

NEW YORK -- With the second half of the season officially underway, the Mets turned to the lone unscathed member of their starting rotation. Jacob deGrom, the highlight over the past month or so, did not disappoint. deGrom's fantastic outing, coupled with an offensive outburst, gave the Mets a 14-2 win over the Rockies on Friday night at Citi Field.

deGrom won his sixth start in a row and 10th of the season, allowing two runs (one earned) over eight innings. After allowing a run in the first, he retired 14 in a row and finished with 11 . It was the seventh double-digit strikeout effort from deGrom this season and 17th of his career. He has a 1.53 ERA in his past six outings.

"Jake's on a roll right now," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "The team is comfortable when he pitches. They know he's gonna get us deep into games, and I think it leads to increased offense."

The Mets teed off on Rockies starter Jon Gray, who could not record an out in the third and was hooked for eight runs.

Trailing 1-0 entering the second, the Mets took the lead on a deGrom bloop single before posting six runs in the third to chase Gray and turn the evening's proceedings into a rout.

"Jon really couldn't string any at-bats together and pitches together to get out of trouble," Rockies manager Bud Black said.

T.J. Rivera stayed hot by clubbing a solo shot to lead off the fourth, and he finished with three RBIs in a bid to maintain his current status as an everyday player. Michael Conforto, fresh off his first All-Star Game appearance, drove an opposite-field, three-run home run to make it 12-2 in the seventh. Yoenis Cespedes, who entered the game hitting .133 over his past 11 contests, finished 4-for-6 with a double and an outfield assist.

The Rockies have now lost 14 of their past 19 games.

Rockies Nolan Arenado came out of the game in the fifth inning, when the score was 9-1. Arenado fell on his hip after rounding first base in the first inning, but he stayed in the game. Black said the decision to take him out later was just precautionary, and Arenado is expected to be available to play Saturday.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Any way you can get 'em: Lucas Duda led off the second by dunking a single into shallow left before Jose

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Reyes ripped a double down the right-field line. Travis d'Arnaud plated Duda on a slow grounder to third, and deGrom followed with a bloop single that gave the Mets a permanent lead.

Thriller in the third: Gray allowed the first six Mets batters in the third inning to reach, prompting his exit. Rivera roped a two-run double to right-center, and Asdrubal Cabrera's two-out single scored two more. The Mets sent 11 batters to the plate and recorded six hits, with two walks, before the Rockies could escape the inning.

"It's always nice to get the second half kicked off on a good start," Rivera said. "Sometimes you get a day off and you can stay in that rhythm, but four days is tough. I think everybody felt comfortable and that's good to see. You just want to keep that rolling."

QUOTABLE

"It's one game, against a guy who was on." -- Black

UNDER REVIEW

DJ LeMahieu appeared to just beat Cespedes' laser from left field to home plate in the sixth inning on a Gerardo

Parra sac fly until the Mets challenged the safe call on the field. Replay showed that Travis d'Arnaud tagged LeMahieu's back foot before his front foot slid across home plate, ending the sixth inning and resulting in an assist for Cespedes.

The reversal made Collins 15-9 on challenges this season. The review lasted one minute, 20 seconds.

ADDITIONAL NETTING ADDED

Fans seated down the first- and third-base lines arrived to extended netting that now covers the length of the dugouts on both sides. The precaution is another added measure to ensure fan safety.

"I think fan safety is, right now with all of the things that are happening, should be very, very high," Collins said. "I will tell you that when my family comes to the game, home or away, they don't ever sit in the open. Those balls are too fast.

These guys hit the ball too hard. … I think it's a tremendous move that we made to put that netting up."

WHAT'S NEXT

Rockies: Right-hander Tyler Chatwood (6-10, 4.42 ERA), who has a 0.53 ERA in three career starts at Citi Field, gets the start for the Rockies in the middle game of the weekend series on Saturday at 5:10 p.m. MT on MLB.TV.

Mets: The Mets will try and secure a series win and will trot Seth Lugo (3-2, 4.59 ERA) to the mound opposite Chatwood.

It will be the right-hander's second start at home this season. First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. ET on MLB.TV.

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Desmond could return Saturday vs. Mets Following no-hit bid, Freeland's next start to be determined

By Danny Knobler / Special to MLB.com | July 14th, 2017

NEW YORK -- Ian Desmond joined the Rockies as they returned from the All-Star break Friday at Citi Field, but he isn't back on the active roster. Not yet.

