Clips for 7-12-10

MEDIA CLIPS –March 28, 2018 Gray's Opening Day plan? 'Show dominance' By Thomas Harding MLB.com @harding_at_mlb Mar. 27th, 2018 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Opening Day is special. But so is every regular-season game. And every postseason game. It's a lesson Rockies right-hander Jon Gray learned the hard way back in October, and one he hopes will lead to success on Thursday night. In an open secret that manager Bud Black confirmed Tuesday, Gray will make his second season-opening start Thursday (his first coming last year in Milwaukee) against the D-backs at Chase Field -- the spot where the Rockies' season ended last year, as Gray was hit hard in 1 1/3 innings when he gave up four runs and seven hits in the 11-8 loss to the D-backs in the National League Wild Card Game. Gray had dominated at Chase Field during the regular season -- 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA and 20 strikeouts against one walk in 13 innings -- en route to a 10-4 overall record and a 3.67 ERA in 20 starts. Much of his best work came after he missed 2 1/2 months with a navicular stress fracture of the left foot. But the best way to illustrate the stark contrast in the postseason game is first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who was 0-for-11 with five strikeouts in his career against Gray, before he parked a three-run homer in the first inning. "There's definitely a chip-on-my-shoulder-type thing," Gray said. "But I can't let that get in the way, either. It's something I really want to do, that I'm really focused on -- that I have to say, 'Hey, treat it just like another game.' "[The Wild Card Game] didn't feel like an in-season start, either. It's something I want to reclaim. Get back out there. Show dominance." 1 As much as last year's final start hurt -- afterward, a disconsolate Gray talked of knowing the game was getting away from him but not knowing how to fix it -- he and Black are drawing on it as a lesson. Black said "it was great that Jon self- admitted" that he didn't handle the start like just another game. "For players, there are steps of growth to be taken all the time," Black said. "That was one of them last year for Jon. He pitched in a big game. He'll be better off for it moving forward in hopefully his long career." The final two Spring Training starts suggest that Gray could be ready for a forward leap. Late in his time on the disabled list last season, Gray began to throw while wearing a stabilizing boot on his left foot, which readied his arm for a quick return to the mound shortly after the boot was removed. However, the understandable urge not to put too much pressure on the foot remained. Even when he was going 7-2 with a 2.44 ERA, 66 strikeouts and 15 walks in 66 1/3 innings over his final 11 starts, Gray never felt the front-side power of his delivery. After devoting his first four spring starts to experimenting with a different delivery and concentrating on issues such as holding runners, Gray finished his spring with 9 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out 11 and walking one in that span. Being able to land on his left foot with full force (reminding himself to do so by keeping his left arm in a strong position and feeling the power of the step) has allowed him to find consistency with his two sliders -- one designed to entice hitters to chase the ball in the dirt, the other geared toward weak ground balls. "It's one of those pitches that really isn't there all the time," Gray said. "But I feel if I do the things I'm supposed to, things I tell myself to -- run through my checklist -- it's going to be a pitch for me in the game. It may not be a 12-13 punch-out pitch, but I know I can use it to get people off my fastball." Add to that an increasingly effective curveball and occasional changeup, and Gray feels strong. And some of the ideas Gray fooled with may make their way into the regular season. He pulled off a successful pickoff move against the Cubs' Kris Bryant in his last Cactus League start, and after setting up with his left shoulder facing the plate, he has toyed with a version of the windup he used in college at Oklahoma.. 24th, 2018 "It's kind of weird, the more things I tried, the more comfortable I felt," he said. "Even when I went back to my old stuff, I felt super comfortable. And I felt I can take a few miles an hour off this curveball and still throw it for a strike. Or I can throw this one really hard and make it slider-ish. That's given me a lot of freedom to be more creative." 2 McMahon makes Rockies' Opening Day roster No. 2 prospect excelled at the plate during spring By Thomas Harding MLB.com @harding_at_mlb Mar. 27th, 2018 Before Tuesday's Spring Training finale against the Mariners, Rockies manager Bud Black informed McMahon -- the Rockies' No. 2 prospect and No. 41 overall according to MLB Pipeline -- that he has made his first Opening Day roster. Last year combined at Double-A Hartford and Triple-A Albuquerque, the left-handed-hitting McMahon hit a combined .355 with 39 doubles, four triples, 20 home runs and 88 RBIs before going 3-for-19 in a 17-game taste of the Majors. It wasn't clear there would be a place for McMahon, 23, on a roster crowded with veterans. But the Rockies couldn't deny him after seeing him compile a .328 batting average and a .912 OPS, with two home runs and nine RBIs in 67 Cactus League at-bats. "I wanted to show how I've matured in my game, my new approach, how I execute that," said McMahon, who had gone 1- fo-29 over the previous three Spring Trainings. "I think I did well. The guys believe in me. The coaches believe in me. So I'm excited for the season." Playing time will likely come at first base, with Ian Desmond -- who will be on the field regularly during the second year of a five-year, $70 million contract -- moving to left field and Gerardo Parra becoming a bench player on days McMahon starts. McMahon, who was drafted in the second round in 2013 as a third baseman and has filled in at second during his pro career, also will likely be called upon for pinch-hit duty. "I came to show what I was about, show that I'm here to work, play hard and play some good ball along the way," McMahon said. When Carlos Gonzalez re-signed earlier this month, Black played Desmond consistently at first base, while McMahon squeezed in starts at third and came off the bench. McMahon showed enough to convince the Rockies that he could handle such duty, and he could earn more playing time if the power he displayed last year translates to the Majors.. 8th, 2018 3 "I think I'll be able to do whatever they ask me to do," McMahon said. "And I've got to stay ready, because I don't make the decisions. Bud Black does. Just stay ready and keep doing what I'm doing." The move became clear when the Rockies optioned outfielder Raimel Tapia, who contributed off the bench last season while bouncing between Triple-A and the Majors, back to Albuquerque. While Tapia receives regular at-bats in Albuquerque -- along with David Dahl, another highly touted outfielder -- McMahon will get his big league chance. With the roster not set in stone until Thursday, Black did not announce McMahon as a member of the 25-man roster officially, but said he has useful tools and "is becoming a confident, mature player." With that decision, the roster is beginning to fall into place: • Left-handed-hitting outfielder Mike Tauchman, the Rockies' Abby Greer Award winner as Spring Training Most Valuable Player, will join McMahon and catcher Tony Wolters as left-handed hitters on a four-man bench. The Rockies also optioned catcher Tom Murphy to Albuquerque on Tuesday. Infielder Pat Valaika, who batted .328 (19-for-58) with 12 runs, eight doubles, four homers and 16 RBIs as a pinch-hitter last season, is the righty bat off the bench. • As Black has hinted at over the last several days, right-handed Antonio Senzatela, a starter by trade, will be carried in the bullpen to begin the season. Senzatela has 1.62 ERA in five Cactus League games. • Reliever Zac Rosscup has been trying to make the team as a lefty specialist, but hasn't appeared in a Cactus League game since March 14. Black said after Tuesday's game that he has an issue with his left middle finger. Rosscup, who is out of Minor League options, can begin the year on the disabled list, which would open a spot for Senzatela. • Righty reliever Carlos Estevez (left oblique strain) and righty starter Jeff Hoffman (right shoulder inflammation) will begin the season on the 10-day disabled list. Righty reliever Rayan Gonzalez (recovery from Tommy John right elbow surgery) is on the 60-day DL.

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