MEDIA CLIPS – June 15, 2018 Story breaks up no-hitter, but Rox fall to Phils Shortstop continues to heat up; leads NL SS in HRs, RBIs By Thomas Harding MLB.com @harding_at_mlb Jun. 14th, 2018 PHILADELPHIA -- Trevor Story saved the Rockies from the ignominy of a no-hitter, but as has been the case recently, he couldn't prevent another loss. Story's RBI double with two outs in the seventh ended Phillies right-hander Vince Velasquez's no-hit bid, and the Rockies fell, 9-3, on Thursday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. Colorado has lost 10 of its past 13 games. Story's double was part of a two-run rally to cut the deficit to 3-2, but the Phillies scored four runs in the bottom of the inning to ensure taking two of three in the series. Rookie Ryan McMahon, who struggled early but has been solid since his return from Triple-A Albuquerque, was another bright spot. McMahon launched his first Major League homerto straightaway center in the eighth off Hector Neris.. 14th, 2018 But the Rockies couldn't solve Velasquez. "[Velazquez] was tough. He was throwing his fastball up in the zone, and he's got some life on it, and that makes it tough to square it up," Story said. "His breaking stuff was really good today. It was just a tough day for us." "More than anything, the fastball had some life to it, and we chased at the top of the zone probably a little bit too much." Rockies manager Bud Black said. Story's eighth-inning single ended a perfect-game bid from the Padres' Jordan Lyles on May 15. This time, Velasquez (5- 7) faced the minimum until walking Carlos Gonzalez in the seventh while trying to protect a 3-0 lead. 1 It set up the sizzling Story, who has hit .330 (35-of-106) since he broke up Lyles' perfect-game bid. Story entered the game tied for the National League lead in RBIs. He lined a 2-2 pitch into the left-field corner to deliver his 50th RBI, as he builds a case for All-Star Game votes, and prompted Velasquez's exit at 105 pitches. "I was just getting ready for the fastball," Story said. "It's a good fastball, but it was a breaking ball, a little up, where I could handle it." Gerardo Parra, hitting .317 on the road, singled off reliever Tommy Hunter to drive in Story and cut the Phillies' lead to one run.But Rockies starter German Marquez (4-7), who gave up solo homers to Rhys Hoskinsand Nick Williams early on, allowed singles to Andrew Knapp and Scott Kingery, then walked J.P. Crawford to load the bases in the seventh. All inherited runners would score after Black went to the bullpen, closing Marquez's line with six runs in six-plus innings pitched. "[Marquez] pitched much better than the line indicated," Black said. "A couple of mistakes to Hoskins on the first-pitch fastball -- looked to be down the middle -- and then the breaking ball to Williams didn't quite get where it needed to. "It's a shame that Marquez got tagged with as many runs that he did. He threw the ball pretty well.". 14th, 2018 MOMENT THAT MATTERED Black was forced into tough decisions in the seventh that didn't go the Rockies' way. When Marquez walked Crawford on four pitches to run his pitch count to 112 and load the bases, Black replaced his starter with Jake Mcgee. The lefty reliever coaxed a fly ball from Hernandez, and after a passed ball allowed Knapp to score, McGee allowed a double to Hoskins, who entered with a .277 average and a .426 slugging percentage against lefties.14th, 2018 "This kid, Hoskins, the first time we've seen him live. He wants the ball out away from him so he can get his arms out there and pull the ball," Black said. "Jake missed his spot. The ball was out over the plate." YOU GOTTA SEE THIS The seventh-inning rally was cut short after Hunter struck out Ian Desmond with a man at first base.The Rockies didn't feel that should have been a strikeout, and television replays seemed to back that assertion. The pitch that struck out Desmond appeared to skim off his bat, but home-plate umpire Quinn Walcott ruled it a strike, and no one else on the crew 2 saw the deflection. Desmond protested and Black came from the dugout to offer his testimony, but the umpires never gathered. The play is not reviewable by replay., 2018 "When we got [Velasquez] out of the game, we had a little bit of a rough call on the Desmond foul tip. The catcher missed the ball because of the foul tip that wasn't called," Black said. UP NEXT Rockies righty Chad Bettis (4-1, 4.40 ERA) starts Friday's game, returning to his home state to face the Rangers with his parents in attendance. Lefty Yohander Mendez will be making his second appearance for Texas, with first pitch set for 6:05 p.m MT. Story, from nearby Irving, Texas, will have a large group of supporters in the stands. 