PHOENIX — Franklin Morales shuffled to the back door of the cramped Triple-A Las Vegas clubhouse last weekend, eager to talk. A kid, who was often guarded and untrusting, eschewed a translator to explain why he was going to be “100 percent better” this season. His back no longer hurt, he was comfortable with his fastball, believed in his off-speed pitches.
“I am ready to go,” Morales said.
And he wasn’t talking about heading back to Colorado Springs. In what amounted to a one-game tryout today to keep his rotation spot for April 21, Morales was masterful in the Rockies’ 9-2 victory at Chase Field.
There’s no guarantee that he will be back — Matt Belisle and Jason Hammel, the latter a potential fifth starter, join the team Friday — but Morales made one heck of an argument.
Growth and change were the reverberating themes in the Rockies’ convincing series win over the Diamondbacks, their first in Arizona since Sept. 2, 2007. Making his first start this season, rookie Dexter Fowler hit his first-ever home run on the first pitch of the game. And fellow wunderkind Ian Stewart later blasted a pinch-hit home run into the right-field pool.
But it was Morales, his future far less certain than those two, who made the biggest splash. He worked six innings, touched for just one run on four hits. It was his best game since an April 6 outing a year ago against the Diamondbacks.
That performance quickly became irrelevant when Morales melted into a mechanical mess and was banished to the minor leagues. This outing appears to have more roots. Not unlike this year’s team, which was horrible last April against Arizona, everything seems different. And not just Morales’ high socks.
He’s becoming a pitcher. He’s no longer the guy that required scouts to wear slobber bibs when watching. He doesn’t throw those 95-mph BBs that drew fame in the minor leagues. One sequence offered a glimpse at his development, at why he could be so critical to a rotation that needs someone to fill injured Jeff Francis’ absence.
While Morales’ fastball was straight at times, he never lost command or confidence. In the sixth inning, he struck out Connor Jackson looking on a beautiful cross-fire fastball. Mark Reynolds stepped into the box moments later and fell behind on a big first-pitch curveball, a perfect call by catcher Yorvit Torrealba. Reynolds flew out harmlessly to Dexter Fowler – he effortlessly fielded his position — as Morales pounded his fist into his glove.
The Rockies’ players have been saying for weeks that if they just get mediocre starting pitching, they will contend. In winning two straight games, Jimenez and Morales held the Diamondbacks to one run and struck out 14 in 13 innings.
It was a perfect setup for a Rockies’ team heading home to face the world champion Philadelphia Phillies, who swept them 5-0 last season. It’s billed as the home-opener, but could just as easily be construed as the second leg of the Redemption Tour.
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
