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Tag: kris bryant

  • Grading The Week: Broncos’ passing woes wouldn’t be saved by Jaylen Waddle at NFL trade deadline

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    Jaylen Waddle can’t throw the ball to himself.

    It’s kind of been the worst “best” week for the Broncos that anybody on the Grading The Week (GTW) crew can remember.

    After all, the orange and blue went 2-0 over the last seven days to extend Denver’s lead atop the AFC West with an 8-2 record. The Broncos set up a showdown with the Chiefs (5-4) at Empower Field on Nov. 16 that could officially end the Mahomes-Reid stranglehold on the division.

    It’s how they got there. A victory over the Texans (18-15) was due to a brilliant defense and a very timely injury to Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud. A win over the Raiders (10-7) on Thursday night was an exercise in sheer agony. Brilliant defense again, but mostly agony.

    In between the games, Sean Payton was grouchier than usual. And on Tuesday, despite being on track for a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs, the Broncos elected to stand pat as the trade deadline came and went. Marcedes Lewis, the 41-year-old “blocking” tight end, was Broncos Country’s midseason acquisition of note. Everybody dance!

    Broncos at the NFL trade deadline — D

    Payton insisted midweek that he had everything he needed inside Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit. Against Vegas, his offense showed him otherwise.

    Several reports over the last few weeks had the Broncos sniffing around at offensive additions, primarily at wide receiver. Denver was allegedly a suitor for New Orleans wideout Rashid Shaheed, only to be pipped by the Seahawks.

    NFL reporter Jordan Schultz then claimed the Broncos reached out to the Dolphins to inquire about Shaheed clone Jaylen Waddle, only to find the reported asking price — a first-round draft pick, at the least — to be too steep.

    Considering the Colts (7-2) coughed up two first-round picks to free star cornerback Sauce Gardner from the Jets, it puzzled the kids in the GTW offices why the Broncos wouldn’t consider a corresponding move in kind. Nix will only be on a rookie contract for so long, and the Broncos’ cap situation improves significantly in 2026.

    Waddle would be an upgrade over Troy Franklin. But we’re not sure he’d be a significant improvement over Marvin Mims Jr., assuming the latter is good to go. And it would be a waste of a first-rounder to land a guy that Sean Payton would likely just be asking to block on screens anyway.

    DePodesta is a Rockie! — C

    The GTW gang is torn on this one. We’re mildly and pleasantly surprised that Rockies CEO Dick Monfort hired a director of baseball operations from a) outside the organization; and b) outside his genetic family tree. Baby steps, after all, are still steps.

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    Sean Keeler

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  • Rockies Journal: 106-loss Royals went bold, made playoffs. Will Colorado?

    Rockies Journal: 106-loss Royals went bold, made playoffs. Will Colorado?

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    The 2023 Kansas City Royals were embarrassed. A 106-loss season can — and should — do that to a major league team.

    Royals owner John Sherman said something about it. Then he did something about it.

    “It sucked,” Sherman told MLB.com at the end of spring training. “But that’s what motivates you. Sometimes, you need that slap upside the head, right? We don’t know what’s going to happen, but we cannot tolerate something like that again for our fans.”

    So the Royals went big and bold.

    Their aggressiveness stoked a remarkable 30-game about-face (56-106 last season to 86-76 this season), a two-game sweep of the Orioles in the American League wild-card series, and a berth in the ALDS before they fell in four games to the Yankees.

    By beating the Orioles, Kansas City became just the second team to win a postseason series one year after losing at least 100 games. The other was the 2020 Marlins, who snuck into the playoffs in the pandemic-shortened 60-game season.

    Rockies fans should hope owner Dick Monfort was paying attention.

    Monfort’s club, which lost 103 games last season and 101 this season, is making some strides toward a turnaround with some young talent on the roster and in the system. But does the will and the wherewithal exist at 20th and Blake to put the Rockies in position for a playoff swing?

    General manager Bill Schmidt and manager Bud Black, who just agreed to return for the 2025 season, are optimistic about the future but not making any promises.

    “Our talent base is getting better,” Schmidt said at the end of the season. “Our depth is getting better. I’m not going to say we’re going from this year to win 95 next year. Our record this year might be similar (to 2023), but we’re going to be a better club.”

