They took several walks in the ballpark on Friday night and rallied from an early 6-0 deficit to stun the Rockies, 8-6. The Braves have won 12 of their last 15 games at Coors.

The Braves’ go-ahead run was a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the ninth by Michael Harris II off Colorado reliever Juan Mejia. Jonah Heim drew a walk from Mejia to lead off the inning.

Atlanta capitalized on three Rockies walks in the eighth inning — two by Zach Agnos, one by Jaden Hill — to score four runs and tie the game, 6-6. The walks set the table for Mauricio Dubon’s three-run triple into the right-field corner off Hill. Austin Riley’s sacrifice fly to right tied the game.

Friday marked the second straight home game that the Rockies’ bullpen gave up a lead of six or more runs. Relievers gave up eight runs to the Padres on April 23. But Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer didn’t buy the theory that Agnos, Hill and Mejia were “pitching too fine” because they were scared of giving up hits at Coors late in the game.

“Our guys haven’t done that much this year, so I’m going to say no to that,” Schaeffer said. “I can see that (given) the history of this ballpark, but this is the big leagues, and you can’t be scared.

“I don’t think that Agnos, or Jaden Hill, or Juan were scared tonight. They just didn’t throw the strikes that we needed.”

The Rockies, back home after an encouraging 4-2 road trip, were in control of the game early behind another strong start from veteran left-hander Jose Quintana and another big night from Mickey Moniak, who extended his hitting streak to 15 games. ĚýDuring the streak, Moniak is slashing .368/.429/.684 with four home runs and nine RBIs.

The Rockies appeared to have the Braves on the ropes. But the Rockies managed just one hit after the third inning, and their failure to expand the lead cost them — as it so often does at Coors Field. Right-hander Grant Holmes started throwing effective cutters, and the Rockies failed to adjust. Then three Atlanta relievers blanked Colorado for the final four innings.

“We have to keep going there,” Schaeffer said. “We know where we play, and we know that anything can happen here. We need to continue with the offense.”

The Braves have a major league-best 23-10 record and notched their 12th comeback in. But the Rockies (14-19) blitzed them with a five-run, five-hit first inning. Edouard Julien drew a leadoff walk from Holmes, and then the Rockies banged out five straight hits: a single by Moniak; a double by Hunter Goodman; an RBI single by TJ Rumfield; an RBI safety-squeeze bunt single by Tyler Freemand, and a single to left by Troy Johnston. Toss in an RBI groundout by Willi Castro and a throwing error by first baseman Matt Olson, and the Rockies were cruising.

Moniak’s leadoff 439-foot homer to the second deck in right gave Colorado a 6-0 lead in the second inning. It was Moniak’s 10th homer, tying him with Goodman for the team lead.

Quintana had no trouble taming the potent, but free-swinging Braves lineup. He pitched a season-high six innings, allowing one run on five hits. He struck out three, walked none, and generated 12 swings and misses. His off-speed pitches kept the Braves guessing, and they didn’t make a lot of hard contact.

“Being ahead in counts was the key for me,” Quintana said.Ěý “I have been working really hard to attack the zone better and I’ve made a few adjustments to my grip to pitch here in Denver.”

Quintana’s one mistake was leaving a 2-2, 79 mph slurve over the plate in the fourth. Atlanta first baseman Matt Olson blasted the pitch for a 415-foot solo homer to right.

Pitching probables

Saturday: Braves LHP Chris Sale (5-1, 2.31 ERA) at Rockies TBA (opener), 6:10 p.m.
Sunday: Braves TBA at Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (1-2, 3.48), 1:10 p.m.

TV: Rockies.TV
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM

Ěý

Veen, Colorado’s No. 9 overall pick in the 2020 draft, hit just .118 in that stint while striking out at a 37.8% clip. The outfielder’s at-bats were largely undisciplined, and judging by the entirety of his turbulent 2025 season, Veen clearly lacked the off-field maturity to be ready for his call-up.

Enter Paul DePodesta, the Rockies’ first-year president of baseball operations, and his belief that even the organization’s most prized minor leaguers needed more seasoning before getting a chance in LoDo.

“One of the things we really did purposely this winter was to try to help stabilize the big-league team,” DePodesta said. “The ancillary benefit of that was, and we’ve talked about this extensively (since I was hired), that it was going to force our young players to really earn their spot, to force their way onto the team, and not sort of skip part of what we think is really foundational experience at both Double-A and Triple-A.

“Sometimes players that are extremely talented will show up in the big leagues just a little too quickly.”

