MEDIA CLIPS – July 8, 2015

Rox fall to Angels after Bettis struggles early By Alden Gonzalez and Dargan Southard / MLB.com | July 7th, 2015

DENVER -- The Angels knocked around Chad Bettis early with four home runs in the first three frames, propelling Los Angeles to its third straight -digit showing and a 10-2 win over the Rockies in Tuesday's series opener at .

Albert Pujols set the tone in the first with a three- shot for his 54th career Interleague homer -- the most in Major League history. and Matt Joyce followed suit by going deep in the second, and former Rockies Chris Iannetta knocked Bettis (4-4) out with a two-run homer in third, which gave the Angels a 10-0 advantage.

"I don't know if you expect your offense to max out every time like we have these last four games, but early runs are important," said Angels Mike Scioscia, whose team has scored 43 runs amid a four-game winning streak. "We've been doing it, and you can see how it affects every aspect of our game -- from our being able to bring all their stuff into a game and not worrying about one mistake costing them. It's great to see."

The early output was more than enough support for Angels starter Andrew Heaney(2-0), who yielded eight hits and two runs over 7 1/3 frames. Bettis, meanwhile, lasted just 2 1/3 innings, giving up eight hits and a career-high 10 runs on just 56 pitches.

Charlie Blackmon and DJ LeMahieu each had three hits atop the Rockies lineup, and Drew Stubbs launched a solo homer in third. But all of Colorado's offense arrived far too late.

"It makes it tough, but you've still got to grind away at-bats," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said of playing from behind. "Thought Heaney did a nice job for them, but it makes it tougher when you're playing from behind in all aspects of the game."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Crooked numbers: For all intents and purposes, the game had already been decided, but the Angels made certain of it in the top of the third, when Iannetta ripped a two-run homer to straightaway center field -- to pretty much the same place Joyce would one an inning later. It was the Angels' 11th multi-run inning of this road trip, which they're only four games into. They've outscored their opponents -- the Rangers and Rockies -- 43-8 in that stretch.

"Any time you score a bunch of runs it's a lot more fun," Joyce said. "You aren't going to score 10 runs every game, but for us, I think we've done a great job of sticking with our approach and getting pitches to hit and squaring them up."

Picking up the extension: extended his to 19 games and his on-base streak to 34 games with an RBI in the sixth. During his current hitting streak, Tulowitzki is .365 (27-for-74) with 12 runs scored and 12 RBIs.

Still solid: Heaney let three straight batters reach with one out in the sixth, but he got out of the inning with only one run across and turned in another solid, efficient outing. In three starts with the Angels, the 24-year-old Heaney has given up

1 just four runs in 20 1/3 innings, scattering 14 hits, walking three batters and striking out 17. The Angels could have some tough -- yet ideal -- decisions to make with their rotation once returns from the disabled list.

"I do my thing, I go out there and pitch, and whatever happens, happens," Heaney said. "I'd like to think I've given myself an opportunity, but there's five other pitchers that made the team for a reason and there's a reason I didn't."

Long-ball blues: The is always a concern for pitchers at Coors Field, but it hadn't been much of an issue for Bettis until Tuesday night. Entering the series opener, he had served up just four long balls in 61 1/3 innings this season -- and only one of those homers came at Coors Field. But the Angels needed just 17 batters to double Bettis' season total, and none of Los Angeles' four homers were cheapies. All of them were projected by Statcast™ to land at least 415 feet away.

"Those four pitches I missed up in the zone that were home runs -- they're a hot team right now, and you've got to be able to locate pretty well," Bettis said.

QUOTABLE "That's baseball. Its that ebb and flow. It keeps coming back and forth. You try to prolong the flow and shorten the ebb. We had an ebb for a long time." -- Iannetta

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS The Angels, coming off a 12-6, sweep-clinching series finale against the Rangers on Sunday, have now scored 10 or more earned runs against a starting in back-to-back road games. That hasn't been done since 1939, by the Yankees. They're also the first team to plate double-digit runs in three straight games this season.

WHAT'S NEXT Angels: Right-hander Matt Shoemaker (4-7, 4.91 ERA) takes the ball for the finale of a two-game series at Coors Field on Wednesday, with first pitch slated for 6:40 p.m. MT. Shoemaker has improved in his last two starts, limiting the Mariners and Yankees to four runs in 11 2/3 innings. This will be his first appearance in .

Rockies: Left-hander Chris Rusin will take the hill in Wednesday's series finale, looking to give Colorado just its second Interleague win this season in 11 tries. In three career Interleague games (two starts), Rusin is 0-1 with a 9.64 ERA. Most of that damage came this season, when Rusin gave up seven runs over four innings in a June 16 loss at Houston.