    Asked if Colorado can mimic the Royals and the Tigers (who went from 78-84 to 86-76 and the playoffs), Black answered: “Kansas City? Detroit? Anything is possible. When I got here in ’17 … what happened in ’16? (Colorado was 75-87 under Walt Weiss.) And then we made the playoffs. I’m going to say yes. I’m optimistic.”

    But the Rockies aren’t the Royals and Monfort is not Sherman.

    During the offseason, K.C. committed $109.5 million to free agents, the most money in any offseason in franchise history, including free-agent starting pitcher signees Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha. They also signed their star shortstop, Bobby Witt Jr., to a contract extension that could add up to $377 million over 14 years.

    The Royals’ first big roster move was signing free-agent pitcher Will Smith for the back end of their bullpen. Smith had been on the roster of the last three World Series champions, with the Rangers, Astros and Braves.

    During the season, when they sensed success was on the horizon, they acquired closer Lucas Erceg and outfielder Tommy Pham.

    The Royals, who had not been to the playoffs since winning the World Series in 2015, created an effective roster mix. Their postseason roster featured 12 homegrown players, including draftees and international signees. The other 14 players came from trades and free agency. Of those 14 players, 11 had previous postseason experience.

    The Royals are far from a powerhouse franchise. Last season, they averaged just 16,136 fans per game at Kauffman Stadium, ranking 27th in the majors, ahead of only the Marlins and the A’s. This season, the Royals drew 20,473, ranking 26th.

    According to Spotrac, Kansas City’s total payroll this season was $122.5 million, ranking 20th. Last year, it was $96.1 million (23rd).

    After the 106-loss debacle, GM J.J. Picollo immediately began reshaping the front office. He hired Brian Bridges as the new scouting director, promoted Jim Cuthbert to director of pro personnel and strategy, and beefed up the preseason and development department by hiring six new people.

    And so the seeds of a playoff team were planted.

    The Rockies, meanwhile, have some distinct advantages over the Royals. They drew 31,360 fans per home game this season, ranking 15th. Their payroll was $147.4 million (17th).

    The problem is not the Rockies’ failure to spend money; it’s how they’ve spent it. This season, $28 million (19%) of Colorado’s payroll went to the perennially injured Kris Bryant, who played in just 37 games with 155 plate appearances. For the record, that amounts to about $757,000 per game.

    Monfort courted Bryant, who has played in just 33% of the Rockies’ games since signing a seven-year, $182 million contract before the 2022 season, the biggest free-agent deal in franchise history.

    Giving former closer Daniel Bard a two-year, $19 million deal for the 2023-24 season was also a big misstep. Bard, derailed by injuries, did not pitch a game in ’24.

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    Patrick Saunders

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  • Hunter Goodman’s career night, Austin Gomber’s strong start lead Rockies past Cubs

    Hunter Goodman’s career night, Austin Gomber’s strong start lead Rockies past Cubs

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    Hunter Goodman was working on a nice game when he stepped into the batters’ box in the bottom of the eighth inning.

    He made a career night with one more swing.

    Goodman’s go-ahead grand slam was the exclamation point on a 9-5 victory Friday night for the Colorado Rockies against the Chicago Cubs in front of 38,406 at Coors Field. It was Goodman’s second home run of the game and his third hit. He had seven runs batted in, the most by a Colorado hitter since Elias Diaz had seven in a Sept. 9, 2022 game against Arizona.

    The Rockies’ bullpen has been a strength of late, but Michael Busch crushed a three-run homer off reliever Victor Vodnik to pull the Cubs even in the eighth inning. Chicago had put two guys on with no outs twice since the first inning without scoring, but Busch left no doubt with a moonshot into the second deck in right field.

    Adalyn Gomber’s dad didn’t work out his first-inning issues while on leave for her birth, but he pieced together an excellent outing in his first start back.

    Austin Gomber allowed a pair of runs on three hits and a walk in the first inning. He’s now allowed 33 runs on 47 hits and 12 walks in 28 first innings, an ERA of 10.61.

    He now has a 2.84 ERA in the 130 innings he’s pitched after the first this season.

    Gomber entered the game with an MLB-high 27 home runs allowed. A big key to this one: He kept the ball in the field of play, while the Cubs pitchers could not.

