PHOENIX — It comes with strings attached, but it’s official: Jason Hammel will start Saturday against the Giants at Coors Field.
The only way Hammel’s status could change, said Rockies manager Jim Tracy, is if he arrives at Chase Field Thursday with soreness after throwing a bullpen session today.
Hammel will get the start Saturday in what amounts to a must wijn for the Rockies, but Tracy has a contingency plan in place. Esmil Rogers will be rested and ready to go if Hammel wears down in the early innings, as was the case Sunday in Los Angeles.
“There was no pain,” Hammel said after his bullpen session. “It was kind of the same as before, but I’m surer the fatigue factor will be a lot different in a game than in a bullpen session.”
Hammel has been one of the Rockies’ steadiest starters, but has struggled in his last three outings, allowing 13 earned runs in 15 innings. He was pulled after four innings in Los Angeles with what it being called a dead arm.
Hammel on Tuesday called his condition “an extreme dead arm,” leaving open the possibility that he wouldn’t pitch Saturday.
“I’d like to pitch, but it’s up to them now,” he said after his bullpen session. And now the decision has been made: He’s a go, but Rogers will have his back.
Earlier in the day, with his status unclear, Hammel implied that he would understand if he didn’t pitch, what with the Rockies in virtual must-win mode.
Said Hammel: “I understand the massive importance of that game, so you have to check your ego at the door.”