"You might see him sooner than you'd think," Rockies manager Bud Black said.

Black didn't go any further than that, but it would hardly be surprising to see Desmond activated from the disabled list for

Saturday's game against the Mets. Desmond, who has been on the disabled list since July 3 with a right calf strain, worked out Thursday at Citi Field.

"We ran him through some things, which he passed," Black said.

Desmond missed the first month of the season after he fractured his left hand in . While he was originally signed with the intention that he would play first base, he became the Rockies' primary left fielder in May and June.

Desmond is hitting .283 in 57 games for the Rockies, with five home runs, 26 RBIs and a .709 OPS.

Worth noting

• Left-hander Kyle Freeland carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning in the Rockies' final game before the All-Star break, but the Rockies aren't ready to say when he'll make his next start. Freeland isn't scheduled to pitch this weekend in New

York, and Black announced that right-hander German Marquez will start Monday at Coors Field against the Padres.

With right-hander Antonio Senzatela potentially returning from Triple-A Albuquerque to start Tuesday, it's possible the

Rockies will give the 24-year-old Freeland a break in an effort to limit his innings.

Senzatela threw 60 pitches in 3 2/3 innings Thursday night for the Isotopes, putting him on schedule to pitch Tuesday.

Senzatela hadn't started a game since June 22, when the Rockies took him out of the rotation to control his innings.

"If he were to start a Major League game, we'd feel good about his ability to pitch into the sixth or seventh, or even the eighth," Black said. Freeland said he hasn't yet been told when he'll make his next start.

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Chatwood hoping for more Citi Field success

By Danny Knobler / Special to MLB.com | July 14th, 2017

Citi Field has been good to Tyler Chatwood. In three career starts there, Chatwood has allowed one run. Not one run per game -- one run in 17 innings.

Chatwood leads the Rockies Saturday night in the middle game of a three-game series against the Mets. He'll face New

York right-hander Seth Lugo, who will be pitching at home for just the second time this season.

Chatwood, who is 6-10 with a 4.42 ERA in 2017, will be looking for his first win since June 8. Lugo, 3-2 with a 4.59 ERA, lost to the Nationals in his most recent start, on July 4.

Three things to know about this game

• Lugo has faced the Rockies just once in his career, pitching three innings in relief July 30, 2016, at Citi Field. He gave up one hit, a single by Charlie Blackmon.

• Ian Desmond could come off the disabled list for the Rockies. Desmond has been out since July 2 with a right calf strain.

He has 18 career home runs against the Mets, his most against any opponent.

• While the Rockies haven't seen Lugo this year, Nolan Arenado has. Lugo struck out Arenado twice in two at-bats in the

World Baseball Classic championship game, when Lugo was playing for Puerto Rico and Arenado for the United States.

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Jon Gray blasted by Mets as Rockies open second half with a road loss The Mets battered Gray for eight runs on nine hits

By Patrick Saunders / Denver Post | July 14th, 2017

NEW YORK — The Rockies’ 14-2 loss to the Mets at Citi Field on Friday night got so ugly, so early, it conjured up some classic quotes from legendary football coach John McKay.

Once, when asked about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ execution, McKay quipped: “I’m in favor of it.”

Another time, McKay famously said: “We didn’t tackle well today, but we made up for it by not blocking.”

Substitute pitch for tackle, and replace blocking with hitting and you get the gist of how the Rockies opened the second half of their season.

Jon Gray, the would-be ace of Colorado’s staff, simply could not command his usually potent stuff. His location was off, his slider was flat and he was gone after two innings, plus six batters. The Mets battered Gray for eight runs on nine hits.

He walked three and struck out one.

“I think it was a little bit of everything,” Gray said. “It was just a bad start altogether. I’ve been there before. It (stinks), I don’t like it. I hate it for my teammates, and I hate it for the guys playing behind me and for the guys who count on me to do good.”

Gray vowed to get better.

“I’ve always shaken it off in the past and gone after the next one,” he said. “Nothing is going to stop me from going out and working hard this week and getting the next one.”

