Diving toward the line is a routine maneuver for Nolan Arenado. The Rockies’ third baseman does it without a thought.
But he usually comes up with the ball in his glove. So when Pittsburgh’s Jordy Mercer smoked a rocket line drive Tuesday right and the ball bounced off Arenado’s glove, it threw off the fielder’s actions. Normally, Arenado braces himself falling to the ground. But with the ball in the air, he looked up — then fell on his face.
Arenado smacked his forehead in the dirt and left the game. On Wednesday, the Rockies held him out of the lineup.
“You see stars sometimes when you dive,” Arenado said. “Happens all the time. But I saw a few more stars than I usually do.”
Arenado passed a concussion test Tuesday night after the game and was scheduled for another Wednesday night.
“He did hit his forehead pretty hard on the ground,” Rockies head athletic trainer Keith Dugger said. “We’re treating it as a contusion right now.”
Manager Walt Weiss said he was looking to give Arenado a day off anyway.
“He wanted to make sure this was his last off day of the year,” Weiss said. “That never changes with Nolan.”
WATCH:
Managers remember Berra. Weiss grew up in New York watching Yogi Berra on WWOR-TV, Channel 9, with Ralph Kiner announcing. But Weiss knew Berra as manager of the Mets.
“He was an icon,” Weiss said of Berra, who died at the age of 90 late Tuesday night. “He’s been one of the great ambassadors of the sport. And when you dig into his career, he’s truly one of the great players of all time.”
Weiss noted Berra’s seemingly unreal home run-to-strikeout ratio. In 19 seasons, Berra hit 358 HRs and struck out 414 times.
“Over time, there’s probably a large percentage who lost their grip on what an accomplished player, what a legendary player this guy was,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “Falls into that ‘Yogi said’ stuff, maybe more than it needs to.”
Hurdle added: “When you talked to him, it was always like he knew you, seen you before. Always had a minute for you. That’s an iconic loss.”
WATCH:
Footnote. Center fielder Charlie Blackmon was a late scratch from Colorado’s lineup with neck stiffness, the team said. Brandon Barnes played the spot instead, and Jose Reyes hit leadoff.
Looking ahead
Pirates’ Jeff Locke (8-11, 4.48 ERA) at Rockies’ Chad Bettis (8-5, 4.46), 1:10 p.m. Thursday, ROOT; 850 AM
Bettis and the Rockies didn’t say it then, but his sideways start Sept. 5 (four runs on eight hits in 4 innings against the San Francisco Giants) came with a nasty flu and illness. In his two games since, Bettis has allowed one run in 12 innings, with 12 strikeouts against four walks. Bettis is one of the Rockies’ most pleasant surprises this season. He has drastically increased his pitching prowess by working intelligently through a lineup, while concerning himself less with velocity. Since he returned from a month off with right elbow inflammation, Bettis is 3-1 with a 3.29 ERA.
Friday: Dodgers’ Mike Bolsinger (6-4, 3.26 ERA) at Rockies’ David Hale (4-5, 6.32), 6:10 p.m., ROOT
Saturday: Dodgers’ Brett Anderson (9-9, 3.52) at Rockies’ Kyle Kendrick (6-13, 6.37), 6:10 p.m., ROOT
Sunday: Dodgers’ Alex Wood (11-10, 3.60) at Rockies’ Chris Rusin (5-9, 5.39), 2:10 p.m., ROOT
Monday: Off
Nick Groke, The Denver Post
