PHOENIX — Rockies manager Jim Tracy isn’t down on closer Huston Street. He’s down on Street’s changeup.
“It’s one thing for a guy to be out there and be completely out of sync, but that’s not the case,” Tracy said. “He’s being a little bit too stubborn about sticking with a pitch he’s been burned on, and that’s obviously the changeup.”
Street allowed a game-tying, two-run double to Arizona’s Miguel Montero on Friday night — his third blown save in August, a month in which he’s 0-2 with a 7.84 ERA. And which pitch did Montero hit? A hanging changeup, the likes of which have been Street’s biggest nemesis in recent weeks.
In what officially ranks as a pattern, Street got two strikes on virtually every hitter he faced but let enough off the hook to enable the Diamondbacks to tie the game.
“I don’t think he was as aggressive as I’d like to see him be in pitching to contact once he gets two strikes,” Tracy said. “That was the big hang- up, and it’s been the hang-up with him. . . . How many examples do you need to be completely convinced? You have to make an adjustment.”
Said Street: “I’ve got to get my changeup going. It’s a pitch I need for lefties. . . . I’m going to show up (today) ready to go. It’s the name of the game, it’s my job, it’s what they pay me to do. My teammates need me to stay that way.”
Speed thrills.
The Rockies are determined to take a long look at Eric Young Jr. in the leadoff spot, and they have to like what they’ve seen on the road trip.
In the first four games, Young reached base nine times in 19 plate appearances, including an infield hit in the fourth inning Friday. He advanced to third when Dexter Fowler hit a ball off Adam LaRoche’s glove and legged out a double.
Yes, Tracy is liking all that speed at the top of the order.
“Dynamic stuff,” he said.
Now for the rub: Young had one run to show for those nine times he reached base.
“That’s baseball,” Young said. “You never know what you’re going to get. The next game, I may score every time I get on base.”
Walk(off) this way.
The Rockies have endured eight walkoff losses in 2010, three more than they had in 2009.
Footnotes.
Tracy on Todd Helton, who had a single, double and 400-foot flyout Friday: “No question . . . the best swings he’s taken all season. . . . I’m actually really anxious to see where it goes.” . . . Carlos Gon- zalez missed his third straight start because of a bruised right knee, the aftermath of a close encounter with an outfield wall at Dodger Stadium. He has taken batting practice and done some light running but isn’t expected to return to the lineup for a few days. . . . The Diamondbacks signed ex-Rockies pitcher Mike Hampton to a minor- league contract. . . . Aaron Cook threw a 25-pitch simulated inning at Double-A Tulsa in hopes of returning to the Rockies in September.