    The Cubs had multiple chances against Gomber after the first inning, but he induced an inning-ending double play in the fourth and then got back-to-back-to-back weak fly ball outs after the first two guys reached base in the sixth.

    Goodman had the big hit during a three-run second inning to put the Rockies in front. His 430-foot, two-run homer to left field gave Colorado a 3-2 advantage. Brendan Rodgers got the Rockies on the board with a double down the left-field line that scored Ryan McMahon before Goodman’s two-out heroics.

    Goodman also pushed across the club’s fourth run in the fourth inning with a soft line drive to left that plated Michael Toglia. He didn’t miss another home run by much in the sixth inning, sending Cubs centerfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong toward the wall with a 401-foot out that would have been gone in five of the 30 MLB parks.

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    Corey Masisak

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  • Rockies place Kris Bryant on injured list for third time this season

    Rockies place Kris Bryant on injured list for third time this season

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    The Rockies’ return on investment on Kris Bryant continues to dwindle.

    Colorado placed the often-hurt Bryant on the 10-day injured list on Monday for the third time this season, this time with a back strain as the outfielder/first baseman’s arthritic back continues to be an issue.

    Bryant, who missed 31 games in April/May with a back strain and then 43 games in June/July with a rib/oblique issue, is batting .218 with two homers, a .301 slugging and -0.7 WAR in 2024.

    The Rockies’ highest-paid player with a $28 million salary this year, Bryant is under contract on a seven-year, $182 million deal through 2028. Colorado’s largest free-agent contract in club history has been a bust to this point, as Bryant’s first two seasons in LoDo were also hampered by injuries. He’s played just 36% of the Rockies’ games while in purple pinstripes with 17 total homers.

    Bryant’s presence on the roster could soon become an albatross, especially with the Rockies trying to groom younger players at first base (Michael Toglia) and in the corner outfield (Hunter Goodman, and Jordan Beck until he got hurt) amid their rebuild.

    In corresponding roster moves on Monday, Colorado recalled Beck from Triple-A Albuquerque as well as right-hander Bradley Blalock from Double-A Hartford.

    The rookie Beck hasn’t played in the majors since breaking his hand while diving for a ball on May 25 at Coors Field, but has been hitting well with the Isotopes since getting healthy again. Blalock appeared in one game for the Brewers earlier this season, and has a 6.17 ERA in two starts with Hartford. He is set to start on Monday against the Diamondbacks in Arizona, his first MLB start.

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    Kyle Newman

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  • Rockies blow early lead, drop fifth straight in series-opening loss to Angels as Cal Quantrill gets roughed up

    Rockies blow early lead, drop fifth straight in series-opening loss to Angels as Cal Quantrill gets roughed up

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    Colorado’s Angel-filled nightmare continued in Tuesday’s series opener in Anaheim.

    The Rockies entered the game with the lowest winning percentage against the Angels of any opponent in franchise history at .311. And that mark slipped a little more after the Rockies blew an early lead en route to a 10-7 defeat at Angel Stadium.

    Right-hander Cal Quantrill was roughed up in the defeat, yielding a season-high seven runs in 3 2/3 innings.

    “We had the lead 6-2, we had the lead 6-4,” Rockies manager Bud Black told reporters. “It was surprising and frustrating for Cal that he couldn’t get through this one. He’s been so good for us all year, so that was unexpected.”

    Colorado jumped on right-hander Griffin Canning right off the bat, with two runs in the first inning and then four in the second.

    Kris Bryant’s sacrifice fly and Brendan Rodgers’ RBI double made it 2-0 early, then after Taylor Ward’s two-RBI single off Quantrill in the bottom of the frame, Ezequiel Tovar’s sacrifice fly plus Ryan McMahon’s three-run homer gave the Rockies a commanding early lead.

    But Quantrill — who remains in a Rockies uniform despite being the subject of trade speculation up through Tuesday’s deadline — wasn’t sharp.

    The right-hander lacked command of his signature pitch, the splitter. Los Angeles got a two-RBI double by Matt Thaiss in the third, then Ward and Thaiss drove home runs in the fourth to swing the lead back to the Angels, 7-6, and chase Quantrill from the game.

