MEDIA CLIPS – June 17, 2015

Rusin struggles as Rockies drop slugfest By Thomas Harding and Chandler Rome / MLB.com | June 16th, 2015

HOUSTON -- Luis Valbuena homered twice and knocked in four runs and Hank Conger added a solo shot as the Astros stayed just of the Rockies' reach in an 8-5 win on Tuesday at in the second of a four-game home- and-home .

The Astros, who went deep three times in a 6-3 victory over the Rockies on Tuesday, are 25-0 in games when they multiple homers.

"That's how we've been playing all year long -- hitting in bunches and guys coming through, we just need that momentum to kind of roll," Conger said. "Hitting is contagious. People tell you it isn't, but guys get in grooves."

Valbuena homered for one in the second and three in the third -- when the Astros scored five times to overcome a 3-1 deficit. Both blasts came off Rockies starter Chris Rusin (2-2), who yielded seven runs and nine hits in four . Valbuena's game-turning shot was a fly that barely landed in the in left, but Rusin said it was appropriate payment for poor location.

"I tried to go in but I left it middle, and he was able to inside-out it to left field to the short porch," Rusin said. "If I make my there, he either grounds out or it jams him.

Carlos Gonzalez's eighth homer of the season provided two fifth- runs and chased Astros righty starter Vince Velasquez after 4 2/3 innings. But (3-0) stabilized the contest with 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Chad Qualls came up big in the eighth, when he forced DJ LeMahieu into a fielder's choice grounder with the potential tying run at the plate.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Clutch third: With the Astros trailing, 3-2, and two outs in the third, Conger worked the full, then laced an RBI . Domingo Santana followed with his first Major League hit, also a two-strike knock, to score Evan Gattis before Valbuena's second blew the game open.

"To be able to put that type of number up -- that game was obviously slow and a lot of activity -- to put that big number up at home I think put a lot of confidence in our and put them behind the eight-ball," said Houston manager A.J. Hinch.More >

It's the little things: The Rockies counterpunched against the Astros' potent offense, but were hurt by two costly miscues. In the first, first-base umpire Bob Davidson called Rusin for a that moved George Springer to second. He would score on Jose Altuve's single. In the fifth with Colorado facing a four-run deficit, Charlie Blackmon tried to take second on 's deep fly ball, but Astros center fielder Jake Marisnick threw him out easily. The inning included 's single and Gonzalez's two-run shot -- either of which could have driven in Blackmon.

Altuve's back: Altuve, who said before the game his strained right hamstring felt 100 percent, cranked an RBI single on the fifth pitch he saw, plating George Springer for the game's first run and the Astros' eighth first-inning run in the last

1 three games. He drew a walk and came around to score in the third before he was robbed of another hit by 's spectacular diving play in the fourth.

"I talked to him during the game and he assured me he was really just guarded more than anything else. I'd rather him be guarded than overextending himself," Hinch said. "Obviously, he wasn't running with the burst of speed that everyone's used to. I'll check with him, we'll get on an airplane. I'm not sure what I'm going to do the next day or two with him. He feels fine, he was just going to make sure there was no mishap today." More >

Warmed by the glow of highlights: Arenado continued his year of highlight packages with two dazzlers -- a diving grab of an Altuve ground smash to start a fourth-inning , and a foul-ground laser throw to retire Evan Gattis at first in the sixth.

QUOTABLE "If you just look at traditional numbers, it's not always pretty with the average. But he's hitting down near the bottom of the and leads our team in home runs. That type of potent bats at the bottom, you can't fall asleep at the bottom of the order or he'll change the score." -- Hinch, on Valbuena's 16 home runs this season

"It's a bad road trip. There's no doubt. But we've got a lot of home games coming up. We're not there yet [at the brink of the season falling apart], but we've got to start winning series." -- Rockies LeMahieu, on a 1-5 road trip to Miami and Houston that threatens to undo much of the momentum of late May and early June

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS Six of Valbuena's eight total hits in June have been home runs. His two-homer day Tuesday gave him 16 for the season. Michael McKenry tripled in the Rockies' three-run second inning, and is making it a habit. After not recording a in his first 862 career plate appearances, Tuesday's was his third in the last 18.

REPLAY REVIEWS There was a crew-chief review in the first inning when Colorado Corey Dickerson smacked Velasquez's second pitch of the at-bat to deep left field. It was ruled a double on the field, and the call was ruled to stand after a review of one minute and 51 seconds.

A second crew-chief review was initiated in the seventh after Gonzalez's mammoth shot near the right-field foul pole was originally called a home run. The call was overturned and it was ruled a after a review of two minutes and 18 seconds. Gonzalez struck out when he returned to the plate, ending the inning.

WHAT'S NEXT Rockies: Righty Kyle Kendrick (2-8, 5.87 ERA) pitched well in his last two outings, both against the Marlins, yielding just four runs in 13 2/3 innings, but the Rockies struggled offensively and lost both. Kendrick will try to maintain his momentum and hope for better luck against the Astros on Wednesday at 6:40 p.m. MT.

Astros: Lefty Brett Oberholtzer will head to the mound as the series shifts to Colorado. Oberholtzer, who is finally healthy after blister issues plagued him early in the season, is coming off his finest start of the season, in which he tossed eight scoreless innings and allowed just three hits in a 10-0 rout of Seattle on Friday.

Watch every out-of-market regular season game live on MLB.TV.

Thomas Harding is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter@harding_at_mlb, and like his Facebook page. Chandler Rome is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of or its clubs.

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Betancourt gaining strength after 'pen session By Thomas Harding / MLB.com | @harding_at_mlb | June 16th, 2015

HOUSTON -- Rockies reliever Rafael Betancourt was sweaty but energetic Tuesday morning. It sure beat the way he had felt for more than a month.

Betancourt had thrown his second session since going on the 15-day disabled list last week with what the team announced was a sinus infection and vertigo symptoms. The 40-year-old right-hander explained that he was so congested in his head and resonating areas of his face that he had a hard time recovering from activity, couldn't maintain balance and had greatly diminished endurance.

