Jon Gray certainly didn’t dazzle in his abbreviated first season in the major leagues, but the Rockies still project him as their ace of the future.
“I see a tremendous amount of growth,” manager Walt Weiss said Thursday. “I see a guy that has a lot of confidence on the mound. I see him throwing pitches with conviction. I think he’s tightened up the secondary aspects of the position. More than anything else, I like the confidence. He’s a young, confident pitcher — for good reason.”
The Rockies, who have nurtured and protected the 23-year-old right-hander from Oklahoma, shut him down for the rest of the season Wednesday, leaving him winless in nine starts (0-2 record, 5.53 ERA).
Gray spoke some discouraged words after his last start, when he gave up five runs on nine hits and a walk in 4 innings Monday against San Diego, raising his Coors Field ERA to 8.27. Gray’s road ERA was 2.70.
“I’ve pitched fine on the road,” Gray said after Monday’s outing. “I just can’t find that whatever it is to make an adjustment and pitch in this place.”
“My road numbers are pretty good, and here they’re pretty bad. I’ve got to make a change fast to pitch here.”
Those words prompted Weiss, as well as pitching coach Steve Foster, to have a visit with Gray.
“We talked about it,” Weiss said. “I don’t think he meant to make too much of that. He believes he can pitch anywhere. Anytime a young pitcher makes comments like that here, because of the history (at Coors Field), people run with it. I wouldn’t read too much into it. My impression after my conversation with him is he feels like he can pitch anywhere.”
Arenado update. Nolan Arenado continues to etch his name in the Rockies’ record book. He drove in two runs Thursday, bringing his major league-leading total to 117. That’s the most RBIs by a Rockies third baseman since Garrett Atkins drove in 120 runs in 2006.
Footnotes. All of the Rockies had a green light on the bases Thursday. Kyle Parker and Ben Paul- sen had the first steals of their big-league careers. … The Pirates won their 10,000th game since joining the National League.
Looking ahead
Dodgers’ Mike Bolsinger (6-4, 3.26 ERA) at Rockies’ David Hale (4-5, 6.32), 6:10 p.m. Friday, ROOT; 850 AM
The Rockies catch a break during their final homestand of the season. They won’t have to face Zack Greinke or Clayton Kershaw. In Bolsinger, the Rockies will face an erratic right-hander with marginal stuff. In his last start, against Pittsburgh, he gave up two homers, three walks and four runs in just 4 innings. Hale, a right-hander whose season has been interrupted by injuries, is running out of opportunities to show the Rockies that he is rotation material. In 10 starts this season, he is 2-5 with a 6.33 ERA.
Saturday: Dodgers’ Brett Anderson (9-9, 3.52 ERA) at Rockies’ Kyle Kendrick (6-13, 6.37), 6:10 p.m., ROOT
Sunday: Dodgers’ Alex Wood (11-11, 3.60) at Rockies’ Chris Rusin (5-9, 5.39), 2:10 p.m., ROOT
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Rockies’ Christian Bergman (3-1, 4.62) at Diamondbacks’ Robbie Ray (5-12, 3.53), 7:40 p.m., ROOT
Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