    “There were some elevated pitches, and (Quantrill) threw a number of splits and that was part of the gameplan, he just didn’t have the feel for it,” Black said.

    Tovar tied the game in the seventh off southpaw Jose Quijada via the shortstop’s 18th homer of the year, tying Michael Toglia for a team high. Tovar was the Rockies’ lone baserunner after the second inning.

    Los Angeles retook the lead, again, in the bottom of the seventh via Jo Adell’s monstrous solo homer, a 439-foot shot to center off right-hander Jake Bird.

    The Angels then added on to that late lead via Zach Neto’s push bunt and Thaiss’ RBI single that plated two more runs off Justin Lawrence.

    “The pitching wasn’t up to par at all today,” Black said. “We didn’t hit in (a four-game sweep in) San Francisco… Today we hit, and we didn’t pitch.”

    Thaiss finished with five RBIs, and is the first player in Angels history to drive in five runs and have two steals in a single game. Thaiss is also just the second catcher in MLB history to accomplish that feat, joining Hall of Famer Mickey Cochrane, who did it for the Tigers in 1934.

    Meanwhile, the Colorado offense couldn’t muster another surge with the game on the line, getting set down in order in the eighth by Ben Joyce before fellow right-hander Hunter Strickland did the same to the Rockies in the ninth.

    Wednesday’s pitching matchup

    Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (2-4, 6.23 ERA) at Angels TBA

    7:38 p.m. Wednesday, Angel Stadium

    TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).

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    Kyle Newman

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  • Rockies’ Kris Bryant sidelined again with sore back; Kyle Freeland nearing return

    Rockies’ Kris Bryant sidelined again with sore back; Kyle Freeland nearing return

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    Kris Bryant, the oft-injured first baseman and designated hitter, was not in the starting lineup for the Rockies’ Monday night game against Cincinnati. Bryant is once again dealing with lower back issues.

    Manager Bud Black said that Bryant was “a little sore” and added that Bryant was consulting with doctors and team trainers.

    Bryant tweaked his back Sunday while making a twisting catch of Mookie Betts’ popup in foul territory in the eighth inning during Colorado’s 4-0 loss to the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

    Bryant missed 31 games earlier in the season after he was placed on the injured list on April 17 with a strained lower back. Since coming off the injured list on May  21, Bryant has slashed .222/.333./306 while reaching base safety in eight of 10 games.

    In 28 games this season, Bryant is hitting .186 with two home runs and 10 RBIs. He opened the season in an 0-for-28 slump.

    Last month, Bryant acknowledged that his aching back — he has disc problems and what he called “severe arthritis” — will be a challenge for the rest of his career.

    “I know I have a bad back, and that’s no secret, and there are some things in there you aren’t going to heal,” he said. “It’s unfortunate, but it’s just part of getting older, and it sucks.”

    Freeland’s progress. Veteran left-handed starter Kyle Freeland is scheduled to pitch in a simulated game on Tuesday. Freeland was placed on the 15-day disabled list on April 16 with a left elbow strain and transferred to the 60-day IL on May 24. Black estimated that Freeland is likely 3 1/2 weeks away from returning.

    Veen sidelined. Outfield prospect Zac Veen, who had been playing well for Double-A Hartford, is in Scottsdale, Ariz., getting treatment on his strained lower back. He’s working out at the Rockies’ Salt River Fields complex but is not doing baseball activities. There is no timetable for his return to game action. Veen, Colorado’s first-round draft choice in 2020, has not played since May 18. He’s hitting .326 with a .986 OPS, five home runs and 12 RBIs.

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    Patrick Saunders

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  • Rockies’ Kris Bryant returns to lineup after missing 31 games with back injury

    Rockies’ Kris Bryant returns to lineup after missing 31 games with back injury

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    Kris Bryant is back. But will his injured back allow him to stick around?

    For the first time in more than a month, the Rockies’ first baseman/right fielder was back in the starting lineup Tuesday as the Rockies took on the Athletics in Oakland.

    Bryant started at first base and hit fifth.

    “This last month … sometimes I think you take being on the field for granted,” Bryant told Rockies.TV before the game. “So, now that I’m feeling good again, I’m just ready to have some fun and not take anything for granted. I’m super excited to be back out there.”

