Davis “staying positive every day” in wake of his bullpen demotion

Since being officially removed from the closer role Aug. 2 with an alarming 6.82 ERA, Wade Davis has posted four straight scoreless outings in relief for Colorado.

That included a scoreless frame in the eighth Wednesday against Arizona, when the right-hander worked around a couple of hits to keep the game tied 5-5 in the Rockies’ eventual 7-6 walk-off win. Leaning heavily on his fastball and cutter, Davis attacked the zone with 16 strikes in 22 pitches.

For Davis — one of the best relievers in baseball on the road, with a 0.63 ERA in 16 appearances — continuing to be an effective piece of the Colorado bullpen in a non-closer role starts with a bit of amnesia regarding the six outings this season in which he has given up multiple earned runs.

“It’s all about staying positive every day,” Davis said. “Even when you don’t get the job done, you have to come to the field the next day with a positive mind-set. Part of the whole skit is you’ve got to get good at being able to forget that kind of stuff. The more it weighs on you, and the more stressed you are, the worse you’re going to be the next day.”

Davis converted 15 of his 17 save opportunities this year, but the tipping point for his removal from closer came July 31 against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field, when he gave up five earned runs on two homers while recording just one out in the loss. Scott Oberg now has the closer job.

The vast majority of Davis’ struggles have come at home, where he has a 9.70 ERA in 24 appearances. But Colorado manager Bud Black is seeing promise in Davis lately, even within the pinball machine that is Coors Field.

“There’s a little bit of momentum with him, so hopefully that continues,” Black said.

Meanwhile, the 33-year-old said there’s “not much to say” about his recent bullpen demotion, except that his focus is on performing down the stretch of 2019. Davis enters the final season of his three-year, $52 million deal in 2020.

“I had some bad outings, and I’m not in that role anymore,” Davis said. “But I still feel good and my confidence is still good.”

Daniel Murphy, who grounded out in his pinch-hit appearance Wednesday, has been in a funk at the plate lately. Since Colorado headed to Houston for its road trip Aug. 6, the first baseman is hitting .125 (4for-32) with two RBIs and nine strikeouts.

Prior to this current slump, Murphy had been on a tear. Over the course of June and July, the veteran averaged .326 (58-for-178), with eight of his 11 homers along with 34 RBIs.