Rockies rookie right-hander certainly did not pitch well in a 13-5 loss to Pittsburgh on Friday night. His seven runs, nine hits and four walks allowed over three innings is evidence of that.
But there were factors out of Hoffman’s control that contributed to that ugly line. The Pirates doinked three hits off him in their two-run first inning. Plus, Hoffman got squeezed by home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez. According to Statcast’s strike zone imaging, eight Hoffman borderline strikes were ruled balls. Because four of those were first pitches, Hoffman ended up pitching from behind in the count.
But as they say, “that’s baseball,” and adversity is something young pitchers need to be able to block out and put behind them. That’s the next step in Hoffman’s maturation.
“One thing that I’ve learned is that there is going to be at least one or two times in your start when you are really going to have focus and bear down — I mean really bear down — and make great pitches,” said 25-year-old right-hander , who’s slowly learning how to deal with adversity, especially at . “A lot of times, that’s going to make the difference between whether you win or lose, or how long you’ll pitch.”
Manager Bud Black preaches that walks will destroy a pitcher at Coors Field. Gray, who has walked six batters in 17 innings at home (3.18 walks per nine innings), has taken that to heart.
“I don’t like walks here,” Gray said. “I would rather give someone a heater and let them hit it out, then walk them. Because if you walk somebody in this park, all sorts of things can happen.”
Hoffman is averaging 4.45 walks per nine at Coors, followed by lefty Kyle Freeland 3.07, right-hander Antonio Senzatela 2.89 and right-hander German Marquez 2.49 (entering Saturday night’s game).
Bettis on fast track. Veteran right-hander , returning from his bout with testicular cancer, is moving closer to joining Colorado’s starting rotation. He’s scheduled to pitch for Triple-A Albuquerque on Sunday at Salt Lake and throw 60-65 pitches.
If all goes well, he would increase his workload to 80 pitches Friday. At that point, the Rockies might consider adding him to their rotation.
Footnotes. In case you missed this tidbit, is only the fifth player in big-league history with a three home-run game, a cycle and a walk-off homer in the same season. The others are George Brett (1979), Ted Williams (1946), Joe DiMaggio (1937) and Jimmie Foxx (1933). All of those players are in the Hall of Fame. … ‘s 14-game hitting streak, tied for the longest of his career, ended Friday night. … , who pitched a simulated game Friday, said his strained calf felt fine Saturday.
Looking ahead …
Pirates RHP Ivan Nova (10-6, 3.27 ERA) at Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (9-7, 3.67), 1:10 p.m. Sunday, AT&T SportsNet; 850 AM
Freeland is rolling. The rookie did not allow a run over his last two appearances: an 8 ⅓-inning, near no-hit game July 9 vs. the Chicago White Sox, and three scoreless innings of relief July 15 at the . The original plan was to limit Freeland’s innings for a while by taking him out of the rotation, but an injury to curtailed those plans. Freeland, whose 3.67 ERA is the best among National League rookies, is 5-4 with a 3.23 ERA in nine starts at . Nova has won five of his last seven decisions and has pitched at least six innings in 18 of his 19 starts. He is 0-2 with an 8.40 ERA in three career starts vs. the Rockies, all when he was a member of the .— Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
Monday: Rockies RHP Antonio Senzatela (10-3, 4.67 ERA) at Cardinals RHP Mike Leake (6-8, 3.39), 6:08 p.m., AT&T SportsNet and ESPN
Tuesday: Rockies RHP Jon Gray (3-1, 6.19) at Cardinals RHP Lance Lynn (8-6. 3.30), 6:15 p.m., AT&T SportsNet
Wednesday: Rockies RHP Jeff Hoffman (6-2, 5.10) at Cardinals RHP Carlos Martinez (6-8, 3.34), 6:15 p.m., AT&T SportsNet
