Redmond unfazed by interim role

An unexpected Rockies promotion from bench coach to interim manager did not faze Mike Redmond.

“I feel confident,” he said. “I’m ready for it.”

Although Redmond had little time to prepare. News dropped around 5 p.m. Friday that Colorado manager Bud Black, first base coach Ron Gideon, and four players would miss that night’s game against the Dodgers — due to MLB contact tracing and COVID protocols.

Redmond stepped into Black’s shoes from the dugout. They felt familiar. Redmond managed the Miami Marlins for three seasons (2013-15) prior to joining

Black’s staff in 2016 as bench coach.

“I’ve managed quite a few games in the big leagues … but there is still a little bit of an adjustment with day-to-day stuff,” Redmond said. “There are some conversations that I’m not always involved in as far as planning sometimes. But I’ve been caught up to speed on a lot of that stuff now. … It’s just a matter of going out there and running the game.”

Redmond had no updates on Saturday regarding the future availability of Black, Gideon, or the four players — Yency Almonte, Jhoulys Chacin, Yonathan Daza and Antonio Senzatela — who all missed a second consecutive game vs. LA.

Redmond does not think Black’s absence has hindered their communication with no public timetable for his return.

“Buddy and I are on the same page,” Redmond said. “We communicate and talked about lots of different things; pitching and lineups. Buddy and I are in constant communication.”

Cron flexes power. The lone Rockies highlight from Friday’s 10-4 loss at Coors Field was a third-inning grand slam from C.J. Cron. He entered Saturday night with eight home runs and 21 RBI over his last 24 games.

“There’s a lot of pop in that bat,” Redmond said. “You saw that (Friday) night. When he barrels that thing up, it takes off. He’s a very patient hitter as well. He walks a lot. Of course, there are some strikeouts in there, but that’s not new to baseball these days. … He’s a power threat in the middle of our order. When he gets up there in big situations, we feel like he’s going to get the big hit.”

Gomber health update. Injured starter Austin Gomber ( left forearm tightness) made his first rehab start on Friday with Triple-a Albuquerque. The southpaw allowed three runs on five hits — with no walks and four strikeouts — over four innings (62 pitches). Gomber, prior to going on the IL June 20, was 4-1 with a 1.62 ERA over his previous eight starts.