"Almost every year I deal with sinus stuff," Betancourt said. "But this time was very bad. Since late April, I was feeling kind of weird. Some [congestion] came out -- that was during the we had with Arizona at home [May 6]. Then we went on the road and my body started feeling icky -- like, weak."

His issues worsened. Even in Cincinnati, when he escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in 5-2 victory, he said, "I was out of energy. I always did my stuff, running and working out. Any time I did that, I was like, 'Not today.' The whole game I was fighting mentally."

It became a performance issue when Betancourt gave up a home run and a four-pitch walk at Philadelphia on May 30 and was removed. He was on strong antibiotics at the time, and he had been told by a doctor that they were working against his energy level.

"Honestly, I didn't know what I was doing," Betancourt said. "I was just throwing the ball to nobody, not the catcher or the hitter."

Betancourt pitched in both games of a June 2 doubleheader against the Dodgers. He retired the only hitter he faced in the first game, but had to cover first base on a grounder and struggled to do so. In the nightcap, he gave up a decisive to Alex Gonzalez. Four days later, he gave up three runs and five hits in one inning against the Marlins. Betancourt demonstrated uncharacteristic frustration, mainly because his physical problems were so foreign to him. He was placed on the DL the next day, although it was difficult to admit to manager Walt Weiss that his sinus infection was the root of the problem.

"I told him, 'If I'm going to pitch like this, I'd just as soon go home,'" Betancourt said. "I didn't want to come in and tell him I can't pitch because I don't feel good, that I'm sick."

But Betancourt said with rest, the infection is clearing and he feels stronger. Both bullpen sessions were in the range of 44 pitches and there have been no problems. He'll face hitters at Coors Field on Friday and is eligible to return June 23, but there is no timetable.

Worth noting • Weiss said he considered going with Carlos Gonzalez as a pinch-hitter with one out and two on in the ninth inning of Monday's 6-3 loss to the Astros. Instead, he stuck with Rafael Ynoa, who had some good at-bats earlier. Ynoa grounded into a game-ending double play.

"I thought about it," Weiss said. "I thought Raffy was a tough out, and I wanted to extend the inning there. I thought about using CarGo in a couple of different spots in that last inning, but I decided against it.

"In retrospect, I'd do a lot of different things over the course of a year. That's kind of how it works. It's certainly a viable option there."

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Tulo, Rockies need boost in All-Star voting By Thomas Harding / MLB.com | @harding_at_mlb | June 16th, 2015

HOUSTON -- The saying is if a star player is struggling, the best way for fans to handle it is to turn over the baseball card. Those stats, not a temporary , define a player. Troy Tulowitzki's bat is once again matching the numbers on the magical cardboard -- and fans who have been supporting the Rockies' on the 2015 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot were right all along.

Tulowitzki entered Tuesday's game against the Astros hitting .407 (22-for-54) since May 29, with hits in 13 of 14 games. It's a performance more in line with his standing in voting for the 2015 All-Star Game. In the latest update released on Tuesday, Tulowitzki was third among with 1,958,502 votes. That's well off the pace of the current leader at the position, the Cardinals'Jhonny Peralta (4,020,531), and also trails the Giants' Brandon Crawford(2,785,818).

But there is still time to vote for Tulowitzki -- who entered Tuesday hitting .303 with seven home runs and 34 RBIs -- and the Rockies' other two worthy All-Star candidates.

Third baseman Nolan Arenado is fourth at his position, even though his 29 RBIs and nine homers since May 22 are third most in the Majors during that span. Second baseman DJ LeMahieu, who entered Tuesday fourth in the NL in batting at .333, still has not cracked the top five at his position.

Corey Dickerson, who recently returned from a left foot injury and carried a .303 average into Tuesday, is 14th among .

Fans can cast their votes for starters at MLB.com and all 30 club sites -- on their computers, tablets and smartphones -- using the 2015 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot until Thursday, July 2, at 9:59 p.m. MT. For the first time, voting is exclusively online, where fans may submit up to 35 ballots.

Fans may also receive the ballot by texting VOTE to 89269 (USA) or 101010 (Canada). Or text VOTA for a ballot in Spanish. Message and data rates may apply. Up to five messages. No purchase required. Reply STOP to cancel. Reply HELP for info.

Following the announcement of the 2015 All-Stars, be sure to return to MLB.com and cast your 2015 Esurance MLB All- Star Game Final Vote for the final player for each league's All-Star roster. On Tuesday, July 14, watch the 2015 All-Star Game live on FOX, and during the game visit MLB.com to submit your choice for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet via the 2015 MLB All-Star Game MVP Vote.

MLB.com will provide extensive online coverage of All-Star Week festivities.

The 86th All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS, and worldwide by partners in more than 200 countries via MLB International's independent feed. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB Network and SiriusXM will also provide comprehensive All- Star Week coverage. For more information, please visit allstargame.com.

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Rox hope to rediscover mojo after rough trip By Thomas Harding / MLB.com | @harding_at_mlb | June 16th, 2015

HOUSTON -- With Tropical Storm Bill looming, Houston television featured wall-to-wall weather Tuesday -- even though the weather outside closed-roof Minute Maid Park was wet but not dire. The Rockies, likewise, are wondering if their storm has arrived.

The Rockies overcame an 11-game losing streak in late April and early May. Not long ago, they had won 14 of 22 and 12 of 17 and were on the brink of being considered a factor. But that was before a 1-6 road trip that concluded with Tuesday afternoon's 8-5 loss to the Astros.

At 28-36, the Rockies are trying not to be alarmist. But to climb back to where they were before the trip to Miami and Houston, they'll have to gain ground during an eight-game homestand that begins against the Astros on Wednesday and Thursday. With a 13-18 home mark, the Rockies have some proving to do at Coors Field.

"The storyline of our season has the potential to change with every series," manager Walt Weiss said. "You have a bad series, your season's over. If you go out and win a good series, things change. It's so temperamental.

