Tucson – The Rockies’ pitching situation has changed from partly cloudy to partly clear.
Josh Fogg and Zach Day will open the season as the club’s last two starters in the rotation, and Sun-Woo Kim, slowed by a hamstring injury, will begin as a long-relief man.
“Sunny’s not a candidate to start,” general manager Dan O’Dowd said Thursday. “We’ll go with Day and Fogg. They are the fourth and fifth starters; they’re interchangeable.”
Kim entered camp as a contender for the fifth spot, but a right hamstring injury canceled him out, at least for now. He participated in fielding drills Thursday to test his leg, which he said felt about “80 percent.”
Day and Fogg are staying an extra day in Tucson to pitch a minor-league game Sunday, allowing them to get on schedule for the regular season, which begins Monday.
Byung-Hyun Kim, the original No. 4 starter, opens the regular season on the disabled list with a severe hamstring injury. He’ll return with the team to Denver on Saturday so he can be supervised by trainer Keith Dugger.
Filling the final spot in the bullpen remains the one unanswered question. Right-hander Jose Acevedo is competing with lefties Tom Martin and Jaime Cerda. Cerda has been wild, and Martin’s poor showing against Arizona on Wednesday – two runs, four hits in the ninth inning – opened the door for Acevedo.
“We wished Tommy stepped up better (Wednesday),” O’Dowd said. “He’ll get another chance and so will Cerda. We will look at Acevedo and also look at (Miguel) Asencio. We have options we can go to.”
Manager Clint Hurdle said a decision will be made today.
Armed with a sneaky sinker, Acevedo pitched his way into the picture with a solid performance against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday. Drawing a surprise start – it was originally scheduled for Fogg – Acevedo pitched five scoreless innings, allowing five hits in a game that ended 3-3 in 10 1/2-innings.
“I know I want to be there for opening day,” Acevedo said. “Me and (pitching coach Bob) Apodaca have been working with my sinker. Things happen quickly and you have to be ready when the chance comes.”
Said Hurdle: “Sometimes he gets too amped up and he can get over-excited and he gets the ball up. But he flat-out pitched (Thursday).”
Martin is scheduled to throw against the Brewers today.
Catching a break
Catcher Yorvit Torrealba is on the mend. His right biceps – bruised and swollen after taking four hits by baseballs in less than seven days – is getting back to normal. Earlier in camp, he battled a sore throwing shoulder. But there is a good chance he could catch today against Milwaukee or in Saturday’s spring finale, and he has no doubts he’ll be ready for the regular season.
“I’ve never been hurt and this just robbed spring training from me,” he said.
Footnote
Rockies president Keli McGregor said only single tickets remain for Monday’s season opener against Arizona at Coors Field. He expects the game to become a sellout by today.
Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-820-5459 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
