One game does not constitute a slump, but Rockies rookie shortstop Trevor Story knows he has to counterpunch in the coming weeks as National League pitchers get a better read on him.
“I’m not going to overanalyze it or anything, because I know it’s just one game,” Story said Wednesday, the day after going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts against San Francisco right-hander Jeff Samardzija. “He had some good stuff last night, and I tip my cap to him.
“I know I’ll have to make adjustments, but one of the ways I’ve become a better hitter is being able to handle pitches everywhere.”
He proved that Wednesday night by hitting a triple off San Francisco’s Jake Peavy in the fourth inning and another triple off Chris Heston in the sixth — hits that would have been home runs if not for the higher fences installed in right-center at Coors Field this year.
Story hit a major league-record seven home runs in the Rockies’ first six games before Samardzija stifled him with fastballs to the outside of the plate. Manager Walt Weiss, however, disputes the notion that Samardzija has written the book on how to handle Story.
“Samardzija was just really good last night, not just on Trevor, but on all of us,” Weiss said. “He was throwing that cutter at 91-92 mph and had tremendous command with it. He made some great pitches to Trevor.
“But I think Trevor will handle (the adjustments) just fine. There is no reason to think he won’t handle that very well. In the early going, pitchers have tried to attack him in a lot of ways, and he’s put the ball in the seats.”
Entering Wednesday night’s game against the Giants, Story was hitting .290 and led the team not only with seven homers but also 12 RBIs. However, his on-base percentage is just .313 and he has struck out 11 times in 31 at-bats while drawing only one walk.
Rotation switch. Left-hander Jorge De La Rosa, originally scheduled to pitch Friday in Chicago against the Cubs, will now start Thursday afternoon’s game against the Giants at Coors Field. The move was made to keep De La Rosa on track to pitch every fifth day. Plus, De La Rosa is the winningest pitcher in Coors Field history (48-17, 4.25 ERA), so that’s part of the Rockies’ strategy.
“I think anytime you have an opportunity to pitch ‘De La’ in this park, you take it,” Weiss said. “He’s got a great history in this park. It’s a winning formula.”
Right-hander Christian Bergman, a spot starter until Jon Gray returns from his minor-league rehab assignments, has been bumped back to Saturday’s game in Chicago.
Patrick Saunders: psaunders@denverpost.com or @psaundersdp
Looking Ahead
Giants RHP Matt Cain (0-0, 3.00 ERA) at Rockies LHP Jorge De La Rosa (0-1, 12.46), 1:10 p.m., no TV; 850 AM
April has never been De La Rosa’s best month, but he has been really bad this year. He has failed to survive five innings in either one of his first two starts, and he has already issued seven walks and teed up four homers. Historically, he has pitched well against the Giants, going 10-6 with a 3.90 ERA in 26 games (23 starts). Cain, making his second start this season, has always been tough on Colorado. He’s 17-8 (3.23 ERA) in 35 career starts against the Rockies and 6-3 (4.45 ERA) in 15 games at Coors Field.
Friday: Rockies RHP Chad Bettis (1-0, 4.38 ERA) at Cubs RHP Kyle Hendricks (1-0, 2.70), 12:20 p.m., ROOT
Saturday: Rockies RHP Christian Bergman (0-1, 12.00) at Cubs RHP Jake Arrieta (2-0, 1.93), 12:20 p.m., ROOT
Sunday: Rockies RHP Tyler Chatwood (1-1, 4.38) at Cubs LHP Jon Lester (1-0, 2.77), 12:20 p.m., ROOT