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The Rockies were feeling better about themselves before the All-Star Game when they took two of three from the Chicago

White Sox at Coors Field. But in reality, the Rockies have been sliding for almost three weeks. They have lost 14 of their last 19 games since their high-water mark June 20 when they were 47-26.

Manager Bud Black, however, did not read too much into Friday’s night’s blowout.

“It’s one game, against a guy who was on,” Black said.

The guy who “was on” was New York right-hander Jacob deGrom (10-3), who handled Colorado as he always does. He pitched eight innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on four hits while striking out 11 and walking only one. In five career starts vs. the Rockies, deGrom is 3-0 with an 0.99 ERA.

Plus, the Rockies were facing the Mets’ ace at the wrong time. He improved to 6-0 with a 1.53 ERA over his last six starts.

The six consecutive wins are a career high.

“He is one of the those pitchers who comes over the top and his fastball rides up,” said Carlos Gonzalez, who went 0-for-3 and saw his average dip to .218. “So it’s one of those pitches that is tough to lay off and you see a lot of guys swinging and missing at a high fastball, especially late in the count. That’s why he’s been so successful against this team.”

The 25-year-old Gray, meanwhile seemed off the mark almost from the beginning. True, four of the Mets’ hits were bloopers, but they also roped solid hits off Gray (2-1), who saw his ERA rise from 3.75 to 6.23 after five starts. In four career starts vs. the Mets, Gray is 1-3 with a 9.72 ERA.

“There is still a progression to be made with Jon,” Black said. “Jon is a guy who has to continue to clear some hurdles on the pitching side. And he will in time. For a lot of young pitchers it takes a while to fully maximize who they are.”

While Black boxed Friday’s game up and stored it away as one bad game, Gray was clearly disappointed he didn’t get the

Rockies off to a better start to their second half.

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“I’ve got a lot to learn, and baseball is never going to stop teaching me,” Gray said. “But to me it’s disappointing because this was a really important game for me to start the second half.

“I just wanted to get some good, positive energy going in that first game, and it (stinks) because I let the team down.”

New York scored two runs in a second inning that included a wounded-duck single by Lucas Duda, a solid double to right by Jose Reyes and a bloop RBI single by deGrom.

The Mets salted the game away in the third, sending 11 men to plate and scoring six runs. Yoenis Cespedes opened the inning with a looping double down the first-base line, followed by Jay Bruce’s single to shallow left. Those hits had no steam on them, but T.J. Rivera’s subsequent two-run double was blasted to right-center.

Black gave Gray the hook after Gray walked Travis d’Arnaud to load the bases. Left-handed reliever Zac Rosscup couldn’t stem the tide, giving up an RBI groundout to Michael Conforto and a two-run single to Asdrubal Cabrera.

Rivera opened the fourth with a leadoff home off Rosscup to make it 9-1. The Mets continue their onslaught in the seventh with a three-run homer by Conforto off Jordan Lyles. It was the ninth home run off Lyles in 40 ⅓ innings and his ERA is now 6.69.

In the Mets’ two-run eighth, Colorado reliever Scott Oberg walked three straight batters with two outs to force in a run to wrap a bow around the mess.

The Rockies actually took a 1-0 lead in their first at-bat on Gerardo Parra‘s RBI single. They scratched out another run off deGrom in the sixth when Charlie Blackmon (2-for-4) doubled and came around to score on a wild pitch. The mini-rally ended DJ LeMahieuwas thrown out at home trying to score on a sacrifice fly. LeMahieu was erased by a great throw from

Cespedes in left.

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Ian Desmond likely to return to Rockies on Saturday; other roster moves on the horizon Left fielder and first baseman Ian Desmond worked out Thursday and passed all of the tests

By Patrick Saunders / Denver Post | July 14th, 2017

NEW YORK — Changes are in the offing for the Rockies’ roster as they opened the so-called second half of the season

Friday. A number of moves are pending, and those moves will directly lead to other roster decisions:

— Left fielder and first baseman Ian Desmond worked out Thursday and passed all of the tests. He remained on the 10- day disabled list Friday, but should be close to returning from his right calf strain that put him on the DL on July 3.

“You might see him sooner than you might think,” Black said when asked about Desmond’s progress, an indication that

Desmond will not need to go out on a minor-league rehab assignment. “He had a good day yesterday in Denver, working out. We ran him through a number of things that he passed. He hit and ran the bases.”