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

Alden Gonzalez is a reporter for MLB.com. Dargan Southard is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of or its clubs.

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Tulo makes Final Vote case by extending hit streak By Thomas Harding / MLB.com | @harding_at_mlb |

DENVER -- Rockies Troy Tulowitzki is campaigning with his play.

Tulowitzki, who extended his hitting streak to 19 games with a sixth-inning single on Tuesday night in a 10-2 loss to the Angels, is one of five candidates for the 2015 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote. Fans can cast their votes from a list of five players from each League until 2 p.m. MT on Friday.

Tulowitzki ranks fourth in the NL with a .319 batting average. His streak, which dates back to June 15 is the Majors' longest active run, and he has reached base in a career-best 34 straight games. He is hitting nearly .400 since May 29, and seven of his nine homers have come during that period. That's the only message coming from this candidate.

"Can I have fun with it?" said Tulowitzki, who would join Rockies and DJ LeMahieu at the All-Star Game if he wins the Final Vote. "You guys, knowing me, probably not. I'm not a big fan of it. I won't be sitting here campaigning for myself. I won't be shooting any texts, myself, trying to get myself in. If I gather enough votes from the fans, obviously, it'll be much-appreciated. It'll be an honor, but I don't think I'll do much campaigning on my part."

A strong performance during the weekend put Tulowitzki ahead of the Cardinals'Jhonny Peralta, the fans' pick to start, in batting average and OPS (.845), and into the lead among NL players at his position. Yet, NL players selected the Giants' (third among NL in OPS at .860) to the squad as a reserve, and Giants manager Bruce Bochy, who will manage the NL squad, submitted Tulowitzki as a Final Vote candidate and not as a squad member.

However, Tulowtizki refused to enter a debate.

"I'll let you guys go ahead and compare the stats," he said. "My job is to go out here and play, play hard every single day, and help the Rockies win games. That's what I'm concentrating on."

Tulowitzki was headed for NL Most Valuable Player consideration last year before he suffered a season-ending left leg injury just after the All-Star Game -- one he started, after leading NL players in voting. The standard he set during the first half of last season might have hurt him in this year's voting.

"I don't know who the campaign manager is but we've got to get one," said Rockies manager Walt Weiss. "Tulo got off to a relatively slow start by his standards, but over the last month, even five weeks, he's leading all of Major League Baseball in hitting. Slowly but surely he's returning to form here. I'd like to see him get in there. It would certainly say something about the strength of our infield, having three guys in that game.

"In Tulo's case, he has set the bar so high for himself that anything short of an MVP-type season, maybe people look down upon. He's in a good place right now, been there for a while now."

Here is official information on his fans can vote for Tulowitzki:

• Fans can vote online now at Rockies.com/FinalVote or simply by texting N5 to 89269. Voting is unlimited during The Final Vote. The Rockies encourage the text-to-vote for its speed and ease in casting multiple votes.

• On Friday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. MT, voting will be expanded to Twitter. Every use of #Tulo will count as one official vote for Tulowitzki, That means each tweet using the #Tulo hashtag during this time will count as a vote during this time.

And the voting doesn't end there.

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During the Midsummer Classic in on Tuesday, July 14, fans can once again visit MLB.com to submit their choice for the Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet. Voting exclusively at MLB.com, online and via their mobile devices in the 2015 All-Star Game MVP Vote presented by Chevrolet, the fans' collective voice will represent 20 percent of the overall vote that determines the recipient of the Arch Ward Trophy.

MLB.TV Premium subscribers will be able to live stream the All-Star Game via MLB.TV through FOX's participating video providers. Access will be available across more than 400 supported MLB.TV platforms, including the award-winning MLB.com app. MLB.com will provide extensive online coverage of the All-Star Week festivities, including the 2015 Gillette presented by Head & Shoulders, part of Gatorade All-Star Workout Day on Monday, July 13. The Derby will feature a new format with brackets and timed rounds and will be broadcast live by ESPN and MLB.com beginning at 6 p.m. MT.

The 86th All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX Sports (6 p.m. MT air time, 6:15 first pitch), in Canada by Rogers and RDS, and worldwide by partners in more than 160 countries. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive 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.

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

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Bettis: 'Hit the delete button and move forward' By Dargan Southard / MLB.com | July 7th, 2015

DENVER -- In his first five home starts this season, right-hander Chad Bettis navigated the home-run perils of Coors Field with relative ease.