"But in the bigger picture, we need to go home and have a good homestand."

They'll have to correct issues that arose Tuesday, when three plays added up to three runs -- the margin of defeat:

• Starting Chris Rusin's balk in the first led to a run that might not have scored otherwise.

• Right fielder Carlos Gonzalez's strong arm uncorked a throw up the third-base line when Jose Altuve was trying to score from second on Domingo Santana's single. A good throw would have ended the inning; instead, Luis Valbuena followed with his second homer off Rusin, a three-run shot for a 7-3 Astros lead.

• Gonzalez cut the difference to 7-5 with a two-run homer in the fifth. It would have been a three-run shot but Charlie Blackmon, who had opened the inning with a walk, tried to advance on Corey Dickerson's fly to deep center, only to be erased easily by Jake Marisnick's throw.

"We can't make mistakes like that," Gonzalez said. "We've got guys that have been around the league a long time. They have guys that just have days in the big leagues. They play better than us. That's unacceptable. It's as simple as that."

The Rockies were 3-for-11 with runners in , and 7-for-44 (.159) for the trip. Overall, they hit just .195 for the trip. But the poor trip wasn't solely an offensive problem.

Rusin gave up 14 runs (13 earned) in 9 1/3 innings over two starts, and Chad Bettis gave up five runs in the first two innings on Monday. The pattern of the club's pitching and hitting often undoing one another must reverse.

"It's hard for me to speak to other people, but for me, I know I need to do better," third baseman Nolan Arenado said. "I need to help guys out and get on base more, make my plays and do the best I can. We all need to look ourselves in the mirror, like, 'Am I doing the best I can to help this team win?'"

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Rockies-Astros series shifting to Coors Field By Chandler Rome / MLB.com | June 16th, 2015

The Astros will send Brett Oberholtzer to the mound against the Rockies' Kyle Kendrick as the home-and-home Interleague series between the clubs shifts to Coors Field for the final two games starting on Wednesday.

Oberholtzer, who is finally healthy after blister issues plagued him early in the season, is coming off his finest start of the year, in which he tossed eight scoreless innings and allowed just three hits in a 10-0 rout of Seattle on Friday.

Kendrick, meanwhile, will be looking for his first home win of the season -- he's 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA in five starts thus far at Coors. The right-hander hasn't recorded a win since May 27 and has a 1-3 record lifetime against the Astros.

Three things to know about this game:

• The Astros will be without Colby Rasmus, who is on the bereavement list. Prospect Domingo Santana is playing in his place.

• George Springer, who extended his season-long hitting streak to nine games on Tuesday, has scored a run in the first inning of Houston's last three games. In all, the Astros have scored eight runs in the first inning of the last three games.

• With his second-inning RBI double on Tuesday, DJ LeMahieu has now hit safely in 15 of his last 18 games.

Chandler Rome is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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Rockies complete awful road trip by losing to

The Rockies went 1-5 on their road excursion through Miami and Houston By Patrick Saunders| The Denver Post

HOUSTON — Carlos Gonzalez hit a two-run homer Tuesday at Minute Maid Park. He nearly hit another, a towering blast down the right-field line that hooked foul at the last moment. But in the somber Rockies clubhouse after an 8-5 loss to the Houston Astros, that was of little consolation for a team whose season is fading fast.

"This was a really bad road trip, so we have to go back and dominate at our place," CarGo said. "That's something that we haven't done the whole year. That will be a key for us. If we don't, things are going to get ugly." Actually, things are already pretty ugly.

The Rockies went 1-5 on their road excursion through Miami and Houston, and they have lost six of their last seven games to fall eight games below .500.

Asked if his team has reached a critical juncture in the season, manager Walt Weiss answered: "I think it's always at a critical juncture. That's always how I look at it. (The season) is so temperamental, but in the bigger picture, we have to go home and have a good homestand."

The Rockies (28-36) return to Coors Field on Wednesday for a two-game series against Houston, followed by three against Milwaukee and three against Arizona. It's a chance to stop the skid and gain some momentum. Problem is, home hasn't been kind to the Rockies either. They are 13-18 at 20th and Blake. Colorado's offense, presumed to be a team strength in , was miserable on the road trip. In four games at Miami, the Rockies scored six runs, a Marlins franchise record for fewest runs allowed in a four-game series. The Rockies batted .195 on the trip. "It's the same story as when we were losing earlier," said Nolan Arenado, pointing to the Rockies' 11-game losing streak from late April to mid-May. "When we're hitting, we're not pitching. When we're pitching better, we aren't scoring runs. That's just not going to work. We need to start doing the little things right."

The Astros (38-28), meanwhile, are sitting pretty atop the West. They flexed their muscles again Tuesday, pounding out three home runs, two by Luis Valbuena off starter Chris Rusin. Valbuena blasted a one-out, solo homer in the second, then followed up with a three-run shot in a pivotal five-run third inning.

"I wasn't able to make the adjustments and keep the ball down with any sink," said Rusin, who was gone after an ugly four innings in which he gave up seven runs on nine hits. His ERA ballooned from 3.38 to 5.14.

Hank Conger added a solo shot off reliever Brooks Brown in the fifth, countering Gonzalez's two-run blast that had whittled Houston's lead to 7-5 in the top of the inning.

The little things that Arenado mentioned cost the Rockies big time. In the first inning, first-base umpire Bob Davidson called Rusin for a balk that moved George Springer to second. He scored on Jose Altuve's single. In the fifth, with Colorado down 7-3, Charlie Blackmon tried to take second on Corey Dickerson's deep flyball, but Astros center fielder Jake Marisnick threw out Blackmon, curtailing a potential big inning. Colorado's hibernating offense woke up early, posting three runs in the second on an RBI triple by Michael McKenry, a run-scoring double by DJ LeMahieu and an RBI single by Blackmon.