— When Desmond comes off the DL, the Rockies will have to make a corresponding move, meaning the team will have to send a player to Triple-A Albuquerque. The most likely candidate is reliever Zac Rosscup, who is currently the fourth left- hander in the bullpen.

However, should the Rockies decide they want to keep an eight-man bullpen, the most likely position candidates to be sent down would be utility infielder , outfielder Raimel Tapia or struggling shortstop .

— Valaika started at short in front of Story on Friday night, though Black said not to read too much into that decision.

“I don’t know if he’s starting ‘ahead’ of Trevor,” Black said. “Pat started last Sunday. He had five RBIs and hit a three-run homer. He did a nice job playing baseball.”

— Black announced that German Marquez will start Monday’s game against San Diego at Coors Field. Tuesday’s starter could be rookie right-hander Antonio Senzatela, who pitched 3 ⅔ innings at Triple-A Thursday.

If that is indeed the case, rookie left-hander Kyle Freeland could be either sent to the bullpen or optioned to Triple-A. Such a move would not be a demotion. After all, Freeland threw 8 ⅔ innings of no-hit ball against the on

Sunday in the final game before the all-star break.

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But having Freeland skip a start or two would be part of the Rockies’ overall plan to lighten the load on their young pitchers over the course of the season, as opposed to shutting them down completely. Also, keep in mind that Freeland threw 126 pitches in his near no-hitter against the White Sox.

Senzatela was originally moved to the bullpen to preserve his arm. With Double-A Hartford last year, he threw just 34 ⅔ innings. After two long-relief appearances with the Rockies, his big-league total reached 92 ⅓ innings. His start at Triple-A

Thursday night was his first since being optioned July 8.

Footnotes. Second baseman DJ LeMahieu, who was selected for the All-Star Game but did not play, is still not 100 percent healthy. His groin strain is healing, allowing him to play, and LeMahieu expects to be 100 percent healthy in a few days. … Gerardo Parra hit cleanup Friday night as the Rockies tried to capitalize on his hot streak. Since returning from the DL on July 7, the outfielder was batting 7-for-13 (.538) with three doubles and five RBIs.

Looking ahead

Rockies RHP Tyler Chatwood (6-10, 4.42 ERA) at Mets RHP Seth Lugo (3-2, 4.59), 5:10 p.m. Saturday, AT&T

SportsNet; 850 AM

Chatwood pitched reasonably well in his last start, allowing three runs on eight hits over six innings, but the Rockies lost the game to Cincinnati at Coors Field and Chatwood was saddled with his third consecutive loss. As has been the case over the last two seasons, Chatwood has been much better at home than on the road this year, going 4-5 with a 3.19

ERA. He has been excellent against the Mets at Citi Field, posting a 2-0 record with a 0.53 ERA in three starts. Lugo has never started against the Rockies, but he did face them as a reliever last season, giving up two runs on one hit in three innings in the Mets’ 7-2 loss. Lugo has pitched well at Citi Field, going 2-2 with a 2.93 ERA over 10 games (five starts).

Sunday: Rockies RHP Jeff Hoffman (5-1, 4.15 ERA) at Mets LHP (2-2, 3.05), 11:10 a.m., AT&T SportsNet

Monday: Padres RHP Luis Perdomo (4-4, 4.54) at Rockies RHP German Marquez (6-4, 4.36), 6:40 p.m., AT&T

SportsNet

Tuesday: Padres RHP Dinelson (3-3, 5.93) at Rockies TBA, 6:40 p.m., AT&T SportsNet

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Rockies annihilated by Mets 14-2 A game where nothing at all went right.

By Ted Chalfen / Purple Row | July 14th, 2017

Tonight both the Colorado Rockies and the were supposed to return from the All-Star break, but only one team showed up to the park. The Rockies’ best starter had one of his worst ever starts, the “relief” pitching provided anything but, the offense was toothless once again, and they were humiliated 14-2.

Things actually started off well enough. The Rockies got to deGrom in the first inning in what was their only meaningful threat of the game. Charlie Blackmon led off with a single, and he went to third on a throwing error on Nolan Arenado’s infield hit. Nolan slid rounding first on the wet dirt and was shaken up, but he remained in the game after a visit from the training staff. Then Gerardo Parra lined a single to right field after a seven pitch battle with deGrom and put the Rockies up 1-0. It would turn out to be their last lead of the night.

