Gray’s Saturday start is bigger than just one game
Bud Black said what you’d expect a manager to say when his back is against the wall.
“Jon has proven to be a very capable major-league starting pitcher,” Black said Friday afternoon before the Rockies opened a crucial three-game series against the Mariners at Coors Field. “We have seen great things from Jon, and he’s delivered many times as a big-league starting pitcher over the last couple of years. We are confident Jon can do that again tomorrow.”
The Jon that Black was speaking of, of course, was Jon Gray, Colorado’s opening-day starter and the third overall pick in the 2013 draft who was recently demoted to Triple-A Albuquerque. He was sent down to tweak some mechanical issues, work on the mental and emotional aspects of his game and regain some lagging confidence.
Gray was supposed to spend more time working down on the farm, but finger injuries to righthanded starters Chad Bettis and Antonio Senzatela — they both have blisters on the middle finger of their pitching hand — necessitated Gray’s quick return to Colorado’s starting rotation. He’ll be on the mound Saturday night vs. the Mariners.
“I’ve just been trying to throw the ball naturally, so I think it quieted down quite a few things,” said Gray, who made two starts at Triple-A after being sent down. He was a discouraging 7-7 with a 5.77 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP in 17 starts with the Rockies.
Gray’s problems are not about firepower. He’s consistently shown the ability to strike batters out. His problems has been giving up big hits in big moments, and a nagging inability keep bad innings from snowballing.
“You can look at Jon’s strikeout totals, they’re top 10 in the league,” Black said when Gray was sent down. “But there have been some frustrating moments for him. Some of the other markers are not what we need right now in a big-league game.”
That did not suddenly change after a two-game stint with the Isotopes, in which Gray went 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA, walking four and striking out 13 over 10M innings.
Gray, however, certainly seems eager for a second chance this season.
“I have kind of hit the reset button and quieted down a lot of things,” he said. “This will be a big start, but you still have to treat it like any other. But this is a big part of the season, the way we have been playing. You want to take something good into there, and hope it’s part of the good momentum going forward.
“That’s where my mind is. I’m just going to go out there and do my best.”
Come through with a shutdown performance Saturday, and Gray will likely find himself back in the rotation after the Rockies return from the all-star break. Falter, and Gray will likely be wearing an Isotopes jersey for quite a while.
Finger issues.
Senzatela, scheduled to start Friday night’s game against Seattle at Coors Field, was scratched Friday afternoon because of that painful blister. He was placed on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to Tuesday.
Taking Senzatela’s place on the mound Friday night was righthander Jeff Hoffman, who made his second stint on the active roster this season. Friday night, however, was his first start in the majors this season.
Senzatela, 23, has gone 3-2 with a 5.34 ERA (30.1 IP, 18 ER), nine walks and 20 strikeouts across 10 relief appearances and two starts with the Rockies. He felt pain after his bullpen session Tuesday, then discovered the blister on his finger Wednesday morning. By Thursday, the finger had become infected. Now he’s getting treatment.
“They cleaned up everything and now it’s better,” said Senzatela, who said it flared up when he was throwing his slider.
Black hopes Senzatela’s DL stint will be short.
“The blister turning into an infection cost him a start and I think in due time — in a relatively short period of time — he should be back playing catch,” Black said. “We are cautiously optimistic about Antonio’s return to the rotation after the
all-star break.”