That philosophy is being exercised in real time this season with Veen as well as first baseman/outfielder Charlie Condon. Both players opened the season with Triple-A Albuquerque, and the Rockies seem in no rush to get Veen back up to the majors or to debut Condon, the club’s No. 3 overall pick in ’24.

Veen’s newfound sobriety

For , his biggest hurdle back to the bigs — a substance abuse issue — is now out of the way after the 24-year-old got sober in the offseason.

As Veen first detailed during spring training the outfielder was smoking marijuana every day last season and drinking excessively, too. Veen further explained those issues in an interview this week with The Denver Post, noting he got in trouble with the organization last season after getting caught smoking marijuana during a game at Isotopes Park.

“There where times last year where I had the world in the palm of my hand, or so it seemed, and I wasn’t feeling as fulfilled as I am since I stopped doing all that stuff,” Veen said. “I’m more fulfilled now, even if baseball or other things aren’t going my way, than if I was with the world seemingly in the palm of my hand when I was drinking and smoking.”

Veen, who says substance abuse issues are prevalent in his family, understands addiction recovery is not a straight line.

He’s been intentional with his actions to maintain sobriety this season, including attending Bible studies, recovery groups in Albuquerque and consistent calls with his pastor from his church back in his home state of Florida. Veen also leaned heavily for guidance on his former high school and club coach, Johnny Goodrich, whom Veen called “the closest thing to a father figure I have in my life,” considering the outfielder has not seen his biological father since the age of 15.

“I have gone to a few random (recovery) meetings since I’ve been in Arizona or I’ve been here (in Albuquerque),” Veen said. “And that’s kind of how I stay on that (sobriety). I just really appreciate being around people who want to better themselves and be the best they can be, which is what I want for myself.”

On the field, Veen is hitting .258 with two homers through 25 games. He’s played all three outfield spots this season, and DePodesta believes that finding the balance between being a free swinger and being selective when the situation or count calls for it will help Veen take the next step offensively.

“If he can rein in that (aggression) in a little bit because big league pitchers are better equipped to take advantage of that, he can do so much damage on so many pitches,” DePodesta said. “So if we can bring him in a little but still allow him to be aggressive on the right pitches, he has a really, really bright future. He’s still showing all the same tools. He’s got big power, he can run. He’s versatile defensively.”

Veen, who was limited to just 46 games in 2023 and 65 games in ’24 due to injuries, says his goal is to stay on the field all season.

“Best-case scenario is I get 500 to 600 at-bats and I play in the most games that I’ve ever played in,” Veen said. “That is the ultimate scenario for me. In a perfect world, I’m obviously in the major leagues (at some point in ’26), but in an even more perfect world, I’m just being the best version of myself every day. And at the end of the year, the pieces fell right where I wanted them to.”

Condon stacking ‘healthy reps’

While Veen bides his time, fans have been clamoring for the arrival of , who followed up a torrid spring training with a solid start to the season in Triple-A.

The 23-year-old is batting .269 with four homers through his first 21 games, but DePodesta says the debut of Colorado’s behind shortstop Ethan Holliday (who is currently in Low-A) likely isn’t imminent.

“It’s hard for any of us to say exactly what that time is or how long that takes, but we all want to make sure that he has that (base),” DePodesta said. “And I think he’s certainly showing signs of that. He’s doing all the right things. Now it’s just a matter of being able to do that longer and get even more experience under his belt so he feels really, really good about it before he gets a chance to come up to Coors Field. Hopefully, at that point, he never goes back.”

After struggling in his debut pro season in 2024, where Condon hit .180 with one homer in 24 games while dealing with a finger injury, he fractured his wrist at the start of the ’25 campaign. So ’26 has been his first fully healthy season as a pro, which Condon is relishing as he waits for the call that’s been expected since the day he got drafted.

“It’s been nice to be able to stack healthy reps,” Condon said. “There’s something to be said for being able to be healthy for an extended period of time and really finding a groove. And so that’s been refreshing for sure.

“Whenever that time comes (for my debut), I will 100% be ready.”

Condon, who led the NCAA with a BBCOR-era record 37 homers has yet to find consistent power in the minors. He has 19 homers in 145 games, and while DePodesta lauded Condon’s “mature approach” at the plate, Condon acknowledged he’s still searching for the right combination of average and power.

“For me, it’s really about blending the hit tool and the power tool,” Condon said. “I don’t want to be a guy that’s just all one or the other. I want to be a guy that handles the bat well but also runs a fair amount of balls out of the yard every year.”