Gray struggled in the second inning and gave up two runs on four hits before inducing a double play ball off the bat of Asdrubal Cabrera to end the frame. He wouldn’t be so lucky in the third. In that inning, Gray gave up three runs and threw 28 pitches without recording an out, and he left with the bases loaded after one of the worst starts of his major league career. Only once has he gotten fewer outs in a game, and that happened in his fourth career start, which was also against the Mets.

Zac Rosscup made his Rockies debut under difficult circumstances and gave up three more runs—all of which were charged to Gray, whose final line read: 2+ IP, 9 H, 8 ER, 3 BB, 1 K. It’s a night he’ll hope to forget quickly.

Rosscup gave up a solo home run to T.J. Rivera in the fourth that made the score 9-1. He’s likely headed back to the minors when Ian Desmond returns to the team on Saturday.

The Rockies got one run back in the sixth on a wild pitch by deGrom, and they appeared to have a second when DJ

LeMahieu tagged from third on a Gerardo Parra fly ball. But replay evidence showed that he was actually gunned down by Yoenis Cespedes’s perfect throw. LeMahieu’s groin injury clearly limited his speed getting down the line on the play, and just about any other player would have scored. deGrom worked eight innings and was very efficient after a long top of the first. He improved to 10-3 on the season.

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Jordan Lyles worked a clean sixth but failed to repeat his performance in the seventh when he gave up a three run homer to Michael Conforto that made the score 12-2.

Scott Oberg allowed two more runs in the eighth, including a walk with the bases loaded, to cap the scoring for the game.

The Rockies loaded the bases in the ninth, but it didn’t matter.

Colorado will try to forget this game as soon as possible before they play again tomorrow night. It still only counts for one loss in the standings, even if it felt like five. The series continues tomorrow night when Tyler Chatwood takes on Seth

Lugo at 5:10 MDT.

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Colorado Rockies: 3 things to notice about Friday’s lineup

By Kevin Henry / Rox Pile | July 14th, 2017

With the Colorado Rockies opening the unofficial second half of the Major League Baseball season on Friday night against the New York Mets, there were some interesting things to notice about Colorado’s Friday lineup.

In the first game back from the All-Star break, all Rockies were rested and ready to be in the lineup. However, there were three things that stood out to us in Bud Black’s lineup.

Story not starting

The last time the Rockies went to Citi Field, Trevor Story was on top of the baseball world. His home run hitting and offensive production had Rockies fans salivating about what was to come in the second half of the campaign.

However, Story slid into second base and tore a ligament in his thumb. His season was over and Rockies fans were left to ask, “What might have been?”

Fast forward to this year and Story is struggling on offense, hitting just .224 and already compiling 100 strikeouts.

Pat Valaika was slated as the starting shortstop on Friday night, ahead of Story. Black said not to read too much into it, but we’ll side with Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post here and say it’s certainly something to keep an eye on.

Desmond not back

Ian Desmond was scheduled to return from the disabled list prior to the start of Colorado’s series in Queens. However,

Desmond was not on the lineup on Friday night. Saunders tweeted that he is due back soon, more than likely on

Saturday.

Desmond’s return means the Rockies will have a tough decision to make with their active roster. His return more than likely means Valaika or Raimel Tapia is sent to Triple-A. Both have produced well for the Rockies as of late while

Desmond is still trying to get into gear at the plate.

Another day on the disabled list gives the Rockies another day to figure out who gets a plane ticket to Albuquerque. Of course, that’s provided the Rockies don’t expand their bench to a five-man bench (which seems highly unlikely) by getting rid of a reliever. That won’t happen.

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CarGo batting sixth

The Rockies are intent to give Carlos Gonzalez every chance to break out of his slump. He went 2-for-4 batting seventh in the final game before the All-Star break against the Chicago White Sox. However, he’s hitting just .211 in July and .221 for the season.

Will this be the game where things start to turn around? Rockies fans have been asking that all season.

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Rockies fall flat in first game back from All-Star break

By MHS Staff / Mile High Sports | July 14th, 2017

The Colorado Rockies came out of the All-Star break flat, and were flat-out outplayed by the New York Mets in the first game of the second half. Jon Gray was knocked around to the tune of eight runs in two-plus innings and the Mets cruised to a 14-2 at Citi Field on Friday night.

