Coors Field’s massive greenbelt turned white Tuesday when an aggressive hailstorm dumped itself on Denver. Rain, wind and lightning surrounded the stadium in all directions.
And after the Rockies’ grounds crew shoveled away the residue, Colorado’s interleague game against the Toronto Blue Jays didn’t start until 9:20 p.m.
Troy Tulowitzki’s second game against his former team had to wait. When the shortstop played with the Rockies last year, the club waited through more than 22 hours of total weather delays.
The Rockies were intent on playing Tuesday. A delay of 2 hours, 40 minutes ended only after Colorado general manager Jeff Bridich and other club officials consulted with umpire crew chief Jeff Nelson. They huddled in center field between two puddles longer than 100 feet each in left and right field.
The Rockies also needed to clear out their clubhouse. The tunnel between their locker room and the dugout flooded during the delay because of backed-up drains.
Infield juggling. Rookie shortstop Trevor Story returned to the Rockies’ lineup after missing Monday’s game with a swollen finger after getting hit by a pitch Sunday. But his double-play partner at second base, DJ LeMahieu, remained on the bench.
After Story took batting practice and pregame groundballs, manager Walt Weiss cleared him to play.
“Trevor is running around here somewhere,” Weiss said. “DJ is probably a little behind Trevor, but doing well.”
LeMahieu landed on his left knee, and then it twisted, after he chased a groundball Sunday. He said he hopes to play Wednesday.
Getting weird. With Story and LeMahieu out Monday, backup infielder Cristhian Adames was hit by a pitch in the seventh inning. He hobbled to first base and eventually scored, but Weiss was holding on tight.
“I had some weird thoughts running through my mind at that point,” he said. “A pitcher playing shortstop or something.”
Backup catcher Tony Wolters can play middle infield in a pinch. And backup outfielder Brandon Barnes is athletic enough to play just about anywhere, including catcher. As a National League manager, without the luxury of a designated hitter, Weiss is forced to think outside the box with lineup shuffles — especially at Coors Field, where games are prone to drag out into lengthy, high-scoring affairs.
“Probably out of necessity at times, especially on the bullpen side,” Weiss said. “You get a homestand for a week or 10 days, you find yourself having to use smoke and mirrors. But that’s the thing about the National League game, and playing here, you use your total roster. It’s important to have flexibility and versatility.”
But even though he used left-handed pitcher Tyler Anderson as a pinch hitter, Weiss won’t call on a pitcher to play the infield.
“They ain’t playing in the infield,” he said. “I’d get them as far away from the action as possible.”
Outfielder Ryan Raburn was a late scratch with an illness. Charlie Blackmon, who was scheduled for a day off, was listed instead.
All-stars. Jeff Hoffman, the Rockies’ top pitching prospect who is with Triple-A Albuquerque, and outfielder Raimel Tapia, with Double-A Hartford, were named to all-star rosters for baseball’s minor-league Future’s Game, to be held at Petco Park. Hoffman told reporters in Albuquerque the best part will be playing with a third deck.
“Playing in a big-league park,” he said. “I haven’t been able to do that yet.”
Footnotes. RHP Christian Bergman pitched five innings, with three runs on four hits, for Triple-A Albuquerque. His next appearance likely will be with the Rockies as a long reliever… RHP Adam Ottavino pitched in relief of Bergman, throwing one scoreless inning with two strikeouts. He will likely return around the all-star break.
Looking Ahead
Blue Jays RHP Aaron Sanchez (7-1, 3.24 ERA) at Rockies LHP Tyler Anderson (0-1, 2.55), 1:10 p.m. Wednesday, ROOT; 850 AM
Anderson’s arrival with the Rockies this month has netted three good starts. If he’s without his first career victory, it’s not for lack of command. The 26-year-old lefty has a reputation as one of the smartest pitchers in the organization. “He’s doing it in the heat of battle,” manager Walt Weiss said. “It’s one thing to do it from the sidelines or in a bullpen session or in the dugout. But to come up here and plug him right in, he still responds that way. He’s one of those guys in complete control of his surroundings.”
Thursday: Off
Friday: Rockies LHP Jorge De La Rosa (5-4, 6.47 ERA) at Dodgers LHP Clayton Kershaw (11-2, 1.79), 8:10 p.m., ROOT
Saturday: Rockies RHP Chad Bettis (6-5, 5.84) at Dodgers LHP Scott Kazmir (6-3, 4.67), 8:10 p.m., ROOT