In the field, Condon has split his time this season between first base and right field. He also played third base in college and briefly in the minors, but that position seems to be tabled for now.

“It comes pretty easy to him in the outfield — he feels comfortable there, he tracks the ball well,” DePodesta said. “He’s working hard in pregame in terms of getting even better jumps and covering more ground. But given his athleticism and his length (at 6-foot-5), he’s going to get some balls both down the line and in the gap. He’s got a chance to be a pretty good corner outfielder.”

Veen, Condon fit in 2026

With the Rockies outperforming critics’ expectations through the first month-plus of 2026 — Colorado is 14-18, matching the win total the club didn’t get to until June 15 of last year’s disastrous 119-loss season — the question becomes of how Veen and Condon could fit into the big-league roster.

Veen is on but Condon is not, so the latter would require designating someone for assignment. Triple-A outfielder is also on the 40-man roster, and given he’s currently hitting .308 with a .438 on-base percentage, he very well might get the call before Veen or Condon.

There could be a performance-based opening for one of those players sometime in the near future if current trends hold. In the outfield, Troy Johnston (who also plays first base) and Mickey Moniak have been two of the strengths of the lineup so far. But left fielder Jordan Beck (hitting .153 with one homer) and center fielder Brenton Doyle (hitting .220 with one homer) are struggling.

Both Beck and Doyle have options, though it’s unlikely Colorado would send Doyle down to Triple-A, given the importance of his two-time Gold Glove Award defense in the wide Coors Field outfield. DePodesta gave a vote of confidence to both players, especially considering the platooning that has been going on in the outfield with Johnston, Jake McCarthy and Tyler Freeman also seeing time out there.

Meanwhile, at first base, T.J. Rumfield is hitting .264 with three homers and is playing well enough to warrant an extended opportunity to keep that job for the time being. Rumfield tore up spring training to earn the job after being acquired via a January trade with the Yankees for reliever Angel Chivilli.

Condon, like Veen, isn’t putting extra weight on himself to force the Rockies’ hand for a call-up.

“This game is hard enough by itself, and it becomes even harder when you start putting external pressure like that on yourself,” Condon said. “So for me it’s about focusing on the day-to-day. Obviously (debuting this season) is a goal of mine. That’s something I’m working very hard for. But will I be upset and disappointed in myself if that doesn’t happen? Yeah, sure, probably a little bit. But it’s not something that I can focus too much on because so much of that is out of my control.”

Pose a Rockies- or MLB-related question for the Rockies Mailbag.

WhatśśŇőap surprised you so far with the Rockies?

— Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.

Wow, Ed, that is the question of the moment. Let me start by saying that there have been plenty of pleasant surprises in the early going. There have also been a few disappointments. Let’s get to it.

Good surprises

• Colorado’s 13-16 record. Heading into Tuesday’s game at Cincinnati, the club was on pace to finish 73-89. I don’t think the Rockies will win that many games, in large part because they might trade a few veteran starters in late July/early August, which could cost them some games. But the record is encouraging. Of course, I picked the Rockies to lose 102 games, so what do I know?

• Antonio Senzatela’s resurgence. I’ll be honest, I thought “Senza” was done, regardless of his role. But as I write this, he has a 0.50 ERA and looks like a different pitcher, dominating out of the bullpen. In fact, he is a different pitcher. ĚýSenzatela threw his very hittable four-seam fastball 57% of the time last season, more often than all but 13 qualified pitchers in the majors. This season, he’s using his four-seamer just 37%, while incorporating his cutter (28%) and a sinker (12%), pitches he didn’t have in his repertoire last season.

• Mickey Moniak’s staying power. The No. 1 draft pick for the Phillies in 2016 had a good first season with the Rockies, but I wasn’t sure it was sustainable. Last season, Moniak set career highs in games (135), runs (62), hits (117), triples (eight), home runs (24), RBIs (68), stolen bases (nine), slugging (.519), and OPS (.824). Moniak has had hot streaks before, but then cooled off for long periods. But right now, he’s playing like an All-Star, slashing .316/.353/.684 with a team-high eight home runs.

• Troy Johnston’s hot start. When the Rockies claimed Johnston off waivers from the Marlins in November, I considered him a minor addition and a player for spring training depth and competition. It’s looking like I was way off base. Not only has Johnson slashed .315/.371/.449 with two homers and is tied for the team lead with 16 RBIs, but he’s brought fun and energy to the clubhouse.