Rockies manager Bud Black marched out five pitchers on the night; four allowed earned runs. After giving up two runs in the second inning, Gray (2-1, 6.23 ERA) faced six batters in a disastrous third inning, failing to record an out en route to a final line of eight earned runs allowed on nine hits and three walks. Zac Rosscup did his best to limit the damage in his

Rockies debut, but could not keep Gray’s traffic from scoring. He allowed another run of his own in the fourth inning, a solo home run to T.J. Rivera. Mike Dunn, who walked a batter in the fifth, was the only Rockies pitcher who did not allow a run in the game. Jordan Lyles gave up a three-run home run to Jason Conforto in the seventh inning before Scott

Obergallowed two runs on three walks and a pair of hits in the eighth.

On offense, Colorado had no answer for Mets ace Jacob deGrom (10-3, 3.48) who struck out 13 and allowed just two runs (one earned) on four hits over eight innings. Charlie Blackmon and Gerardo Parra each had a pair of hits for

Colorado, the only real highlights on the night. Colorado was 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. They notched a pair of hits and a walk on Josh Edgin in the ninth inning, but could not push anyone across.

The Rockies dropped a full game in the Wild Card standings with the loss and a Cubs win. Colorado holds the final Wild

Card spot by 6.5 games at this point. The Rockies will turn to Tyler Chatwood (6-10, 4.42 ERA) to turn things around in game two of the three-game series. The Mets will ask Seth Lugo (3-2, 4.59) to steal the early series win. First pitch is 5:10 p.m. MDT.

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Rockies return from All-Star break to find more problems than solutions

By Aniello Piro / Mile High Sports | July 14th, 2017

The Colorado Rockies had a record-shattering, franchise-altering start to the 2017 season. During April, May, and into

June, Colorado was one of the best baseball teams in the , but then, the slide came.

Late June and into July plagued the Rockies as it seems to do every year. A season that was brimming with more optimism than ever, saw that vanish into the thin-air of Colorado as the Rockies limped into the All-Star break waving a white flag.

Exhausted and out of sync, Colorado lost 13 of their last 18 ballgames leading up to the All-Star break, and Friday, when play resumed, things picked up right where they left off.

On Friday night, the New York Mets destroyed Colorado by a final score of 14-2. One loss, yes, but an alarming one as

Colorado’s true colors shined throughout.

Jon Gray was out of sync and Colorado’s offense was dormant. This showing is a testament to how fragile Colorado is and how much work they need to do, if they want to remain in the thick of the postseason hunt.

Friday was not the way the Rockies wanted to start out of the gate.

“It’s disappointing because it’s a really important game for me to start things off for the second half,” Gray said following the loss. “I just wanted to get positive energy going through the first game. It sucks to kind of let the whole team down.”

First things first, Colorado overachieved in the first half to a certain extent. There’s no other way to put it. The fact of the matter is this; Colorado cannot depend on their young starting rotation alone to carry the team as they did earlier in the season. It’s too much to ask for.

In July, Rockies pitching owns a combined ERA of 5.67, a significant spike in their season ERA of 4.45.

As it stands, the oldest and most experienced arm in Colorado’s rotation is 27-year-old Tyler Chatwood.

Following Chatwood is a slew of inexperienced and young pitchers in German Marquez, Tyler Anderson, Jeff Hoffman, and Kyle Freeland.

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Combined, none of the Rockies starters have pitched in the postseason, let alone pitched in the thick of a playoff push.

Asking the rotation to hold down the fort is not realistic. It’s clear; they need help.

The return of Chad Bettis will certainly boost the Rockies to an extent, but will it be enough to keep pace in the National

League West and hold a Wild Card lead? At this rate, no, especially with the Cubs recently acquiring Jose Quintana and other ball clubs gearing up to make moves as the trade deadline approaches.

Teams like the Cubs, who have significantly underachieved so far this season, will hit their stride eventually, and it will be up to Colorado to match the play of their competition.

As the Rockies continue to struggle, the division-leading Dodgers have given zero indication that their winning ways will cease anytime soon, as Colorado slips further and further in the division standings.

Colorado is still in a good spot, but there’s cracks in the foundation. The signs for concern are present and in danger of overwhelming the young Rockies ball club.