Then, Tuesday night happened.

The Angels tagged Bettis for four homers in their first 17 batters and sent him trudging to the dugout before the third inning concluded, propelling Los Angeles toa 10-2 victory over the Rockies. Bettis lasted just 2 1/3 frames -- his shortest outing as a starter -- surrendering eight hits and a career-high 10 runs on just 56 pitches.

"It sucks to waste a day like this because I felt really good," said Bettis who had previously served up just one long ball at home this year. "They did damage."

Albert Pujols took the first crack four batters in, launching a no-doubter to left that was projected by Statcast™ to land 434 feet way. Bettis fought back and ended the first with two straight , but the Angels quickly pounced in the ensuing frame.

Two pitches into the second, Bettis was again watching a mistake sail out of Coors Field. This blast belonged to Matt Joyce, who crushed a 92-mph fastball into a center-field pine tree for a 4-0 advantage. Two singles followed once the lineup card turned over, and Mike Trout sent them all trotting home with a three-run homer that snuck inside the left-field foul pole.

By the time Bettis took the mound in the third, he was already in an 8-0 hole.

"There were a lot of balls in the middle of the plate -- belt high -- and they didn't miss them," said Rockies manager Walt Weiss, who finally pulled Bettis after Chris Iannetta's third-inning shot supplied the Angels with a 10-0 lead.

Not only did the four homers surrendered double Bettis' season total, but they also matched the number of long balls he'd given up over his previous 13 home outings -- a stretch that covered 43 innings and dated back to April 23, 2014.

Bettis' next move is rather simple.

"At this point," he said, "it's time to hit the delete button here and move forward."

Dargan Southard 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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All-Star LeMahieu reaching new heights Sky's the limit for Rockies' winner

By Tracy Ringolsby / MLB.com | @TracyRingolsby | July 7th, 2015

DENVER -- DJ LeMahieu remembers showing up at the ballpark in Daytona early one afternoon in the middle of the 2010 season. Richie Zisk, the manager of the Cubs' High A affiliate in the was in the batting cage in an otherwise empty ballpark, taking swings against the pitching machine.

"He was hitting line drives in every direction," said LeMahieu, "and he would scream, `It's not that hard. Hitting's not that hard.'"

It was, said Zisk, a message he wanted to get across to the young prospects he was in charge of for the summer.

"I wanted to drive home the point," Zisk said Tuesday. "It was about talent and dedication. It was not a matter of playing ability. It was about mental toughness."

LeMahieu got the message, loud and clear.

Struggling to survive in the first half of that season -- his first full season in pro ball -- he finished so strong that he wound up with a .314 average and 73 RBIs. He has handled the challenges ever since, including a year ago when he became the tallest full-fledged second baseman in big league history, winning a Gold Glove, and then this year, when he was selected to be a member of the National League All-Star team.

And this wasn't one of those every-team-has-to-have-a-representative deals. Nope. Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado is also an All-Star. And they are both going to Cincinnati for next week's game because of the respect they have earned from their peers.

They were automatic additions to the roster because they finished second in the player vote behind Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon and Reds third baseman Todd Frazier, respectively, both of whom were also selected by the fans into the starting lineup.

LeMahieu tipped his hat to Zisk.

"That's kind of him to say, but the young man has a lot of talent," said Zisk. "He got to the big leagues because he earned it, and he is an All-Star because he earned it. He made the commitment."

He also made the commitment to play second base, and at 6-foot-4 he is believed to be the tallest second baseman in Major League history.

George "High Pockets" Kelly, also 6-foot-4, is the only other player that tall who even played 100 games in a season at second base. But Kelly, in the Hall of Fame as a , did that in 1925 when the New York Giants moved him to second because Frankie Frisch was hurt. Kelly played only 37 other games at second base in his 16 big league seasons.

Dick "Turkey Neck" Hall was 6-foot-7 and played seven games at second base in 1953, but he came to the big leagues with the Pirates as an in 1953 and converted to being a pitcher in 1955. Hall was a key part of the bullpen for the Orioles when they went to the World Series in 1969, 1970 and 1971.

LeMahieu, a shortstop at LSU who played all the infield positions during his professional career, never hesitated at the opportunity to become a full-time second baseman with the Rockies.

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"The hardest part about second base for me was people questioning if I could actually play the position at 6-foot-4, but I feel like my height is an advantage," he said. "The Rockies were the first team to ever give me that chance and I told them I wanted to play the position."

