Models of efficiency.
That’s what the Rockies are looking for from their starters as their hybrid pitching system evolves. It’s what Rockies manager Jim Tracy was hoping to get from right-hander Alex White on Friday night in a 5-4 loss to the San Diego Padres at Coors Field.
It didn’t happen.
White got a quick hook after 3 ⅔ innings. He left the game with the Rockies trailing 3-1, having given up three runs on four hits, including a leadoff home run to Carlos Quentin in the second inning. White also gave up a one-out triple to Will Venable in the third inning, leading to a run.
Most disconcerting, White walked three and needed 76 pitches to get through his short night of work.
White, who along with lefty Drew Pomeranz was part of last summer’s trade with Cleveland for Ubaldo Jimenez, entered the game having worked just four innings in each of his last five starts. Tracy wants more. He expects more from White.
“Let’s get beyond there,” Tracy said before Friday’s game. “I’ve told him, ‘You are very capable of it, more than capable of it.’ “
The Rockies next year could conceivably have a starting staff of Jorge De La Rosa, Jhoulys Chacin, Jeff Francis and Pomeranz, leaving Tyler Chatwood, White, Juan Nicasio and Christian Friedrich as the piggyback pitchers.
Or White could very well be part of the starting four, depending on his performance.
White likely has six more starts this season. What he does with them will help determine where hit fits into the Rockies’ pitching scheme next season.
“What I want to see from all of our pitchers, moving forward, is efficiency,” Tracy said. “Get us to the fifth inning. Get us beyond that. When we do that, we have a good shot of winning ballgames.”
When White is at his best, he pounds the strike zone and induces groundball outs, getting hitters to pound his heavy two-seam fastball into the dirt. At his best, he conjurers up memories of sinkerballer Aaron Cook, who rode a sinker to an All-Star Game appearance in 2008.
That’s the type of pitcher Tracy witnessed Aug. 2 at Coors Field.
White, just called up from Triple-A, was exceptional in the Rockies’ 8-2 victory over the Cardinals. Though he didn’t get the decision, White he needed just 84 pitches over 5 ⅔ innings, allowing two runs on five hits. Most striking, he got 14 groundball outs.
White gets into trouble, Tracy said, when he strays from using his sinker and begins mixing in too many sliders.
“His sinker is his best pitch, as far as I am concerned,” Tracy said. “Trusting it and commanding it are to very important aspects of it. He can pitch with it and get outs with it.”
White did get six groundball outs, but the efficiency the Rockies are seeking was missing again.
Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428, psaunders@denverpost.com or