It didn't hold up, not with Rusin leaving the ball over the heart of the plate for Houston's sluggers to feast upon. The Astros' 91 homers are the most in the majors. The Rockies have now lost 13 consecutive interleague road games, tied for the second-longest streak ever with the (June 18, 2009-June 19, 2011) and two behind the (June 14, 2005-June 28, 2006). "I think we are disappointed," Arenado said when asked to describe the mood of the team. "If we want to be one of the teams that competes, we can't lose the way we do. We can't lose games like this.

"You see teams like the Cardinals and those good teams, they don't lose like this." 7

Rockies Mailbag: Troy Tulowitzki, taught Nolan Arenado how to be a big-leaguer

Jared from Colorado Springs is a huge Ax fan and would love to see him don purple pin stripes for a couple more seasons

By Patrick Saunders The Denver Post

Longtime Rockies fan. Is there a rift between Troy Tulowitzki and Nolan Arenado? I notice (especially with Tulo) that the on-field actions would indicate this. For instance, when Arenado hit a home run against L.A., Tulo was on base and ran directly to the dugout without waiting to congratulate Arenado. There have been others that I have noticed.

— Ken Mann, Ridgecrest, California

Ken, there is no rift. In fact, Arenado is closer to Tulo than anyone else on the team. They hang out together in the clubhouse all of the time. Tulo and Todd Helton taught Arenado how to be a big-leaguer. With all the trade talk surrounding Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez, how is no one talking about John Axford! I'm a huge Ax fan and would love to see him don purple pin stripes for a couple more seasons if at all possible, but his value to a contender could bring a decent haul, he's been lights out. — Jared, Colorado Springs

Jared, my good friend Thomas Harding of MLB.com doesn't like the purple pin stripes. But I digress.

You are right about Axford and you make an excellent point that few have brought up. He's definitely a trade candidate, unless the Rockies were to make an effort to sign him to a longer deal, which I doubt.

He came to Colorado on a one-year, minor-league deal that became a $2.6 million contract when Axford made the big- league club. So he's been a huge bargain and an excellent pickup by the Rockies. He's only signed for one-year, so it would make sense to shop him. The market for him should be high and the Rockies need to start thinking about 2016 and down the road. As I write this, Axford has 12 saves, and has given up just one in 19 innings for an .047 ERA. He's given up no homers and teams are batting just .162 against him. Any particular reason why the Rockies seem hesitant to call up Matt McBride? He seems to be versatile, playing a number of positions at Triple-A Albuquerque. And there is no doubt that he can hit. — Mike, Colorado Springs

Mike, given McBride's versatility and ability to hit, as you say, I've wondered about this myself. He plays first, and even catcher if need be. However, a big reason McBride has not been promoted is because he is not on the 40-man roster, so the Rockies would have to cut someone else to make room for McBride. Other players, such as Ben Paulsen and even , are ahead of him on the depth chart.

I asked Zach Wilson, the Rockies' farm director, your question and his answer was pretty standard. "McBride is doing very well in Triple-A and will continue to be an option for the Major League club," he said.

That doesn't tell you a lot, I know. So, truthfully, I really don't know what the Rockies think about McBride. With Justin Morneau still out and Wilin Rosario a possible trade target, we could see McBride in the second half of the season.

For the record, he is hitting .328 with a .361 on-base percentage with eight home runs and 27 RBIs for the Isotopes. I know that three weeks is just a blip in time and we all scream "SELL THE TEAM" when the Rockies go on a , and then run out to buy Arenado jerseys when they go on a win streak but... The last few weeks have been encouraging, not just because of the wins and Tulo and Cargo apparently waking up, but because it looks like the Rockies might actually have done something right with three young Chris Rusin, Chad Bettis and David Hale.

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Yes, they still have a whole season to mess up these guys but right now it looks like they have turned promising talent into actual performing talent, not something they've been known for. Do you attribute this to Steve Foster and Darren Holmes or just pure luck?

Also the young talent coming up and performing and the talent waiting to get a chance seems encouraging for Rockies fans, as well as what looks like a potentially promising draft this year.

Should we start having some hope for these Rockies down the road or am I just drinking too much Purple Kool- Aid? — Chip, Denver

Chip, did you check your tongue for purple? Just kidding. Kind of. Sort of.

You've got a lot of questions and opinion all rolled into one giant, umm, statement. So let's stick with your question about pitching Steve Foster and bullpen coach Darren Holmes. I think they have done a pretty good job, but it's impossible to judge them right now. It's way too early. But the numbers, of late, have been impressive.

Entering Tuesday's game, the starting rotation was 10-7 with a 4.04 ERA over the past 23 games (team is 13-10). That's pretty good for the Rockies. But the jury is still out on Bettis, who got roughed up Monday night by the Astros and has been very hittable his last two outings.

And keep in mind that did not improve this year under Foster and Holmes and he is now back in Triple-A. Moreover, Tyler Matzel's wildness reared it's ugly head again and he's back to square one with the short-season Class-A team in Boise. All of that same on Foster and Holmes' watch. Personally, I think too much credit and blame is placed on coaches at the major-league level.

Having said that, I think Holmes has instilled a toughness and aggressiveness in his relievers. I think that's a good sign. Throw out bad moments by an ailing Rafael Betancourt and some major mistakes by Boone Logan and I think the bullpen has been a team strength. It's been nails on the road, where, since May 2, the relievers' ERA is 2.68. While it isn't quite Denny Neagle territory, is Boone Logan's contract the most money the Rockies have ever wasted on an ineffective reliever? Could he benefit from a change of scenery and be traded to a contender in July for a decent young prospect?

— Bob, Broomfield

Bob, I take it you don't like Mr. Logan? Just a guess.

The three-year, $16.5 million deal the Rockies gave Logan was the most they ever spent for a free-agent reliever. It has not been a good investment. Logan's elbow was never right last year and he has been ineffective this season (0-2, 4.71 ERA with a .253 against). I'm not sure you can say it's the "most money the Rockies have ever wasted on an ineffective reliever." But he has not been very good.