    To make room on the 26-man roster, outfielder Sean Bouchard was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque.

    Bryant, 32, was placed on the injured list on April 17 (retroactive to April 14) with a lower back strain. He missed 31 games, during which the Rockies were 11-20.

    In five rehab games at Albuquerque, Bryant hit 3 for 20 (.150) with one double and one RBI. He struck out six times. He played two games at first base, two as the designated hitter and one in right field.

    Bryant was in a slump when he went on the IL, hitting just .149 (7 for 47), tied for the ninth-lowest in the majors (minimum 45 at-bats). He hit one home run and drove in six runs.

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    Patrick Saunders

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  • Keeler: Avalanche gave Valeri Nichushkin a second chance. He blew it. It’s time to move on.

    Keeler: Avalanche gave Valeri Nichushkin a second chance. He blew it. It’s time to move on.

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    Sleepless in Seattle, Doomed in Denver. Two straight postseasons. Two straight playoff exits for Valeri Nichushkin.

    It’s been real, Val. Lord, it’s been glorious. But this is your stop.

    The Avalanche title train needs engines it can rely on.

    You weep for the man. You rage at the loss. You wonder about the Avs front office, which circled the wagons, protected and enabled their troubled winger. Only to be burned again.

    It’s over. It’s time.

    The championship window won’t wait.

    Nathan MacKinnon turns 29 in September. Mikko Rantanen’s 28th birthday falls a month later. Gabe Landeskog will be 32 a month after that.

    The Avs are on the clock.

    And the timing couldn’t be worse.

    Roughly an hour before Colorado dropped the puck on a pivotal Game 4 at home in their second-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series Monday night with the Dallas Stars, the NHL and NHLPA jointly dropped the bomb on the player nicknamed Nuke.

    Nichushkin, the announcement read, had been placed in Stage 3 of the NHL Player Assistance Program but did not disclose why. Which means he’s suspended without pay for six months, and eligible to apply for reinstatement after that.

    In other words, not just whatever’s left of this year’s postseason run — but at least a month into the regular season of 2024-25 as well.

    Tick. Tick. Tick.

    The clock doesn’t just apply to the window, either.

    Nichushkin has a whopping six seasons left on an eight-year, $49-million deal inked after he lifted Lord Stanley high. It’s turned into Kris Bryant minus the laugh track, bad money wasted by a good organization.

    The kicker? Val’s got a 12-team no-trade clause that kicks in on June 15, 2025.

    If he can’t help you reel in another Cup, it’s time to cut bait.

    Let someone else take this challenge on.

    Nichushkin’s got too much talent to give up, you say. Absolutely true. He’s also too unreliable to lean on anymore as a piece of this championship puzzle, too much of a risk to be a pillar for the core.

    After the mysterious departure in Seattle, his absence for treatment this past winter and Monday’s suspension, can the Avs, his brothers, trust him? Can MacKinnon, who tolerates fools about as much as he tolerates defenders? Can Colorado fans?

    Because it’s the brilliance that breaks your heart. The Choo Choo Train, who spent much of the winter in the NHL’s Player Assistance Program, was exemplary this postseason. His nine playoffs goals as of Monday afternoon were tied for the most in the league. His six-game streak of lamp-lighting to open a Cup run is an Avalanche record and fell one shy of the league mark.

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    Sean Keeler

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  • Rockies strike out 15 times, lose to Rays, drop to 2-8

    Rockies strike out 15 times, lose to Rays, drop to 2-8

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    The Mighty Casey would have felt right at home Sunday afternoon at Coors Field.

    The Rockies struck out 15 times in a gut-punch 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay and have opened the season with a 2-8 record.

    Still, Colorado had a prime opportunity to win the game in the eighth and ninth innings.

    In the eighth, Jake Cave led off with a pinch-hit triple and scored on Elias Diaz’s pinch-hit single. Charlie Blackmon and Ezequiel Tovar drew walks from erratic Tampa Bay reliever Phil Maton to load the bases. But Shawn Armstrong got Ryan McMahon to ground out to shortstop Isaac Paredes, who threw home for the force out.

    Then Armstrong induced Kris Bryant to ground into a rally-killing, six-to-three double play. Bryant went 0-for-3 with a walk Sunday and is hitting .107 for the season.

