Gray roughed up, Dahl looks great in 8-5 loss to Cleveland

On the heels of the Colorado Rockies reportedly signing outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, youngster David Dahl took it upon himself to remind everyone who he is and that no final roster decisions have been made.

Dahl went 2-for-3 with a run scored and three RBI, including a two-run homer, in an 8-5 Rockies loss to the Cleveland Indians. This was a great showing for Dahl who started out slow but now leads the team with three spring training home runs.

He will have to keep up the pace, especially now with CarGo in the picture, to make the team come Opening Day, but he will be a major factor either way.

Speaking of the outfield shuffle, Raimel Tapia went 1-for-2 replacing Ian Desmond who went 0-for-3. As it stands, Tapia could see himself as the one potentially losing a starting spot unless he really rakes and shows solid baserunning acumen for the rest of the spring.

Desmond is batting .053 this spring after changing his swing mechanics a bit to include a lower load position for his hands. He is likely still tinkering with it and as such any statistics must be taken with a grain of salt. But for someone who had such a below average 2017, he hasn’t inspired much confidence yet that it will all turn around in 2018.

Trevor Story continues his blistering pace, going 1-for-2 with a walk. He’s hitting .471 this spring and looks as locked in as any player on the roster.

Well, maybe other than Ryan McMahon who just can’t seem to stop getting on base. He went 2-for-4 in this one and scored a run. He now leads the team in at-bats this spring training while hitting .368.

It was a rough day for Jon Gray on the mound, the roughest yet for a Colorado starting pitcher. He lasted 3.1 IP, giving up six runs on six hits including two home runs. All spring training stat qualifiers apply and this likely means nothing but he was much more hittable that usual.

It’s also interesting that the rest of the pitching staff faired relatively well. Zac Rosscup threw 1.2 IP giving up two singles and striking out two while keeping the scoreboard clean. Scott Oberg gave up a run on three hits but otherwise limited the damage. Jairo Diaz gave up a walk and a hit while striking out one in an inning of work. And Brooks Pounders gave up one run on a late homer.