Peter Lambert keeps inching closer to the dream

Every day, Peter Lambert is taking steps closer to the dream. And on Saturday, he took a big one.

It may have seemed innocuous on the surface but it was the first time he was making a start against an MLB lineup, a scenario that would bring out the butterflies in anyone.

“I was a little nervous going in,” he said after a 3.2 inning performance that saw him give up just one unearned run, “But as soon as you throw that first strike you kind of settle in right there.”

Lambert has settled into his first dose of spring action quite nicely. He is second on the club with 13.1 innings pitched and is sporting an impressive 3.38 ERA all things considered. His most recent outing against the Royals was another example of how much he has grown in such a short period of time over his professional career.

“I was happy with my performance,” he said after the game. “Things got away from me a little bit in the fourth inning but other than that I was happy with my performance.”

The most important thing was the preparation and execution of the plan.

“Going into the game, Tony and I sat down and our gameplan was to pound the fastball down and away, get ahead of the hitters,” he said. “I think I did a good job of that and the defense made some great plays out there.”

While no individual number will likely blow you away, Lambert can feel the difference in the level of competition and appeared to be drinking in the opportunity to get better.

“Up here you’re not going to get away with many mistakes. They’re going to make you pay. You’ve really got to dial in and focus pitch to pitch. It’s great coming up here and facing these caliber hitters.”

It’s interesting to note that Lambert managed this decent outing on a day when his signature out pitch wasn’t as good as it normally is. “Toward the end, it kind of got away from me,” he said of his changeup. “It wasn’t really giving me a chance. I was spiking it a little bit.”

But he was able to turn to his ever-developing curveball which may end up being the key to his overall success.  “It was good today. I was able to land it for strikes. I threw a few in the dirt when I needed to.”

From getting the invite to his first start on Saturday, this whole spring has been one that Lambert won’t soon forget.

“Camp’s been great for me,” he said. “I came into camp really focusing on fastball command. I think that’s huge for me. I need to have good command to have success. It’s come a long way, but I’ve still got work on it. That’s still my goal the last two weeks or so.”

With Antonio Senzatela now out of action for an unknown amount of time with an infection on his right foot, the door is open ever so slightly for Lambert to really turn heads and steal the fifth and final spot in the Rockies Opening Day rotation.

Though, he’s not thinking about that right now.

“I’m just going at it day by day. I’m trying to better myself. I’ve got things to work on in this game. That’s what I’m doing.”

And if he keeps doing that, he will end up in the big leagues very soon.