Given the opportunity he took advantage of it, and this year he has taken a firm grip on the position with his continued development as a hitter. With a single in his first at-bat against the Angels on Tuesday night he raised his average back to .300, including .410 in the challenging No. 8 spot, before injuries led to him being moved into the second slot.

And for this offensive emergence his first thanks goes to Zisk.

"It was a pivotal point in my career," said LeMahieu. "It was my first full season in pro ball. I was really bad that first half. He never stopped working with me."

Zisk said it was a matter of expanding LeMahieu's offensive vision.

LeMahieu had an excellent approach to driving the ball the other way. Zisk wasn't looking for him to suddenly become , but he felt it was important to make LeMahieu aware of the inner part of the plate.

"This wasn't a one-day or one-week thing," Zisk said. "It's something we worked on and worked on. It was a matter of him becoming aware of the inner half of the plate and times when he had to make the adjustment."

LeMahieu made that adjustment. Now he is an All-Star.

Tracy Ringolsby is a columnist for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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Rox claim Germen, send Morneau to 60-day DL By Dargan Southard / MLB.com | July 7th, 2015

DENVER -- The Rockies claimed right-hander Gonzalez Germen off waivers from the Cubs and optioned him to -A Albuquerque on Tuesday. To make room on the 40-man roster, Colorado transferred first basemen to the 60-day disabled list.

Germen pitched in six games with Chicago early in the season but has spent the last two months with Triple-A Iowa, where he was 5-1 with a 3.78 ERA in 24 games.

Morneau, meanwhile, has been out since mid-May with a cervical strain and concussion symptoms, but Rockies manager Walt Weiss said the move was solely roster-related.

"Just needed to create a spot, so his condition hasn't changed," Weiss said. "It's pretty much the same -- good days and bad days. We feel like he is improving when we look at the big picture, so the move wasn't made because his condition is deteriorating."

Worth noting

• Former first-round pick went 1-for-3 with an RBI in his first rehab game with short season Boise on Monday. Dahl is recovering from a late-May outfield collision that forced the removal of his spleen.

Felt great being able to get out there and play again! - David Dahl (@ddahl21) July 7, 2015

• Outfielder Corey Dickerson -- in the midst of his second DL stint this season because of plantar fasciitis -- has been working on change-of-direction activities, such as sprints and agilities. Dickerson, however, hasn't been able to do any of those drills in baseball cleats, but he hopes that changes soon.

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Rusin starts as Rox conclude short Interleague set By Dargan Southard / MLB.com | July 7th, 2015

DENVER -- The Rockies and Angels conclude their brief two-game series on Wednesday at Coors Field -- with Colorado sending left-hander Chris Rusin (3-3, 4.27 ERA) to the hill opposite Los Angeles' Matt Shoemaker (4-7, 4.91).

Although he's taken the loss in his last two starts, Shoemaker has produced well in both outings. He gave up two runs over six frames against the Mariners on June 26 and followed that up with 5 2/3 effective innings versus the Yankees on July 1. Shoemaker, though, will be searching for his first win since June 9.

Rusin, meanwhile, enters having produced similarly in his last start. Against Arizona on July 2, he gave up three runs (one earned) over six innings but took the loss after the Rockies mustered just one run.

Things to know about this game:

• Wednesday's contest will serve as an introduction of sorts on both sides. Nick Hundley is the only Rockies position player who has faced Shoemaker, while David Freese is the only Angeles position player who has seen Rusin.

• In five career Interleague games (four starts), Shoemaker is 2-2 with a 1.67 ERA. He's given up just five runs in 18 innings and has held opponents to a .189 batting average.

• After homering in the series opener, Albert Pujols now has at least one RBI in each of his last three games. An RBI on Wednesday would be his first four-game RBI streak of the season.

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Rockies blasted by Angels and Chad Bettis gives up 10 runs

Colorado (35-48) has now lost eight of their last nine and continue to sink lower in last place By Nick Groke The Denver Post

Coors Field readied for a coronation. Nolan Arenado, the Rockies' recently minted all-star, hit in the cleanup spot Tuesday night against the . But by the time Arenado came to bat for the first time as an official all-star, the Rockies were already losing. By eight runs.

The trumpets sounded more like sad trombones.

The Angels blasted pitcher Chad Bettis for 10 runs in less than three innings on their way to a runaway 10-2 victory over the listless Rockies, who were playing their first home game after a 10-game road trip.

"Four pitches I missed up in the zone, and they were home runs," Bettis said. "They're a hot team right now, you have to locate well."

The Rockies (35-48) have now lost eight of their last 10 games. The Angels scored 10 runs off an opposing starter in a second consecutive game (they also got 10 off Texas' Colby Lewis on Sunday).