With the money he's making, I don't see a trade right now.

FYI, from what I've been told, the decision to sign Logan was the responsibility of former Rockies assistant GM Bill Geivett. There is a sign in the Rockies dugout about umpire rotation, what does this mean and why is it so important that it was painted on the dugout wall?

— Bill, Englewood

Bill, I don't believe it's painted on the wall, but the names, photos, names and positions of the umpires are displayed on the wall near the dugout steps leading to the clubhouse. A lot teams do something similar. Why? Because the players like to know who the umps are, particularly who is behind the plate, because each ump's is a little different. Plus, players know the personalities and tendencies of the umpires, so it's good to know who's making what calls.

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Any update on Denver native and former first round draft pick ? He's missed the first two months of the season with shoulder fatigue. Was this a condition the Rockies were aware of when they drafted Freeland last June?

— Daniel, Denver

Daniel, Freeland is currently on a rehab assignment with the rookie team in Grand Junction. For other details, I'm going to steal a blog from my colleague Nick Groke. This is what Nick wrote on May 30: Kyle Freeland, the Rockies' first-round draft pick last year and a former Thomas Jefferson High School standout, remains in Scottsdale, Ariz., and hasn't pitched in a game this season.

Freeland, a left-hander drafted with the No. 8 pick out of the University of Evansville, is rehabbing from shoulder fatigue and from minor surgery to have bone chips removed from his arm, Rockies senior director of player development Zach Wilson said. Freeland started throwing and playing this week, Wilson said.

"He's doing very well. He's making strides every day," Wilson said. "He's steadily improving. Nothing got worse. It wasn't a major issue, we just want to make sure he gets right."

The Rockies signed Freeland to a $2.3 million bonus last year, below the price slotted for him, in part because of rumors about past elbow injuries.

Freeland last season pitched five games for the rookie-league Grand Junction Rockies, then five more for the Single-A in the . Combined, he carried a 1.15 ERA with 33 and just six walks. Denver Post sports writer Patrick Saunders posts his Rockies Mailbag every other week on Tuesdays.

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Colorado Rockies' rotation fades after a solid run

Rusin has stumbled in his last two starts, with home runs being his Achilles' heel By Patrick Saunders The Denver Post

HOUSTON — The Rockies' starting rotation has been a revolving door of late. Right-hander Eddie Butler was sent down to the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes to work on his command and fine-tune his offspeed pitches. That gave right-hander David Hale and lefty Chris Rusin a chance to impress.

But Rusin has stumbled in his last two starts, with home runs being his Achilles' heel.

He gave up six runs on 11 hits — including two home runs — in 5 innings in Colorado's 6-0 loss at Miami on Friday. In Tuesday's 8-5 loss to the Houston Astros, he lasted four innings, giving up seven runs on nine hits, two of those homers. .

"The (Astros) hit the ball out of the park," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "If you keep them in the park, you have a pretty good chance to beat them." Walt Weiss considered using CarGo as a pinch hitter Monday

Weiss said he considered using Carlos Gonzalez as a pinch hitter with one out and two on in the ninth inning of Monday's 6-3 loss to the Astros. But Weiss didn't, deciding instead to stick with Rafael Ynoa, who grounded into a game-ending double play.

"I thought about it," Weiss said. "I thought Raffy was a tough out, and I wanted to extend the inning there. I thought about using CarGo in a couple of different spots in that last inning, but I decided against it." Michael McKenry hit another triple

Catcher Michael McKenry tripled in the Rockies' three-run second inning Tuesday, his third triple in his last 18 plate appearances. That's astonishing for anybody, but especially for McKenry, who had not recorded a triple in his first 862 major-league plate appearances. ... Nolan Arenado continues to shine at third base. He made a diving grab of Jose Altuve's smash to start a fourth-inning double play, and he a snared a hot grounder by Evan Gattis that took him into foul territory, from which he still made the out with a laser throw to first.

Looking ahead Astros' Brett Oberholtzer (1-1, 2.25 ERA) at Rockies' Kyle Kendrick (2-8, 5.87), 6:40 p.m. Wednesday, ROOT; 850 AM

Kendrick has two victories in 13 starts and hasn't won since May 27. That's not exactly what the Rockies were looking for when they signed him as a veteran presence for their rotation. The right-hander has pitched better lately, but pitching at Coors Field has been a bad experience for him. He's 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA in five starts at 20th and Blake this season. His 16 homers allowed are tied for most in the National League. Oberholtzer, a lefty, is coming off a strong start vs. Seattle in which he pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks while striking out five. He has never faced the Rockies.

Thursday: Astros' Collin McHugh (6-3, 5.08 ERA) at Rockies' David Hale (2-1, 4.56), 1:10 p.m., ROOT Friday: Brewers' Taylor Jungmann (1-1, 2.25) at Rockies' Jorge De La Rosa (4-2, 4.91), 6:40 p.m., ROOT

Saturday: Brewers' (3-8, 6.44) at Rockies' Chad Bettis (2-2, 3.74), 2:10 p.m., ROOT

Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post

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Some reasons to (not) worry about Rockies rookie Eddie Butler By Eric Garcia McKinley @garcia_mckinley on Jun 16, 2015, 10:00a | Purple Row

Eddie Butler has had an uneven season thus far—some good starts, some poor ones. A couple of aspects about his game have remained consistent though. They are important parts: Butler has been walking a lot of batters and striking out few.

This season, Butler has struck out 4.8 batters per nine, which is quite an improvement compared to the three starts he made in 2014. In all, he’s struck out 4.1 batters per nine innings in 14 career starts. In his 11 major league starts this season, Butler has also walked five batters per nine . Coupled with his three starts last year, he has a total mark of 4.7 walks per nine.

Butler has to improve.

Using Baseball-Reference’s Play Index, I searched for pitchers with similar walk and profiles using multiple sets of parameters. The goal is to find historical comparisons—to place Eddie Butler in the context of other players’ careers. While I found some fine careers, on the whole, such profiles don’t lend themselves to success.