With the trade deadline approaching, the opportunity to grab reinforcements will be on the horizon, Colorado will have chances to fill holes and tighten up as the season begins to dwindle down.

If Friday’s loss was foreshadowing the future, Colorado will be in for tough times as the season progresses. There is still plenty of time for the Rockies to stop the skid and get back on track, but if they want to keep the good times rolling, things will need to come together quickly.

The Rockies first three series out of the break are all against sub .500 ball clubs in the Mets, , and

Pittsburgh Pirates. With three favorable match up’s, this is Colorado’s golden chance to reboot and find their winning ways.

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Charlie Blackmon is putting up unprecedented numbers at the plate

By Nate Stein / Mile High Sports | July 14th, 2017

Charlie Blackmon has done something that no other player in MLB history has done before.

Blackmon has been amazing this season, as he became the first player in MLB history to ever hit 17+ doubles, 10+ triples, and 20+ home runs before the All-Star break. The seven-year veteran is on pace to set career highs in every offensive statistical category except for stolen bases, and has already set a career mark for triples in a season.

It’s no secret that Blackmon is having a spectacular year. The Rockies’ outfielder has been posting big numbers left and right as the leadoff man in the Mile High City this season. Blackmon even earned an All-Star Game start. Alongside three of his teammates, he helped set a franchise record for the Rockies by sending four players to the All-Star Game.

Blackmon’s bat also earned him an invitation to participate in the Home Run Derby.

If there is any part of the game that Blackmon has come up short in, it’s his defense, but even defensively he has been close to league average with a .985 fielding percentage at the most difficult outfield position (center field).

Charlie Blackmon has been the leader of a Rockies team whose usual main producer (Carlos Gonzalez) is having an uncharacteristically rough season at the plate. Blackmon’s productivity when CarGo started slumping is one of the main reasons the Rockies are still comfortably in the Wild Card race.

Blackmon is having a historic season across the board, and it could not have come in a better season for the Colorado

Rockies.

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Jon Gray falls flat as Rockies stumble to start second half

By Drew Creasman / BSN Denver | July 14th, 2017

This is not how the Colorado Rockies wanted to start the second half of their 2017 season. A beat down at the hands of the New York Mets carries little in terms of indications of where the team is at right now. Rockies starter Jon Gray just didn’t have it and the middle relief poured gas on the fire while on the flip side Jacob deGrom dominated. The result? A

14-2 blowout that will surely have the Colorado faithful shaking their heads.

Gray actually looked to have the good stuff in the first inning but was undone by four bloop hits, two groundball, hits, and just two line drives in the second and third. He lost his command as well, issuing three walks and leaving too many 0-2 and 1-2 pitches over the heart of the plate.

Somewhat surprisingly, he was pulled before he had completed the third inning, leaving the bases loaded and giving way to Zac Rosscup who would allow each of those runners to cross the plate.

For Gray, the final line was ugly: 2.0 IP, 9 H, 8 ER, 2 BB, 1 K.

This was the worst start for Gray in a very long time and likely isn’t indicative of anything. Or, is it? With the Rockies right now, it’s hard to be sure of anything.

In the last few weeks, the Rockies’ offense has struggled against teams who aren’t the Chicago White Sox . A date with deGrom was always going to be a tall task, so the early massive deficit just exacerbated things.

Colorado did plate a run in the first — odd to think they held a brief lead in this game — on a two-out, two-strike single from Gerardo Parra, who continues to show the ability to deliver where so many other hitters in the lineup have failed of late. Their second run came in the sixth, also while Parra was at the plate, on a wild pitch that scored Charlie

Blackmon who had doubled.

That was all they could get off of a very good pitcher having a great night. The Mets starter finished 11 strikeouts over eight innings, giving up just four hits, one earned run, and one walk. He was magnificent and while there will be plenty of fans who want to group this game in with the Rockies recent offensive woes, tonight’s result had everything to do with one being on his A-game and the other on his F-game. It really was that simple this time.

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For an extra twist of the knife, Jose Reyes, who the Colorado Rockies are paying $22 million this season, went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored despite a .215 average coming in.

The Mets tallied 18 hits total to score their 14 runs, the final volley coming in the form of a three-run shot for Michael

Conforto in the seventh off of Jordan Lyles.