"It stinks to waste a day like this," Bettis said. "I felt really good, really connected to the ground. But they did damage."

Bettis, who had been a sprinkle of hope for a Rockies pitching rotation that is reeling again this year, lasted just seven outs. The Angels hit five balls in the air against Bettis — and four of them left the yard. Put another way, the Angels struck out half as often (twice) as they homered (four) against Bettis.

He left in the third inning after allowing 10 runs on eight hits. He struck out two and walked one. He wasn't wild — 37 of his 56 pitches were strikes.

"It's time to hit the delete button and move forward," Bettis said.

Angels first baseman Albert Pujols, in an 0-2 count in the first inning, hopped all over Bettis' 92 mph fastball for a three-run homer into the left-field bleachers. It was his 26th home run of the season.

In the second inning, Matt Joyce punched a long, leadoff homer to straightaway center field over 's head. It was just his fifth home run this year.

Five batters later, Mike Trout lined a three-run homer to left field, his 22nd longball. In the third, for good measure, former Colorado catcher Chris Iannetta hit a two-run liner over the center field wall. That was his fourth homer.

The Angels feasted.

"(Bettis) has been one of our most consistent starters," Weiss said. "But he put a lot of balls in the middle of the plate, belt-high. And they didn't miss them."

Only once before in their history had a Rockies pitcher allowed four home runs and at least 10 runs in a game. Rookie Shawn Chacon gave up five homers and 11 runs in five innings in 2001.

Yohan Flande pitched in long relief of Bettis, throwing 5 ⅔ scoreless innings scoreless innings. Bettis was the only young pitcher who struggled Tuesday at Coors Field. Angels rookie Andrew Heaney, who won his first major-league game last week against the and was pitching outside of Anaheim, Calif., for the first time this season, allowed two runs on eight hits. He struck out five in 7 ⅓ innings.

Heaney, 24, entered this season as the Angels' top prospect. The rookie faced little trouble against the Rockies. Drew Stubbs' solo home run in the third was Colorado's second hit. Troy Tulowitzki added an RBI single in the sixth.

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Arenado, who earned an all-star reserve spot along with second baseman DJ LeMahieu, went 0-for-4 at the plate. But he did make a sterling, backhanded pick-up to get Trout out in the fourth. LeMahieu went 3-for-4 with three singles and his hitting .304. Charlie Blackmon also went 3-for-4. And Troy Tulowitzki extended his hitting streak to 19 games.

But the Rockies continued to flounder against the other league. They've lost nine of 10 games this season against teams.

"It's tough to play from behind — in all aspects of the game," Weiss said. "Starting pitching tends to set the tone." Cue the trombone. Womp-wah.

Nick Groke: [email protected] or twitter.com/nickgroke

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Jon Gray vs. Andrew Heaney: How the Angels scored by calling up a pitching prospect By Nick Groke The Denver Post

A top pitching prospect picked his way through seven-plus innings Tuesday at Coors Field. His name was Andrew Heaney.

At 24 years old, the rookie Heaney pitched in just his third game this season for the Angels and first away from Anaheim. He won his first major-league game last week, against the Yankees. Against the Rockies, he allowed two runs on eight hits. He struck out five in 7 ⅓ innings. The Angels blasted the Rockies, 10-2.

There is a mounting restlessness in the Rockies clubhouse for pitching help. The Rockies starting staff has a 5.11 ERA — second-worst in the majors ahead of only the woeful Phillies.

Chad Bettis, one of two Colorado pitchers to perform consistently well this season, on Tuesday got blown up. The Angels hit four home runs off him in less than three innings.

“Starting pitching tends to set the tone,” Rockies manager Walt Weiss said.

But while the Angels are rolling — at 45-38, they have the third-best record in the American League — in part behind a boost from Heaney, the Rockies are walking a different path.

Heaney entered the season as the Angels top pitching prospect. He was a first-round pick, No. 9 overall, out of Oklahoma State by the Marlins in 2012. The Angels called up Heaney last season in June, in his second full pro year. He struggled some in seven games, but he learned.

Now he’s rolling. He’s allowed two or fewer runs in each of his three starts this year. He has a 1.77 ERA.

The Rockies are in a similar situation with a similar pitching prospect, but they’re handling him differently.

Jon Gray, who is just six months younger than Heaney at 23, was drafted in the first round in 2013 (at No. 3, one year after Heaney), out of Oklahoma. Like Heaney was last year, Gray is in his second full pro season. But while the Angels called up Heaney in June, the Rockies are keeping Gray in Triple-A.