Butler has to improve.

All searches are for players since 1961 (integration and expansion eras) who started at least 90 percent of their games and pitched at least 70 innings, with K/9 rate below five and a BB/9 above four. Essentially, I’m searching for other Eddie Butlers.

Parameter 1: First and second seasons

Who has started their career in a similar manner, and did they find success? Baseball-Reference finds 29 other pitchers to put up similar numbers in their first two seasons. Butler makes 30. Measured by ERA+, the best of the bunch is Dennis Blair, who posted a 109 ERA+ in 1974-1975 for the Expos. In all, six of the 30 pitchers have an ERA+ above 100, which means that six of the 30 were above average relative to their peers.

Notably, all of the better-than-average pitchers began their careers prior to 1990. The most recent is Mike Dunn, who had a 107 ERA+ from 1987-1988 for the Pirates. In other words, it was a different era. For instance, in 1988, the baseball wide K/9 and BB/9 were 5.58 and 3.10, respectively. So far in 2015, those figures are 7.66 and 2.88. The most recent pitcher to begin his career with Butler’s strikeout and walk profile is Shairon Martis, who did so from 2008-2009.

Parameter 2: Age 23-24 seasons, at least 70 innings pitched

Rather than years one and two, let’s look at age comparisons. This list is much shorter. That says something about how young Butler is right now. A lot of the pitchers who showed up for the previous search were a couple years older than Butler is now. Only 15 pitchers, including Butler, fit the bill. Only one of these players had an above average ERA+ in the timeframe searched. Rich Gale had a 124 ERA+ while striking out 4.12 per nine innings and walking 4.68 for the 1978 as a 24-year-old. The next best pitcher according to ERA+ is , who had a 99 ERA+ for the Rockies in 1998-1999 while striking out four batters per nine innings and walking 4.68.

As opposed to the last search, Butler has more contemporaries in this one, even though the list is shorter. The two names that offer the most hope are Dallas Keuchel and Jake Arrieta. As 24-year-olds, both pitchers had very similar profiles. Keuchel’s 85 innings saw him strike out 4.01 batters per nine and walk 4.11. In 100 innings, Arrieta struck out 4.66 batters per nine innings, and he walked 4.31.

Keuchel turned it around in large part by developing his , which complemented his four- and two-seam and (that should sound familiar). Keuchel’s improvement in 2013 regarding strikeouts and walks—7.20 and 3.05 per nine—preceded his 2014 breakout.

Arrieta’s breakout similarly relied on the slider, though it’s less clear whether it was development or just using it a bunch more. Whatever it was, it resulted in more strikeouts and fewer walks.

These are hopeful comparisons. But, then again, is also on this list.

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Parameter 3: Career

This short list includes only one success story. There are only seven names, including Butler. Paul Edmondson, Kevin Morton, Matt Wagner, and Jeff Byrd aren’t just names of baseball players you’ve probably never heard of, but are players with Eddie Butler’s strikeout and walk profile who lasted just one season in the major leagues. Mitch Talbotpitched three non-consecutive seasons—not due to injury. Mike Torrez pitched 18 seasons and is a subject for an entirely different article.

Butler is the seventh. There has been one major league pitcher with Butler’s current strikeout and walk profile to have sustained success, and he pitched from 1967-1984.

Eddie Butler will either improve his strikeouts and walks or fail as a major leaguer.

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Chris Rusin leaves the door wide open for By Jordan Freemyer @jfreemyer on Jun 16, 2015, 6:24p| Purple Row

After strong performances in his first three outings, Chris Rusin had his second straight crash-and-burn start for the Rockies, allowing seven earned runs in four innings of an 8-5 lost to the Houston Astros.

Rusin's struggles, track record and the fact that the already has an option in use this season have left the door wide open for top prospect Jon Gray, who pitches for Triple-A Albuquerque tonight against El Paso. Gray has posted five quality starts in a row and has allowed three runs or less in each of his last eight starts, dropping his ERA from 10.70 to 4.76 in that span.

Meanwhile, Rusin has allowed 13 runs on 20 hits in 9⅓ innings over his last two starts, walking four, allowing four home runs and striking out five. He has raised his ERA from 1.45 to 5.14 in those two starts.

Rusin was particularly bad today in Houston, allowing seven runs on nine hits in four innings, with a pair of walks and four strikeouts.

The damage started from the outset as right fielder George Springer led off the first for Houston with a single, advanced to second on a balk and scored on Jose Altuve's single to give the Astros a 1-0 lead.

The Rockies struck back in the top of the second inning with three runs on four hits, including catcher Michael McKenry's third triple of June, to take a 3-1 lead. Houston got one back in the bottom of the inning on third baseman Luis Valbuena's 15th home run of the season.

The wheels really fell off for Rusin in the third, with an Astros rally that started with a walk issued to second baseman Jose Altuve which was followed by three straight singles that gave Houston a 4-3 lead before Valbuena's second home run, a three-run shot blew the game open, with the Astros holding a 7-3 lead through three innings of play.

A two-run home run from Carlos Gonzalez, his eighth of the season, cut the Rockies deficit to 7-5 in the fifth, but that was all the offense the Rockies could muster and Hank Conger added a solo home run for insurance to reach the game's final score of 8-5.

That Gray pitches tonight is convenient in that he can slot right into Rusin's spot in the rotation, which would come Sunday at Coors Field, if the Rockies so choose. Whether that was by coincidence or design, it certainly seems to have worked out in the Rockies' favor.

There was speculation about a promotion for Gray after Rusin's last start that saw him allow a half dozen runs on 11 hits in 5⅓ innings, but the Rockies decided to stick with the southpaw for at least one more start.

Now, it seems Gray is one more strong start tonight away from his Rockies debut, which would come at home against a Milwaukee team that is currently 17 games under .500 and owns one of the worst offenses in baseball. Aside from the Coors Field factor, that seems like a pretty soft landing in the big leagues for a top prospect.

