Gomber out of the rotation
Southpaw going to injured list because of left-forearm tightness
Austin Gomber’s left forearm has landed him on the injured list.
The Rockies announced before Sunday afternoon’s game with the Milwaukee Brewers that Gomber, the 27-year-old left-hander who led the Colorado starters in wins (six) and ERA (3.68) was going on the 10-day injured list because of left forearm tightness.
Gomber felt tightness in his forearm during a Saturday night start against the Brewers, forcing him to leave the contest after allowing four hits and two earned runs over two innings.
Rockies manager Bud Black told The Denver Post before first pitch that Gomber got an MRI Sunday at around 10 a.m. and added that “we’re optimistic, from (what we’ve heard) from our team doctor and from the team.”
The optimism was tempered at about 12:30 p.m. Sunday, when the team announced that it was putting Gomber on the IL and had selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Joe Harvey from Class AAA Albuquerque as Gomber’s replacement. Harvey posted a 2.63 ERA with the Isotopes over 15 appearances this spring.
Gomber, the only Mlb-ready return of the trade that sent Nolan Arenado to St. Louis, had been outstanding in his first six starts at Coors Feld as a member of the Rockies. The Florida native boasts a 3-1 record and 1.48 ERA on Blake Street, an opponent batting average at home of just .167 and only one home run allowed over 115 plate appearances by opposing hitters.
The Rockies also announced Sunday that they’d transferred Jordan Sheffield (lat strain) to the 60-day injured list.
Rockin’ Raimel. Black joked Sunday morning that he was considering giving his hottest hitter, outfield Raimel Tapia, Father’s Day off, but was stonewalled by bench coach Mike Redmond.
“(Redmond) said, ‘He’s our best hitter,’” Black recalled. “’He’s got a 16-game (hit streak going into Sunday), he’s Joe Dimaggio.’
“His at-bats have been great the last 10 days. I think he’s getting accustomed to MLB pitching. It takes time, right? He’s got 1,000 at-bats now, so I think he’s firmly planted now as a bigleaguer, mentally and physically. And it takes time. He’s in a good spot.”
Tapia went into the series finale against Milwaukee second among Rockies hitters in Wins Above Replacement (1.4 WAR), according to Baseball-reference.com. His previous season high in 2020 had been 0.9 WAR over 51 games last season after posting a -0.6 WAR over 138 appearances in 2019.