A clean-shaven Ben Paulsen drew a lot of attention before Thursday night’s games against the Washington Nationals.
“I made a big mistake shaving,” he said, explaining the absence of his massive beard. “So I had to take it all off.”
Quipped manager Walt Weiss: “Some wildlife lost some habitat.”
Paulsen’s famous facial hair will grow back before you know it, but what is his future as the Rockies’ everyday first baseman in 2016?
“He’s certainly put himself into that conversation,” Weiss said. “He’s one of the those guys who’s done very well with his opportunities. I think you can say he’s made the most of it. He’s come up with some key hits for us — clutch hits.
“And he’s played above-average defense, I think. But he’s been a force offensively.”
Paulsen, 27, entered Thursday’s game hitting .282 with eight homers, 16 doubles and three triples in 238 at-bats. He’s driven in 36 runs with a .335 on-base percentage. He’s hitting .300 with two outs and runners in scoring position.
Although it’s unlikely that Justin Morneau — injured and in the last year of his contract — will play for the Rockies again, Paulsen still defers to the veteran.
“I think what I have done is a good start, but remember that Justin is still part of this team,” Paulsen said. “So I can’t look too far into the future.”
Asked to assess his own season, he said, “I guess, right now, you could say I’ve had an OK season. But this game all comes down to winning, and right now, we need to have more wins.”
Paulsen said it’s too early to judge his season.
“I think I’ll have a better answer at the end of the season,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of these pitchers — especially those in our division — only once or twice. I want to see how I respond when they attack me in other ways.”
Bullpen woes. How bad have Rockies relievers pitched recently? Entering Thursday, the bullpen had a 1-5 record and an 11.57 ERA in its past 10 games. In the last five games, the bullpen’s record is 0-4 with a 14.50 ERA.
Footnote. In Monday’s and Tuesday’s games against the Nationals, the Rockies walked 19 batters. That’s the most walks issued in back-to-back games by the Rockies since they walked 20 on May 1-2, 1999.
Looking ahead
Mets’ Bartolo Colon (10-11, 4.58 ERA) vs. Rockies’ Jon Gray (0-0, 2.40), 6:40 p.m. Friday, ROOT, 850 AM
Gray, who has shown flashes that he might have the makings of a future ace, still seeks his first win. All of the runs Gray has allowed this season have come in the first two innings, and he seems to get stronger as the game goes on. The right-hander is coming off an excellent start against the Padres at home, allowing one run on four hits with five strikeouts and no walks over five innings. He was limited to 69 pitches and likely won’t go much above that pitch count Friday. Colon, 42, is the weak link in the Mets’ stellar rotation. He is 1-7 with a 4.83 ERA in his last 10 starts but pitched well in his last outing against the Pirates.
Saturday: Mets’ Jonathon Niese (7-9, 3.50 ERA) at Rockies’ Chris Rusin (4-5, 3.99), 6:10 p.m., ROOT
Sunday: Mets’ Matt Harvey (11-7, 2.57) at Rockies’ David Hale (3-4, 6.17), 2:10 p.m., ROOT
Monday: Rockies’ Jorge De La Rosa (7-5, 4.50) at Braves’ Julio Teheran (8-6, 4.32), 5:10 p.m., ROOT
Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