•Ěý Chase Dollander’s 180-degree turn. Everyone knows that the right-hander has ace-like stuff. However, harnessing that stuff was problematic last season (2-12, 6.65 ERA overall, 2-6, 9.98 ERA at Coors Field). But Dollander has been outstanding this season (3-2, 2.25 ERA, .200 batting average against), even though the Rockies have used an opener for all but one of his games.

Bad surprises

• Shortstop Ezequiel Tovar’s slow start. He looks lost at the plate right now and is hitting .200. He’s getting beat on fastballs up in the zone and waving over the top of sliders down and away. His strikeout rate is 30%, and his 48% chase rate is the highest in the majors. He’s too good a player for his slump to continue, but the trend is troubling.

• The slumps of Jordan Beck and Brenton Doyle. The Rockies need their defense in the outfield, but they are liabilities at the plate right now, which is why they are getting relatively limited playing time and hitting at the bottom of the order. Beck is hitting .154 with just three extra-base hits (one homer, two doubles). Doyle is hitting .208 with just three extra-base hits (one homer, two doubles). Entering the season, they were viewed as pillars of Colorado’s rebuild, but right now, they are players in limbo.

Patrick, we Rockies fans can clearly see the team is improved and more competitive this season. Do the players hear the same from opponents, and do you hear it from outside media?

— Dom, Longmont

Dom, I honestly don’t know how most opposing players view the Rockies. However, when the Padres were in Denver recently, several of their players said they thought the Rockies were a much-improved team.

I think a lot of media members — those who pay attention — understand that Colorado is better. Still, the stigma of three consecutive 100-loss seasons, including the 119-loss debacle last year, is hard to erase. For example, some of the New York Mets writers were apoplectic when the Rockies swept the Mets in Queens over the weekend. And an as the worst team in the majors, despite their much-improved record.

Patrick, do you agree that we’ve seen these two patterns so far in 2026? Pattern 1: You were precisely on target in projecting that the Rox will be improved, but probably won’t win 70 games this season. Pattern 2: The Rox are a Jekyll-and-Hyde team; alternating between playing a beautiful game one day and an ugly game the next (which is an improvement on three years of two or three ugly games for every one beauty).

And what does Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer see in Victor Vodnik? Is any Rox reliever less effective than Vodnik so far this year?

— Dave Stauffer, Denver

Dave, I agree with both your “patterns.” We’re going to see a lot of growing pains this season because the Rockies are still a flawed team. But give the players, coaching staff, and front office credit; they are at least a competitive team this season. That wasn’t the case last season when they had an almost unfathomable minus-424 run differential.

As for Vodnik, what Schaeffer sees is a pitcher who consistently throws 97-99 mph, can top 100 mph, and fearlessly attacks hitters. He can be erratic, as we saw last week when the Padres scored five runs off him in the ninth. But I wouldn’t give up on Vodnik.

We have two similar questions regarding Chase Dollander.

Chase Dollander seems to have kind of figured out his pitching. Do you think they’ll stay with an opener for him for a few more outings, or is this opener thing going to stick around for a while for his outings

— Kyle, Thornton

When the Rockies use an opener, why do they bring Chase Dollander in afterward? He is clearly the one handling most of the innings. Twice now, he has not been the starter but still pitched longer than any other pitcher. It seems easier to have him start the game.

— Freddy, Thornton

Guys, Dollander got the start in New York against the Mets and pitched seven strong innings. After the game, however, manager Warren Schaeffer was unclear whether he would continue to use Dollander as a traditional starter.

This is what I wrote:

“Dollander got his first official start of the season, as opposed to entering the game in the second inning after Colorado used an opener. Schaeffer said he doesn’t see a difference.

“No change from what he’s been doing,” he said. “Whether you start him or bring him out of the ‘pen, he’s going to be the same guy. It was just the state of the bullpen. We used a lot of leverage relievers in the first game, so it just made sense to start him.”

Schaeffer had previously said he thought that Dollander benefited from “the routine” of having an opener ahead of him, and also said that Dollander benefited from not having to face a batting order three times. We’ll see if Schaeffer sticks with that plan, especially now that right-hander Ryan Feltner is on the injured list with right ulnar nerve inflammation.

Moniak entered the weekend on a tear that even the “Splendid Splinter” would admire. The Rockies outfielder/designated hitter entered a three-game series vs. the Mets riding an eight-game hitting streak in which he slashed .419/.455/.871 (1.326 OPS), with three home runs, five doubles, six RBIs, and a stolen base.