    In the ninth, Brenton Doyle’s RBI single scored Nolan Jones, but Armstrong struck out Cave and got Diaz to ground out to third.

    Rays right-hander Ryan Pepiot, making just the 12th start of his career, thoroughly dominated Colorado for six innings. He allowed no runs on three hits with 11 strikeouts and no walks. He got the Rockies to swing and miss 21 times.

    Pepiot owns the Rockies. In three career games (two starts), he’s 2-1 with a 1.06 ERA, 26 strikeouts and two walks.

    Right-hander Dakota Hudson gave the Rockies a workmanlike performance for his second game in a row. The Rays reached him for three runs on seven hits. He walked one and struck out three.

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    Patrick Saunders

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  • Rockies’ late rally falls short, as Colorado swept by Cubs to finish opening road trip 1-6

    Rockies’ late rally falls short, as Colorado swept by Cubs to finish opening road trip 1-6

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    If the Rockies’ opening road trip is any indication, the club’s first 100-loss season last year might’ve just been a harbinger.

    Colorado dropped to 1-6 in 2024 with a 9-8 loss to the Cubs on a chilly Wednesday night at Wrigley Field. The Rockies roared back with a five-run eighth to tie the game, but then faltered in the bottom of that inning to get swept in three games.

    “That was a tough trip,” manager Bud Black told reporters. “We didn’t pitch great, we didn’t swing the bats great. (That rally) was a good sign though.”

    Once again, subpar starting pitching was a factor, as right-hander Cal Quantrill gave up four runs through four innings. The bullpen wasn’t any better, and the Rockies head into their home opener on Friday against the Rays already in a hole.

    After setting the Cubs down in order in the first, Quantrill ran into trouble in the second inning as the Rockies went down 4-0.

    The frame started innocently enough with Christopher Morel’s infield single, but quickly snowballed. A pair of sacrifice flies plated two runs, then Seiya Suzuki brought home two more with a single to right before Charlie Blackmon got the Rockies out of the inning by gunning Suzuki at second base.

    After hard-throwing southpaw Luke Little served as the Cubs’ opener and went one-two-three in the first, Chicago brought on right-hander Ben Brown, who gave up one earned run over four innings.

    In the fifth, Suzuki dinged left-hander Jalen Beeks for a solo homer to extend the Cubs’ lead to 5-0.

    Jacob Stallings led off the sixth with a double, chasing Brown from the game, and Kris Bryant’s first hit of the season — a single to left — scored Stallings to get Colorado on the board. A Morel throwing throwing error led to another run to make it 5-2.

    But Chicago responded in the sixth by plating three runs off Tyler Kinley, as Kinley couldn’t make it out of the inning before being spelled by fellow right-hander Jake Bird. Michael Busch led off with a single off Kinley, then Nico Hoerner and Mike Tauchman both walked to load the bases.

    Miguel Amaya’s single then plated three runs, two off the hit and another off a throwing error by center fielder Brenton Doyle. Errors in the outfield have been a consistent theme through the Rockies’ early ugly stretch, a disappointment for a defense that was projected to be the strength of the team.

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    Kyle Newman

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  • One area where Rockies could be elite this season? In the field: “We have a shot of being the best of the best”

    One area where Rockies could be elite this season? In the field: “We have a shot of being the best of the best”

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    SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Chances are the Rockies’ record won’t glitter this season, but their defense should be golden.

    With Gold Glove winners in center field and at second base, Gold Glove finalists at shortstop and third, and potential sprinkled all around the field, Colorado should have one of the best defenses in the majors.

    “I think we have a good shot at being the best of the best,” said second baseman Brendan Rodgers, who won a Gold Glove in 2022.

    Manager Bud Black agrees.

    “If you love the complete game of baseball, and defense is a big part of that, you’ll like watching us,” he said. “Every night, there is a chance to see a legit great play from talented defenders.”

    The Rockies open their 2024 season Thursday night against the defending National League champion Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. (8:10 p.m. MDT).

    Coming off a 103-loss season and having undergone only minor roster reconstruction during the offseason, the rebuilding Rockies are predicted by most pundits to have a sixth consecutive losing season and finish last in the National League West for a third straight year. Although the pitching might falter again, and offensive production remains a huge question mark, Colorado’s glovework could be “elite.”