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Nolan Arenado has a hot corner style all his own but gets golden results

BY JOAN NIESEN | SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

DENVER—It's been exactly two minutes since first pitch on June 3, and the curtain’s already up on the Nolan Arenado Show. Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner has smashed a line drive to short, and it has the crack of a hit. But don’t blink. Don’t you dare. Arenado hasn’t, at least, because there he is, diving to his left from third base. His body’s stretched taut, and if his arm were an inch shorter, if his mot ion had come a millisecond later, he wouldn’t have enough. But Arenado’s arm is long and his twitch is quick. Ball meets glove, and body hits dirt. Thud.

These are the only plays the hotshot third baseman doesn’t practice, mostly because of the aforementioned thud. They are pure instinct, devoid of fear, the essence of what Arenado has become as a pro. He’s the Rockies’ defensive leader, perhaps baseball’s best infielder, and he's just 24 years old . To watch him make one of his gasp-inducing plays is to think Arenado was born for this.

At El Toro High School in Lake Forest, Calif., however, Arenado was a shortstop who still hadn’t shaken his childhood preference for home runs over defensive heroics. He was slow, he says, and disinterested in fielding, but his sluggishness caused him only a move from short to third base once he entered the Rockies organization as the 59th pick of the 2009 MLB draft.

Arenado can’t pinpoint exactly why he changed his approach to defense, but he knows the transition began early in his days in Colorado’s farm system. “It took me a while,” he concedes. “I wasn’t really into (defense) in high school. I was like, whatever; I could field the ball and throw it, so I was okay, b ut when you get to pro ball, there’s more to it than that, and I really took it to heart.”

Arenado has never played an inning of somewhere other than third base, and by 2012, Baseball Prospectus had ranked him as MLB’s No. 20 prospect. After just 18 games with the Triple A Sky Sox in 2013, Arenado debuted in the big leagues. As a rookie, he had only 11 errors, tied for fourth -fewest among third basemen who appeared in 120 or more games. It’s a stat that’s even more noteworthy after watching his style on the field.

“At times, I am in awe of his fearlessness,” Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzkisays. “He just goes for it. He’s not afraid to try any play or any throw.”

Rockies manager Walt Weiss can recall the moment when he knew that the hyped minor leaguer he'd heard about while coaching at Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora, Colo., in 2012 had been touting a major league arm (and eyes, and brain). It was on May 28, 2013, the one-month anniversary of Arenado’s big-league debut. The Rockies were playing in Houston, and in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Astros had men on second and third with one out. Carlos Pena, Houston’s designated hitter, came to bat and chopped a ball to Arenado’s left. It would have been a close out at first, even, but Arenado’s focus was three bases ahead. Spinni ng 360 degrees, he threw home.

“There really was very little chance of him making the play,” Weiss recalls. “And he didn’t make the play. For me, even though … there was no out on the play, that spoke volumes, because he was a rookie, and (had) the courage to try to pull that play off as opposed to just throwing to first. That was the most impressive play I saw him make that year, and it wasn’t even an out.”

Now in his third season in the big leagues, Arenado has already earned two Gold Gloves, making him j ust the fifth player in MLB history to earn the honor in each of his first two seasons. The others? Red Sox third baseman Frank Malzone (1957–58), Reds catcher Johnny Bench ('68–69), Marlins catcher Charles Johnson ('95–96) and Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki (2001–02). Over his two seasons and change, Arenado ranks second among all third baseman in zone rating and has a .966 that is tied for eighth among that same group.

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But those stats can’t quite capture what it is to watch Arenado at the hot corner. In a game that’s been criticized for being too slow, Arenado is a sinewy blur. He plays the game with a speed and an enthusiasm baseball sometimes lacks, a “youthful exuberance,” Weiss calls it. “In a lot of ways,” the manager says, “it looks like a 12-year-old kid playing out on the Little League field.”

But the difference between being a preteen whiz and the player logging 2.4 assists per nine innings this season (best among all third basemen) is simple: practice. So much of what Arenado does is God -given—no coach has yet mastered the art of teaching razor-sharp instincts—but that doesn’t preclude him from being the Rockies’ most dogged worker during warmups. Daniel Descalso, a utility infielder who came to the Colorado from St. Louis before this season, says he was all too familiar with Arenado’s defensive highlight reel before he joined his new team, but once he arrived, he was astonished at the younger player’s work ethic. “The reason he makes it look easy is he’s practiced for thousands of hours,” Descalso says, “so those plays are like second nature to him.”

Arenado prefers his baseball simple in every way. Good fielding, he says, is about little more than staying low and keeping one’s glove down. He’s still adjusting to the shifts the Rockies have implemented this season — they’ve thrown him off a bit, he admits—and instead of turning to the scale to select a bat of the correct, precise weight, he simply whacks the head of his bats against the bottom of his palm. A loud ping is good, a dull voooom is bad, because in Arenado’s world, instincts trump numbers.

The Rockies know what they have in Arenado, who also boasts 16 home runs and 49 RBIs, the latter tops among NL third baseman. Those numbers should earn him his first All-Star Game berth this July, and there’s not a player in Colorado’s clubhouse who isn’t singing his praises. But among the many voices, Tulowitzki’s praise rings loudest.

“Superstar players, they’re not afraid to fail,” the four-time All-Star says. “A lot of people are going to play things and not want to be on the record after the game saying, ‘I made a mistake.’ But he doesn’t think about that. He’s in the moment. He’s a good one.”

Arenado himself has a list of recent great third basemen he’s always admired :Adrian Beltre, , Evan Longoria. Still, on the field, he cares as little for his predecessors as he does for the fear of errors or for doing anything other that what his gut might dictate.

“My style’s different,” he says. “If I tried to be (anyone else), I probably wouldn’t be that good.”

Nolan Arenado tries to be nothing. He simply is. And that’s so much better.