“I’m bursting with pride and joy,” said Bill Moniak, Mickey’s grandfather, whom Williams tutored back in Bill’s minor league days.

Bill, 86, lives in an assisted-living complex near San Diego. The TVs there don’t carry the Rockies games, but that doesn’t mean Bill hasn’t watched nearly every inning.

“Until they get this figured out for me, I’ll keep watching on my phone,” he said. “It’s a pain in the neck, but I keep watching on that little screen.”

On Thursday, he watched his grandson hit two home runs during a 4-for-5 performance in Colorado’s crushing, ninth-inning loss to the Padres at Coors Field.

“Mickey was a heck of an athlete, and he could have been a big-time quarterback, but he always loved baseball, just like I did,” Bill said. “I remember from the time he was about 3 years old, he would carry around a little Wiffle ball and bat, and he’d say, ‘Papa, Papa, throw it to me.’ ”

That 3-year-old kid blossomed into a baseball phenom that the Philadelphia Phillies selected No. 1 overall in the 2016 draft out of La Costa Canyon High School near San Diego. He received a $6.1 million signing bonus from the Phillies.

Mickey credits his grandfather and his father, Matt, who played briefly at San Diego State, for his love of the game.

“My granddad was at almost every tournament,” Mickey said. “He used to go with my dad and I to Arizona on baseball trips. I remember he was with us when we went to a tournament in Steamboat Springs when I was 10. He’d take me to batting cages wherever we could find them.”

Bill grew up in the tiny borough of Youngsville in Warren County, Penn. The winters were too cold and snowy for the local high school to field a baseball team, but Bill, who stood 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, was a gifted outfielder and honed his skills in sandlot games during the summer.

So gifted, in fact, that in the summer of 1958, he signed with the Boston Red Sox for the princely sum of $25,000. Coming straight out of high school, he was one of the first “bonus babies” the Red Sox ever signed. The left-handed hitter never made it to the majors, but played six minor league seasons. Bill finished with a .271 average and 26 career home runs.

During spring training in 1961-63,Ěý Bill was instructed by Williams, who worked for the club as a special batting instructor after finishing his Hall of Fame career in 1960. Williams took a special interest in Carl Yastrzemski, who replaced him in left field and would one day join Williams in Cooperstown.

“Ted was a good guy, but you had to do it Ted’s way, ” Bill recalled. “There was no other way. And Ted was, shall we say, colorful, with his language.”

One morning during spring training, Williams brought out his fungo bat to hit fly balls to the Red Sox’s young outfielders. They started razzing Williams, even though they were quite aware of his greatness. Williams had a career batting average of .344 and hit 521 home runs. He hit .406 in 1941, the last player to hit .400 in a season.

“Hey, why don’t you hit the ball? You call that hitting the ball?” We thought you were the great Ted Williams!”

It turns out that “Teddy Ballgame” didn’t take too kindly to that.

“So Ted sticks his arm up in the air, like he always did, and waves everybody in,” Bill recalled. “He says, ‘OK, you smart-asses, we’re going to handle this.’ So he hit to us for probably an hour straight. I’d never seen so many 400-foot fungo shots before. He was just hitting BBs. He’d run us from one line to the other — left to right, right to left — over and over. We laughed so hard that day, I’ll tell you.”

But Bill’s most memorable Williams story took place in a spring training batting cage. It’s a story Mickey has heard, “about 100 times.”

“I was having a great spring, hitting over .400,” Bill recalled. “But Williams wanted me to hit his way. I told him, ‘Ted, I don’t feel good about this.’ He says, ‘Damn it, kid, try it my way.’

“I mean, I’m 21 years old, so what am I going to do, tell Ted Williams he doesn’t know what he’s talking about?”

Bill ended up striking out four times trying out Williams’ swing and stance. The next game, three more strikeouts.

“So I went back to my old way of hitting, and I hit a home run in my first at-bat and went 4 for 4,” Bill recalled with a laugh. “The next thing I know, I see Ted, his arm up in the air, and he waves me over. He puts his arm around me, and says, ‘If anybody ever tells you again how to hit a (blanking) baseball, you tell them to take it and shove it where the sun don’t shine.’ ”

Still, Bill hung on to the basic tenets of hitting that Williams imparted, and he passed those along to his grandson.