The Rockies created a roster spot Tuesday when they placed Justin Morneau on the 60-day disabled list. But they used it to add minor-league reliever Gonzalez Germen.

The move spoke a thousand words. Instead of calling up Gray, the Rockies put Germen on the 40-man roster and sent him to the minors.

Gray on Tuesday pitched six scoreless innings for Triple-A Albuquerque. He struck out eight and walked just two. In his past five starts, Gray has 39 strikeouts in 28-plus innings (nearly eight per game and 1.4 per inning).

“Jon Gray is doing a great job right now of learning lessons and evolving at the Triple-A level,” Rockies GM said last week. “So there are things that he needs to do and will continue to do. And we’ll continue to exercise patience with him.”

Drew Stubbs, who homered Tuesday for one of the Rockies’ two runs off Heaney, said a young pitching prospect can certainly succeed in the big leagues if the situation is right.

“Having a plan and sticking to it” is key, Stubbs said of Heaney’s outing. “(Angels’ Chris) Iannetta is a veteran catcher. And a lot of times if you have a guy who really knows what he’s doing back there, you can guide a young guy through a game.

“Heaney was aggressive with his fastball and really commanded it on both sides. He mixed in a changeup and a slider, whenever he could. His fastball is good enough. If you have a low 90s fastball, and you’re locating like he was, you’ll be effective.”

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Rockies' Troy Tulowitzki won't campaign for All-Star Game berth

Tulowitzki, a four-time all-star, is part of a five-player fan vote-off By Nick Groke The Denver Post

Troy Tulowitzki will never run for governor. Not if this is how he drums up votes. "Can I have fun with it? You guys knowing me, probably not," Tulowitzki said Tuesday at his locker at Coors Field.

After the National League all-star roster was announced Monday — including two Rockies selections in third baseman Nolan Arenado and second baseman DJ LeMahieu — Tulowitzki was left with one final chance to join next week's game.

Tulowitzki, a four-time all-star, is part of a five-player fan vote-off for the 34th and final NL all-star roster spot. All he has to do is earn more votes than pitcher Johnny Cueto, reliever Jeurys Familia, pitcher and St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez.

"I'm not a big fan of it," Tulowitzki said. "I won't be campaigning for myself or shooting in text votes for myself. If I gather enough votes from the fans, it would be much appreciated. And it would be an honor. But I don't think I'll do much campaigning."

Tulowitzki prefers to speak at the plate. He started the season slowly, coming off a year-ending hip surgery in 2014. But over the past month, he has ascended to the top of the NL batting leaders among shortstops.

Tulowitzki topped NL shortstops in batting average (.321), on-base percentage (.358) and (.489) entering Tuesday. Cardinals shortstop Jhonny Peralta, though, won the fan vote for a starting spot. And shortstop Brandon Crawford earned a reserve spot.

"I don't know who the campaign manager is, but we've got to get one," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "Slowly but surely, he's returning to form. It would certainly say something about the strength of our infield, having three guys in that game." Tulowitzki faces an uphill climb to the All-Star Game, scheduled for Tuesday in Cincinnati. Kershaw will certainly draw a lot of attention. And Tulowitzki has drawn criticism for a decreased home run total this season.

"In Tulo's case, he set the bar so high for himself that anything short of an MVP-type season, maybe people look down upon," Weiss said. Tulowitzki's nine home runs coming into Tuesday were well off his pace from 2014, when he entered the all-star break with 21 homers. But his 44 RBIs are not far behind the 52 he had in a torrid start last year.

"The power numbers aren't what they've been in the past, so it's something people talk about," Weiss said. "The tough thing is Tulo gets compared to himself rather than other players. He's got the numbers to back it up. His numbers are as good or better than any other shortstop in the National League."

Looking ahead

Angels' Matt Shoemaker (4-7, 4.91 ERA) at Rockies' Chris Rusin (3-3, 4.27), 6:40 p.m., ROOT; 850 AM

Rusin will face the Angels for the first time in his career, trying to reverse his interleague luck. In three cross-league games, Rusin is 0-1 with a 9.64 ERA over just 9 . In his previous start against the American League, Rusin allowed a career-high seven earned runs in the Rockies' 8-5 loss at Houston last month. After Chad Bettis allowed four home runs in a little more than two innings against the Angels on Tuesday, Rusin does offer a glimmer of hope. He hasn't allowed a home run at Coors Field this season.

