The Stone Buddha is in the building.
Right-handed reliever Seunghwan Oh, who the Rockies officially acquired Thursday from Toronto in an attempt to bolster their beleaguered bullpen, has been activated by Colorado ahead of its Saturday night interleague affair with the A’s at Coors Field.
“I want to represent Korea, so I want to be known as the Korean pitcher here,” Oh said. “There’s a lot of good guys out here, so it’s just about trying to contribute starting today, immediately.”
Oh, who posted a 2.68 ERA in 48 appearances for the Blue Jays this year and was dominant in South Korea and Japan for a decade before that, will be looked to in order to shore up the team’s relieving troubles.
“We see Oh pitching late in the game — anywhere from the sixth inning to the ninth inning,” Black said. “He’s going to be used like he was used in the past with the Cardinals and the Blue Jays, as a vital member of what we hope is a winning formula as the game unfolds.”
He’ll wear No. 18 for Colorado, where he threw one career inning while with St. Louis last season, allowing no runs and striking out two. Oh said he won’t be intimidated by the altitude and that his “job is to be ready”.
“More than explaining about how I pitch, or what I kind of stuff I have, I want to show (the fans) out here so hopefully a lot of fans will show some love and visit the ballpark a lot,” Oh said.
With Oh’s arrival, Colorado optioned Sam Howard to Triple-A Albuquerque. Howard, recalled for a second time this season on July 14, has only thrown one inning for the Rockies this year, allowing one hit and no runs in his big-league debut June 10 against Arizona.
In 14 starts with the Isotopes this year, Howard is 3-6 with a 5.43 ERA, 26 walks and 55 strikeouts.
Looking ahead
Athletics RHP Frankie Montas (5-2, 3.35 ERA) at Rockies RHP German Marquez (8-8, 5.00), 1:10 p.m., ATTRM
After becoming a father to his newborn son in Venezuela earlier this week, Marquez returned from paternity leave Friday and looks to settle back into a groove following a six-run, five-inning performance against the Diamondbacks on July 20. The right-hander has never faced the Athletics, and Montas has never faced the Rockies — so there will be plenty to learn up and down lineups throughout the first few frames. The Oakland right-hander has been hit-and-miss this season, with a couple of shutouts contrasting four outings in which Montas was hit for at least three runs in six innings or less.
Monday: Rockies LHP Tyler Anderson (6-3, 3.57) at Cardinals RHP Carlos Martinez (6-6, 3.39), 6:10 p.m., ATTRM
Tuesday: Rockies RHP Jon Gray (8-7, 5.16) at Cardinals RHP Jack Flaherty (4-5, 3.28), 6:15 p.m., ATTRM
Wednesday: Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (9-6, 3.13) at Cardinals RHP Luke Weaver (6-9, 4.70), 6:15 p.m., ATTRM
