Wilin Rosario had always insisted he was a catcher, but not anymore.
“Right now I feel like a first baseman,” he said Saturday. “I haven’t caught in a month, and I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. Right now, all I can tell you is that I have a first baseman’s glove for my hand.”
Rosario, 26, returned to Colorado’s 25-man rotation Saturday, coming up from Triple-A Albuquerque, where he was optioned April 22. He saw regular playing time at first base in Triple-A, hitting .343 (12-for-35) with four doubles and four RBIs. Rosario saw limited action with the Rockies through the first 2½ weeks of the season, hitting .357 (5-for-14) with three doubles and one home run. He played a little bit at first base, but he mostly was used as a pinch hitter off the bench.
WATCH:
“Wilin was putting in a lot of work, a lot of early work,” manager Walt Weiss said. “He’s still a work in progress and he’s learning a new position, but he’s embraced it. He’s attacking that with the same enthusiasm he tackles everything.
“It’s been a tough season for him, relatively speaking. But he has not changed at all.”
Rosario said he was part of a pitcher-to-shortstop-to first base double play and made a couple of diving stops at first base when playing at Triple-A.
“Things are coming more naturally for me,” he said.
Weiss agreed.
“(Isotopes manager) Glenallen Hill said ‘the Bull’ was working extremely hard and made some nice plays,” Weiss said. “I think he is getting more and more comfortable there.”
Rotation plans. The Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers confirmed Saturday’s pitchers would stay in place and pitch in Sunday’s series finale. That means lefty Clayton Kershaw (1-2, 3.72 ERA) will start for the Dodgers opposite Colorado lefty Jorge De La Rosa (0-2, 9.00). Kershaw is seeking career win No. 100.
Footnotes. Colorado catcher Nick Hundley has the NL’s longest active hitting streak at 11 games, the longest of his career. … During their current 4-14 skid, Rockies pitchers have a 6.91 ERA and have allowed 20 home runs and an opponents’ batting average of .326. … Colorado has lost seven straight to the Dodgers dating to Sept. 26 of last season. In fact, the Dodgers have won 15 of their last 18 games against the Rockies, with their starters posting a 3.30 ERA against the Rockies’ starters’ 7.12. |
Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw (1-2, 3.72 ERA) at Rockies’ Jorge De La Rosa (0-2, 9.00), 2:10 p.m. Sunday, ROOT; 850 AM
This would be a mismatch if the game were being played at balmy Dodger Stadium. But Sunday afternoon at wintry Coors Field, De La Rosa matches up well against Kershaw, a three-time National League Cy Young Award winner. In 27 starts against the Rockies, Kershaw is 14-5 with a 3.11 ERA, limiting them to a .223 batting average. He’s not quite so ace-like at Coors Field, where he’s 7-3 with a 4.58 ERA in 15 starts. De La Rosa, after missing most of spring training because of a strained groin, is still trying to find his footing. His last time out, at San Diego, he was charged with his second loss of the season after giving up three runs and five hits in five innings. But since April 2, 2011, he is 23-4 with a 3.38 ERA when pitching at Coors Field.
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Rockies’ Kyle Kendrick (1-4, 8.73 ERA) at Angels’ C.J. Wilson (1-2, 2.70), 8:05 p.m., ROOT
Wednesday: Rockies’ Jordan Lyles (2-3, 4.42) at Angels’ Hector Santiago (2-2, 2.57), 8:05 p.m., ROOT