Thursday: Braves' Alex Wood (6-5, 3.34 ERA) at Rockies' Kyle Kendrick (3-10, 6.00), 6:40 p.m., ROOT Friday: Braves' Shelby Miller (5-4, 2.07) at Rockies' David Hale (2-4, 5.89), 6:10 p.m., ROOT Nick Groke, The Denver Post

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Justin Morneau placed on 60-day disabled list by

Morenau, 34, has struggled coming back from his most recent concussion By Nick Groke The Denver Post

Justin Morneau remains a phantom presence in the Rockies clubhouse. He's been out of their lineup since May 16 because of a concussion and a neck injury.

On Tuesday, the Rockies put Morneau on the 60-day disabled list in a move to carve out roster room for a new pitcher. They signed minor-league right-handed pitcher Gonzalez Germen off waivers from the .

"We just needed to create a spot," manager Walt Weiss said. Roster juggling aside, the move highlighted how difficult it's been for Morneau to recover from another head injury.

"He has good days and bad days," Weiss said. "We feel like he's improving when you look at the big picture. But the move wasn't made because his condition deteriorated."

Morneau, 34, the National League batting champ last season, has struggled coming back from his most recent concussion. He has received some treatment and done minor rehab work on occasion at Coors Field, but he hasn't completed any baseball activity since he suffered whiplash diving for a ball earlier this season.

The veteran first baseman went through similar difficulty with a string of concussions earlier in his career. He's in the second year of a two-year contract with the Rockies. By adding Germen to their 40-man roster, the Rockies skipped over adding pitching prospect Jon Gray. They will continue to show patience with the hard-throwing right-hander.

In six games for the Cubs this season, Germen allowed five earned runs in six innings. He offers the Rockies minor- league bullpen depth.

Germen was immediately optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque. With the minor-league , Germen was 5-1 with a 3.78 ERA this season over 33 1/3 innings. Nick Groke: [email protected] ortwitter.con/nickgroke

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The Colorado Rockies starting rotation struggles persist as Gray Watch continues By Ryan Freemyer @RFreemyer on Jul 8, 2015, 6:30a | Purple Row

In the top of the third inning tonight at Coors Field, current Los Angeles Angels and former Colorado Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta hit a solo home run to put his new team ahead of his old team 10-0. The home run was the fourth of the game allowed by Rockies Chad Bettis and spelled the end of a night that saw his ERA balloon from a solid 3.67 all the way up to an unsightly 4.95. The outing also raised the ERA of the Rockies rotation as a whole to 5.11 on the year, the second worst mark in the Majors. The team remains stuck on just 29 quality starts in 2015, the fewest in the league.

Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, no. 1 PuRP Jon Gray hurled six stellar innings for Triple-A Albuquerque. His final line looked like this:

For Gray, tonight's start marked his ninth quality start in his last 10 outings. In his last five starts, Gray has averaged 12.39 strikeouts per nine innings. It certainly seems like a switch has flipped for him in these last five starts. It could be a case of the proverbial leash being taken off, a correction of a flaw in his mechanics, further development of his secondary pitches or a combination of all three, but whatever he's doing is working. Five starts may seem like something that could just be a small sample size fluke, but stabilization for a pitcher's rate comes after only 70 batters faced, so what he's doing now actually appears to be legitimate.

Gray has now shown that he can go out and get strikeouts, like he has in his last five starts, and he's also shown that he can work efficiently to get deep into games, like he did on June 11 when he worked eight innings in exactly 100 pitches. Like any pitcher, Gray still has areas that he can work to improve, but it sure seems like he's ready to take the next step and face big league hitters. The only question now is when to call him up.

There are a few different schools of thought here. There's the crowd who thinks that Gray's first Major League start should've come yesterday, those who think he should make his debut later this season, and those who believe it would be best to let him begin his Major League career in 2016.

The primary reasoning behind wanting Gray up now is that there are only a certain number of good pitches in every pitcher's arm. In a world where the question with pitchers isn't if they'll get hurt, but when they'll get hurt, it would be unwise to waste an arm that's ready for the big leagues in Triple-A. This school of thought definitely makes sense, as the team should theoretically be aiming for maximum value for all of their players at the Major League level, and Gray can't provide Major League value if he's pitching in Triple-A.

Group numbers two and three generally believe that, with the Rockies now sitting at 35-48 on the season, the team isn't a contender with or without Gray. Since they aren't contenders anyway, the most logical thing to do is be patient and keep Gray on the same development path he was on the start the season. Where this group differs is when they believe the optimal time to promote Gray is.