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How Unlucky Has Carlos Gonzalez Been? By Eno Sarris – June 17, 2015 | Fangraphs

Carlos Gonzalez is showing the worst power he’s shown since he was a rookie. He’s healthy, maybe, but he’s not producing, not yet. He’s still only 29, and there are signs of life — mostly centered around the velocity on the balls leaving his bat. Maybe he’s not done.

Batted Ball velocity is probably close to stabilization. Jeff Zimmerman found that the correlation between April and May’s velocities was already reasonably high (r^2 of .34, stabilization point is around .5) at the very least. So, in small samples like these, it does look meaningful to look at CarGo’s speedometer.

It’s healthy. By Baseball Savant, he has the fifth-highest maximum exit velocity this year. His average exit velocity is 58th of 273, or in he top fifth. On fly balls and line drives, he’s up to 45th.

If it seems like these aren’t elite numbers, maybe they aren’t. But Gonzalez hasn’t been an elite slugger, maybe? He’s 21st in isolated slugging since 2011, and 11th in home runs per fly ball. That’s fairly elite. But the bar was lowered in 2014, when he would have been 28th in ISO and 24th in HR/FB, had he qualified. That sort of bar seems reachable with his current velocity.

Stephen Ray Brown created an expected weighted On Base Average using batted ball velocity and direction, and he posted it on the community blog just last week. You can read the whole post, but here’s an excerpt that explains his methodology quickly:

Basically, this tool uses information on the type, velocity, direction, and distance of a hitter’s batted balls to calculate an expected AVG, OBP, and SLG for him. It divides batted balls into buckets based on the type (GB, FB, LD, PU) and either the direction and velocity or the direction and the distance and calculates the resulting AVG and SLG for all batted balls that meet that criteria. If the velocity for the batted ball is not available for a ground ball, it only considers the direction it was hit. If it is not available for a fly ball or a line drive, it uses the distance and the direction. For all batted balls hit over 375 feet it uses distance and direction rather than velocity and direction. The reason for this is that I do not have information on the hangtime of batted balls, and in going through the data I found that fly balls and line drives that traveled over 375 feet but weren’t hit very hard were being severely underrated by the tool.

In that first update, Carlos Gonzalez was the least lucky player in baseball — his expected wOBA was almost one hundred points above his actual wOBA at the time.

That’s no longer true. In his most recent update, Gonzalez is now merely the eighth-unluckiest player in baseball (Robinson Cano is the least lucky, I’m sure you were wondering). Given the direction of his batted balls, and the velocity off his bat, Gonzalez should be slashing closer to .266/.337/.485, which looks a lot closer to his career .291/.349/.511 line than what he’s currently managing.

What happened between the first and second lists? Ground balls. Turns out, you can wallop pulled balls along the ground, they’ll show good direction and velocity, but their vertical angle means they’ll be squared up right at a defender. Tony Blengino has written about this some, recently, when he looked at excessive ground ball pullers:

That last point is key; the point of this exercise is to attempt to isolate the true cost of their excessive pulling on the ground. For these 10 players combined, it cost them 49 basis points of ground-ball contact score, 11 basis points of overall contact score, and 13 basis points of production/OPS+. That’s a very real cost. It varies somewhat significantly from player to player, based on variables such as their grounder rate, actual performance when hitting into shifts, etc.. It should be noted, however, that all 10 of these players performed worse on grounders than they “should have,” based on comparison of their actual to context-adjusted performance on ground balls.

Carlos Gonzalez isn’t a league leader in pulled ground balls, but, as you can see from his spray chart, he’s pretty much a right now.

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Stephen Ray Brown calculated Gonzalez’s ground ball pull ratio in the same manner as Blengino did. That 5.8 number leaves him outside of the top 10, but it also makes him a pull hitter. (Blengino recommended shifting any hitter with a pull ratio over five.) CarGo is becoming more of a pull hitter, too — his current overall opposite-field percentage is the lowest of his career. And pull hitters underperform their expected production on ground balls by 27%, found Blengino.

Perhaps that is because of the shift. And, yes, teams have started to shift Gonzalez. So his expected batting average on balls in play might not regress to his career number — .340 — since he hasn’t been shifted his whole career.

Then come the fly balls. Immune to the shift, and leaving Gonzalez’s bat at 87 mph, those balls aren’t going for the same results as they should. Gonzalez *should* be slashing .144/.144/.388 on those balls, and the actual numbers are .143/.143/.286. That’s not the source of CarGo’s sub-.400 .

It could be the line drives. Brown found that Gonzalez should be slugging 1.520 on those, and he’s only been slugging 1.167. Line drives are coming off his bat at 100 mph on average, so maybe they should be doing better. Then again, look at where the balls in play that are not ground balls and don’t have long hang times are going:

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A fair amount of those were headed right into the area where you might shift your defenders.

Gonzalez is being shifted more. He’s hit into the shift in 30% of his plate appearances so far this year, up from 12% in 2012 and 2013. But before we blame the shift for his woes this year… his batting average on balls in play with the shift on this year is .304, and it’s .139 with no shift. His extra base hit percentage with the shift on this year is 8.7%, and it’s 2.8% with no shift.

There’s one last possibility. Could declining speed be robbing him of extra bases on these well-struck line drives? Gonzalez is attempting the fewest stolen bases per this year, and his Four-Component Speed Score is the worst of his career. Look at his contact over 100 mph (from BaseballSavant), though, and it doesn’t look obvious that Gonzalez is turning doubles into singles. Most of the powerful contact that ended up in singles was to right field:

So. Gonzalez has been massively underperforming his ground balls and line drives based on velocity and direction, but he’s a ground-ball pull hitter, and those types of hitters generally underperform on ground balls and pulled line drives. He’s slower than usual this year, but it’s not obvious that he’s lost a ton of extra bases due to his speed. He’s been underperforming on his fly balls, but not enough to laugh away his current slugging percentage. The shift seems like it could be meaningful, but it can’t explain everything.

Carlos Gonzalez has been unlucky, slightly. That’s the best we can do, even with the fancier tools at our disposal.

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