    “We have guys who know how to pick it and throw it and ultimately play elite all-around defense,” said left-hander Kyle Freeland, who’ll start the season-opener.

    The Rockies’ words are not idle chatter around the batting cage.

    Center fielder Brenton Doyle, Colorado’s human highlight film, won a Gold Glove as a rookie last season. He finished with 19 defensive runs saved, the sixth-most among all position players and the most of any center fielder in the majors.

    Shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, who signed a seven-year, $65.3 million contract extension on Tuesday, was a Gold Glove finalist as a rookie last season. Third baseman Ryan McMahon has been a finalist for three years running, and his 17 defensive runs saved last season were the second-most among third basemen.

    Left fielder Nolan Jones, playing his first full season as an outfielder, led the majors and set a franchise record with 19 outfield assists, surpassing Dante Bichette’s mark of 17 in 1999. Jones finished fourth in National League Rookie of the Year voting.

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    Patrick Saunders

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  • Rockies Journal: Questions to ponder as regular season nears, including cable TV situation that remains unresolved

    Rockies Journal: Questions to ponder as regular season nears, including cable TV situation that remains unresolved

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    SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Questions to ponder as the Rockies near Thursday’s season-opener against the Diamondbacks:

    Will fans be able to watch games via traditional cable?: The Rockies continue to say that negotiations are ongoing to find a way for fans to watch games on systems like Comcast, Dish Network or DirectTV. I was originally told that a deal would hopefully be worked out before the regular season begins. However, there are no guarantees that’s going to happen, leaving some fans in limbo.

    Will fans pay to stream games via Rockies.TV?: That’s the multi-million-dollar question facing owner Dick Monfort. The club launched its online streaming service last month. Rockies.TV will show all Rockies games this season, with Major League Baseball producing and distributing the games.

    MLB will also remove blackouts for fans, meaning that for the first time, fans in the Rockies’ traditional TV territory can live stream all of the club’s games. To stream Rockies games only, the cost will be $19.99 per month or $99.99 for the season.

    Streaming all sports, not just baseball, is the wave of the future. But several disgruntled fans have told me they won’t pay $19.99 monthly to watch a team that lost 103 games last season. I’m not sure I believe many of them. Baseball is part of the fabric of summer, and I think fans would miss tuning in to the local team more than they realize.

    Still, it’s going to be a hard sell. Two years ago, the Rockies drew an average of just 15,000 household viewers per game via traditional TV, according to Forbes and Nielsen Media. Only the Miami Marlins and Oakland Athletics had worse ratings.

    Will attendance tumble at Coors Field?: A little bit, but I don’t see a giant slide. Last season, the Rockies averaged 32,196 fans per game at Coors Field, down only slightly from the 32,467 average from 2022. Even if the Rockies stumble early — a distinct possibility — they have the Red Sox coming into town for three games after the All-Star Game and they end the season with the Cardinals and Dodgers coming to LoDo for what could be meaningful games for the visitors.

    Which Rockies will make the All-Star Game?: We know every team sends at least one player to the Midsummer Classic, but I’ll give you three Rockies who could end up at Globe Life Field on July 16 in Arlington, Texas.

    Topping my list is left fielder Nolan Jones, a terrific athlete who has a chance to be an impactful power hitter. On deck is second baseman Brendan Rodgers. He’s had an excellent spring, and his confidence is sky-high.

    My wild-card choice is veteran lefty Kyle Freeland. Manager Bud Black said recently that he’s never seen Freeland pitch better. That’s saying something, considering that Freeland went 17-7 with a 2.85 ERA over 33 starts in 2018.

    Will the “real” Kris Bryant finally show up?: I want to say yes because he’s very well-liked by his teammates and he’s a class act. He’s got a beautiful swing and is a graceful athlete. But I don’t know what KB has left at age 32 following two years of injuries that limited him to 122 games in a Rockies uniform.

    If he stays healthy and plays 145-150 games, I could envision him hitting .280 with 20 homers and 80 RBIs. But he’s never going to hit .292 with 39 homers and 102 RBIs as he did in 2016 when he was named National League MVP and helped lead the Cubs to their first World Series title since 1908.

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    Patrick Saunders

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