Colorado fell to 52-40 but still hold a seven game lead in the Wild Card.

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DeGrom wins 6th straight start, Mets rout Rockies 14-2

By Associated Press / ESPN.com | July 14th, 2017

NEW YORK -- Fresh off the All-Star break, Jacob deGrom and the New York Mets looked far more like contenders than the Colorado Rockies.

DeGrom came out dealing once again, striking out 11 and winning his sixth straight start as the Mets began what could be a last-chance homestand by routing Colorado 14-2 Friday night.

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"There's a sense of urgency, there's no question about it," New York manager Terry Collins said.

Michael Conforto and T.J. Rivera homered, Yoenis Cespedes got four hits and deGrom contributed two singles for the

Mets, who trail Colorado by 9 1/2 games for the second NL wild card.

The Rockies posted their best record ever before the All-Star break, but absorbed their most lopsided defeat of the season. They've lost 14 of the last 19.

"It's one game, against a guy who was on," manager Bud Black said. "It's one game."

Rockies slugger Nolan Arenado exited a few innings early after slipping on the bases on a misty night. His 70 RBI are tied for the major league lead.

"Little precautionary on the hip," Black said.

The Mets opened a string of 10 straight at Citi Field. With the trade deadline looming, general manager Sandy Alderson said before the game: "Things would have to go exceedingly well for us, realistically, to change direction."

DeGrom (10-3), however, isn't likely to move anywhere despite recent speculation that high-flying Houston wants him.

"I saw one thing on it. I didn't look over it that much," deGrom said.

"All of that stuff is out of our control," he added. "We've got a job to do here."

DeGrom, snubbed for the All-Star team, gave up four hits and one earned run in eight innings. The righty ace has a 1.53

ERA during his winning streak and has fanned at least 10 seven times this year. 31

DeGrom threw away Arenado's infield chopper in the first inning. Arenado rounded first base when the throw got away, fell to the dirt and retreated to the bag. Black and a trainer checked Arenado, and the third baseman left in the fifth.

Gerardo Parra followed with an RBI single, but deGrom retired the next 14 batters.

Jon Gray (2-1) was tagged for eight runs on nine hits and three walks in two-plus innings.

"It's disappointing because it's a really important game for me to start things off in the second half," he said.

DeGrom hit an RBI single that put the Mets ahead 2-1 in the second. Cespedes got two hits in a six-run third, including a double for his first extra-base hit in 12 games. Cespedes later made a strong throw from left field to nail a runner at the plate.

"If we're going to get in it, he's got to lead the way," Collins said.

TEBOW TIME?

A day after Mets minor leaguer Tim Tebow hit a game-ending home run for Class A St. Lucie, Alderson was asked whether the 29-year-old former NFL quarterback was in line for a September promotion to the majors.

"I don't foresee that kind of scenario," Alderson said.

Tebow hit .327 with three homers and 10 RBI in his first 16 games after being moved up to the advanced Class A Florida

State League.

METS NETS

This was the first game at Citi Field since the Mets extended the protective netting from the backstop to beyond the dugouts and down the lines. Collins applauded the move to shield fans from foul balls and shattered bats.

"When my family comes to the game, they don't ever sit in the open," he said.

Rockies first baseman Mark Reynolds caught the last out in the second and tried to underhand the ball over the 30-foot netting behind the dugout -- instead, he flipped the souvenir high, straight up and to himself. He reloaded and tossed it overhand into the seats.

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TRAINER'S ROOM

Rockies: INF-OF Ian Desmond (strained calf) is traveling with the team. Black said Desmond might not need a minor league rehab assignment and his return could come "sooner than you think."

Mets: RHPs Noah Syndergaard (lat muscle) and (shoulder stress injury) are close to being cleared to throw,

Alderson said. ... LHP Josh Smoker (shoulder strain) was set for back-to-back relief outings in his minor league rehab stint and could return in three or four days. ... 2B Neil Walker(hamstring) is ramping up his running drills.

UP NEXT

Rockies: RHP Tyler Chatwood (6-10, 4.42 ERA) is 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA in five career starts vs. the Mets. At Citi Field, he's

2-0 with a 0.53 ERA in three tries.

Mets: RHP Seth Lugo (3-2, 4.59) gave up career highs of six runs and 10 hits in five innings vs. Washington during his last start on July 4.

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