Colorado Rockies offense and bullpen pick up ailing Gray to beat Brewers

Jonathan Gray entered Tuesday’s start with an eye on locking up one of the top spots in the Rockies opening day rotation. He left the game with zero official innings pitched after facing just three batters.

Gray surrendered a leadoff double to Scooter Gennett, then after walking Ramon Flores, Gray tried to turn a double play on a comebacker off of the bat of Jonathan Lucroy. Gray fired the ball high into center field on the throwing error and allowed a run to score. Weiss had seen enough and he pulled his prize prospect.

“We don’t know the extent of it,” Weiss said on the field outside the dugout postgame. “He said he was feeling it (abdomen injury) and was hurting on certain pitches. When you hear that you have to take him out and proceed with caution. It could be a lot worse but anytime you’re dealing with an injury it’s not ideal.” The extent of the injury is still unknown and Gray will likely undergo more tests.

Christan Bergman was called upon for extended relief and struggled early, walking three of the first four batters he faced, but settled in surrendering just 1 hit in 4 innings pitched. Bergman served as the Rockies emergency mop-up arm out of the bullpen on multiple occasions last season.  “It’s kind of what I did last year so it was good practice,” Bergman said in the clubhouse after his appearance Tuesday. “The first inning was just about getting in there and minimizing the damage. I was able to settle in after that.”

The Rockies weathered the early storm and Charlie Blackmon got the offense going in the bottom of the first with a leadoff homer. Nolan Arenado got in on the fun in the third when he crushed a ball to deep left for a two-run homer.

Arenado drills a two run homer to left to put the #rockies up 3-2 in the third. Hitting .622 this spring pic.twitter.com/5Xaw981CKB

— Adam Kinney (@AdamKinneyRadio) March 22, 2016

Parra followed Arenado’s homer with a solo shot of his own to continue adding to the Rockies lead. The Rockies held on to win 6-5 getting solid showings from Miguel Castro and Boone Logan from the bullpen.

Notable Performances

Nolan Arenado – 1-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI. Turned a 5-2 double play in the first inning to save a run.

Trevor Story – 1-3, 2 strikeouts, 1 run scored. Story’s line doesn’t jump out at you but he hits the ball hard and with intention, which is encouraging to see from such a young player. Story is continuing to make it hard for the Rockies to not put him on the opening day roster.

Christian Bergman – 4 IP, 1 H, 3 BB, 0 ER, 0 R – Came into the game cold after being called in as an injury replacement for Jonathan Gray. Only allowed 1 hit in 4 innings pitched.

Gerardo Parra – 1-2, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 walk – Went back to back with Arenado showing pop in the middle of the lineup.

Nick Hundley – 1-2, 2 RBI, 1 walk – Blew the game open in the 5th inning with a clutch, 2 out, 2 RBI single to put the Rockies up for good.

“You talk about putting heat on the opposing pitcher and that’s one way to do it; to grind through at-bats,” Weiss told BSN Denver postgame on his likely opening day catcher. “Hundley’s done a great job this spring and last year contributing offensively. He’s really grown as an offensive player. He’s a threat for us.”

Up Next

The Rockies have a scheduled off-day on Wednesday before returning to Salt River Field on Thursday to host the Seattle Mariners. Tyler Chatwood is scheduled to start for Colorado. First pitch 1:10pm MST.