3 McMahon's game plan pays off with 1st homer By Thomas Harding MLB.com @harding_at_mlb Jun. 14th, 2018 PHILADELPHIA -- Rockies rookie Ryan McMahon took an early-season demotion to Triple-A Albuquerque as a reminder to stick to a plan -- one that came to fruition with his first Major League homer in the eighth inning of Thursday's 9-3 loss to the Phillies. McMahon, 23, entered the year the club's No. 2 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, and made the team in Spring Training amid much fanfare. He launched a Hector Neris 85.6 mph sinker a Statcast-estimated 410 feet with a 106 mph exit velocity over the center-field wall. McMahon didn't think it would go that far at first. "I rounded first pretty hard, but it felt pretty good to see it go over the wall," said McMahon, who started at third base as manager Bud Black gave All-Star Nolan Arenado the day off. A 2013 second-round pick out of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., McMahon blossomed last year by hitting .355 with 20 home runs and a .986 OPS combined at Double- A Hartford and Albuquerque, before going 3-for-19 in brief Major League action. After making the Major League roster this year, McMahon went 9-for-50 before being sent back to Triple-A. Throughout his career, even as an amateur, McMahon has always concentrated on driving balls in the air the opposite way when struggling -- all with the trust that his natural ability would produce straightaway and pull shots. McMahon felt he needed a coherent plan, as he is playing part-time with Ian Desmond making most of the starts at first base. Since his return, McMahon has hit .231 with a triple, three doubles and a homer, and the plan is working. According to Statcast™, from May 26-30, four of his six hits went the opposite way, as did eight of his 14 batted balls. The other batted balls either barely reached the outfield or stayed in the infield. McMahon has a single and a triple to the pull side and Thursday's homer to center, plus nine of his 13 batted balls have been to center or the pull side, with a couple of deep outs to the pull side. The Rockies envision McMahon being able to pull pitches into the seats, but they are working with him through a steady process. "I'm still staying in the same way, just feeling my direction better," McMahon said. "You're starting to see more balls go to right field, center field and away when they're supposed to. I like the direction I'm heading." 4 Ottavino back, ready to lock down late innings By Thomas Harding MLB.com @harding_at_mlb Jun. 14th, 2018 PHILADELPHIA -- The Rockies activated right-handed reliever Adam Ottavino from the disabled list before Thursday's 9- 3 loss to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, and manager Bud Black said Ottavino would go right back into his late-game role. Ottavino had a 0.95 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 28 1/3 innings before going to the DL with a left oblique injury. His absence weakened the bullpen, and the team went 5-9 without him. "We talked about that, and 'Otto' feels -- where he is physically and mentally -- that he wants to jump right back into the mix of pitching deep in the game," Black said. "He's ready for that. He doesn't necessarily want to ease back in." This year represents a turnaround from 2017, when Ottavino -- previously one of the most effective late-game relievers -- went 2-3 with a 5.06 ERA and saw a disturbing rise in walks (39 in 53 1/3 innings). Black lauded Ottavino for his detailed offseason work. "Physically, [Ottavino] made it a point of emphasis to get his body in the best shape possible," Black said. "The year before, it wasn't the case. It wasn't that he slacked, but this year he was adamant about being in the best physical shape. "On the mechanics side, [Ottavino] went up to Driveline [performance facility] up in Seattle. He bought his own cameras. He was really studious with what the Driveline people did and what he did on his own -- release point, spin rate, finger pressure.