On one hand, there are those who think it will help Gray to get his feet wet in the big leagues prior to 2016, valuing experience over the additional year of team control the Rockies would get by waiting until 2016 to start his Major League service clock. The other side, naturally, believes that the additional team control is more valuable to the Rockies than the experience Gray would gain by pitching for the Rockies in 2015, so they want to wait.

One of the greatest, but also one of the most frustrating, things about baseball is that, no matter which of these groups you might belong to (maybe there's even a fourth group that I didn't mention here!), there is no way to know for certain which course of action is the right one. If the Rockies call up Gray to make his next start in the Majors, we could all look back five years from now and wish they had waited. If the club waits until 2016 to start Gray's Rockies career, we could all look back five years from now and wish they had brought him up sooner. For now, all we can do is wait and see.

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EL notes: Healthy Murphy powering Cats Rockies catching prospect rebounding nicely after injury-laced 2014 By Craig Forde / Special to MiLB.com

A year after a shoulder injury limited him to just 27 games, New Britain Rock Cats catcher Tom Murphy is enjoying a fantastic rebound season, filled with health, positive results and a couple of well-deserved honors.

The Colorado Rockies top catching prospect and No. 7 farmhand has been the backbone of a strong Rock Cats team and was recently rewarded for his efforts with an Eastern League All-Star selection as well as a being named to Team USA for the upcoming Pan Am Games.

"If you can't go to the All-Star Game, I guess the Pan Am Games is a pretty good upgrade," said Murphy, who will be unable to participate in the Eastern League All-Star game on the 15th, since the Pan-Am Games take place from July 10- 19. "Both are great honors and very respectable to be named to both games. The Pan Am Games is something I'm really looking forward to, with the national stage and that sort of thing. You get to represent your country and there's nothing better than that."

"He's a perfect person to get picked for that," said New Britain Austin House who leads the league with 19 saves. "He's an all-American kid."

Part of what has helped Murphy settle in from the start of the season has been his proximity to his family in Upstate New York, just a four-hour drive from New Britain.

It's the closest he has been to home since starting his professional career and he has been using the rare off days to spend time back at home, unwind and remove himself from the game for a minute.

"That's been the best part," said Murphy. "I can't be more thankful for that right now. Those off days are gold this time of year."

Being able to have that time away has helped him focus more when he gets back between the lines, but he also credits a calmer approach the game, which has aided him across the board, but most notably in the area of gunning down runners attempting to steal on him, something he has done successfully 39 percent of the time this season.

"If I try to rush things, nothing good happens," said Murphy. "I just make sure I catch the ball, make sure I got through my steps and good things will happen. You see your target, you pick it up and you throw it."

It's a similar approach that he takes with his pitching staff in making sure that they simply attack the hitters while he makes the necessary adjustments based on the pitchers strengths and weaknesses.

"It's nice coming out of the bullpen because he doesn't really screw around when calling pitches," said House, a fellow Eastern League All-Star selection. "It's just right at people."

Though Murphy did attack the season at the plate in the same manner -- hitting .286 with 8 home runs, 29 RBIs and 26 runs -- he has since cooled a bit, hitting .176 for June.

He works tirelessly to get better in every aspect of his game but feels that he needs to gain more consistent at-bats in order to continue to build the proper package to deliver to the next level.

"I started out really good and have been battling since then a little bit," said Murphy, who despite the recent struggles still leads the league with 13 home runs. "It's one of those things that's going to happen. The sooner I can figure things out the better off I'm going to be. Offensively, I want to be as consistent as I can be, especially with my strike zone discipline."

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Adames To Represent Isotopes In All-Star Game

Infielder Cristhian Adames will now represent the Albuquerque Isotopes and the in the 2015 Triple- A All-Star Game to be hosted at Werner Park in Papillion, NE, on Wednesday, July 15.

Adames will take the place of outfielder Matt McBride, who was elected to represent the Isotopes by the fans. McBride sprained his right ankle rounding second base on July 3 and will not be able to participate in the All-Star Game.

The 23-year-old prospect is currently batting .321, which ranks sixth in the PCL. Adames also has 35 runs scored, 15 doubles, a triple, seven home runs, 34 RBI and six stolen bases.

Adames may currently be on the hottest streak of any Isotopes batter this season. He finished Sunday's game 3-for-4 with an RBI. It was his second-straight three-hit game and fourth in his last six appearances. During his last nine games, Adames is now batting .511 (23-for-45) with eight runs scored, four doubles, two homers and 12 RBI. One of the home runs was a walk-off blast in the bottom of the ninth against Reno on June 2. He has hit safely in 10 straight games and in 15 of his last 16 with nine multi-hit outings during that stretch.

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