The Rockies got some positive news about their starting rotation.
Right-hander Jon Gray, who was pulled from his last start because of should fatigue, said Thursday that he plans to make his next scheduled start. That would be Monday, when the Toronto Blue Jays and Troy Tulowitzki come to Coors Field.
“I passed all the strength tests. My shoulder’s just a little bit fatigued, but I think I will be back out there,” said Gray, who was Wednesday in the Rockies’ 9-8 loss to the Yankees in New York.
“He’ll most likely make his next start,” manager Walt Weiss said. “He doesn’t have any pain or anything like that. He will go his typical four days between starts and we’ll see what that looks like. But I think there is a pretty good chance he makes his next start.”
Gray, 4-3 with a 4.80 ERA in 12 starts, is scheduled to throw his normal side session on Friday. However, he plans to cut back on the number of pitches he throws from 40 to 25.
“I think maybe I was throwing a little bit too much the last week, so we are going to give it a bit of a rest,” Gray said. “I will throw the side tomorrow, but it’s maybe going to be less pitches … and it will mostly be fastballs.”
In the Rockies’ 9-8 loss to the Yankees on Wednesday, Gray served up a grand slam to Chase Headley in the second inning, but he gave up just three hits in his four innings. But his fastball command was off and he walked six.
“The only thing I felt was a lack of strength in my arm and that kind of messed up my timing,” Gray said.
If Gray’s side session does not go well, there’s a chance Gray could be scratched from Monday’s start.
“I guess it’s possible, but there are no signs of that right now,” Weiss said. “But that’s true with all of our pitchers. We monitor them from day to day.”