“The main thing that sticks out is what Ted Williams taught my grandfather about approach,” Mickey said. “The basic idea is to know strikes, and know that you own the pitcher. Hit your pitch; the pitch you want. If he throws you a strike on the corner, tip your cap. One strike, you still own him. Two strikes, you choke up a little bit and put the ball in play. I don’t choke up on the bat, but I get the idea.”

Mickey’s dad has been a huge influence, too, but in a different way than Bill.

“From a young age, he was the parent who never pushed me,” Mickey said. “He was a surfer and dirt biker — all of that Southern California stuff. But he was incredible. Any tournament I wanted to go to, he’d get me there on the weekends. I was always dragging him with me to go hit, and he did it.

“I’m not sitting here without him. I always tell people that when I got drafted first overall, and I told him I didn’t want to play baseball anymore, he’d have been good with it. He was going to support me no matter what. But I always wanted to play big-league baseball.”

Moniak needed support from both his dad and his grandpa during his up-and-down career with the Phillies. He spent parts of three seasons with the organization before being released. It was a similar story with the Angels, where a breakout 2023 campaign was followed by a subpar 2024 season. The Angels released him at the end of last year’s spring training, and the Rockies swooped in and signed him just before Opening Day to a one-year, $1.25 million contract. His .270/.306/.518 slash line with 24 home runs during his first season with Colorado earned him a one-year, $4 million contract to avoid arbitration.

Moniak has been essential to the Rockies’ rebuild, not just on the field but in the clubhouse.

“Behind closed doors … he’s part of what keeps everything around here loose and keeps everybody ready to play,” manager Warren Schaeffer said. “What he provides off the field is just as big as what he’s providing on the field, but he’s in a really good place offensively, too.”

And that’s not easy. As Williams famously said, “The hardest thing to do in baseball is to hit a round baseball with a round bat, squarely.”

As for Mickey’s baseball bond with his grandfather, it’s still going strong.

“He texts me after almost every game,” Mickey said. “He always tells me, ‘Grip it n’ Rip it,’ and he’s been telling me that since I was a little kid.”

And 10 years after the Phillies picked him No. 1 overall, Mickey is gripping and ripping as well as he ever has.

“Mickey’s turned out to be a pretty good ballplayer, don’t you think?” his grandfather said.

“The ultimate goal is to bring consistent winning seasons to this organization,” Schaeffer said on the day he slipped off the interim tag and was officially named Rockies manager. “You’re going to see winning baseball in Denver a lot sooner than you think.”

Raise your hand if you were skeptical.

I don’t blame you. Three consecutive 100-loss seasons, topped off by last year’s 119-loss disaster, tend to squeeze the optimism out of even the most positive fans. But Scheaffer might be on to something.

Entering Sunday’s doubleheader vs. the Mets (Saturday’s game at Citi Field was rained out), the Rockies are 11-16. They have been solid at home (7-6), though predictably wobbly on the road (4-10). They are on pace to finish 66-96, which would be a 23-game improvement from last season. I picked the Rockies to lose 102 games, so they are exceeding my expectations — at least in the early going.

Some very early observations, questions, and predictions with 16.6% of the season in the books:

The bullpen has been excellent: Even with the Padres’ ninth-inning rally vs. Victor Vodnik last Thursday, the relievers have been the best thing about the Rockies this season. Colorado’s 3.77 ERA ranks 12th in the majors, and considering the Coors Field factor, that’s pretty good. Former starter Antonio Senzatela looks reborn. He’s given up two runs over 18 innings (0.50 ERA) with 18 strikeouts vs. four walks.

Is the bullpen’s excellence sustainable? History tells us no. The wear and tear of the season usually causes Rockies relievers to implode in August and September. Schaeffer and the front office are well aware of that history, which is a reason why we’re seeing Colorado use so many “bulk relievers.” Pitchers like Jimmy Herget, Chase Dollander and Senzatela have been purposely scheduled for multiple innings, with the hope that late-game relievers won’t be toast in August. We’ll see if it works.

Can Dollander become a true ace? Yes, he can. It’s not just that his stats — 2.88 ERA, .198 batting average against, 32 strikeouts vs. seven walks — but his demeanor, self-confidence, and easy power that give him a chance to be great. Of course, a true ace doesn’t have a reliever opening games for him, but I imagine that set up is going to change sooner rather than later.

Who’s a possible All-Star? Right now, the Rockies have two candidates — catcher Hunter Goodman (.264 average, .870 OPS, six homers) and outfielder Mickey Moniak (.315, 1.050, eight). But there are two caveats here. First, Goodman’s 37.3% strikeout rate is much too high. Second, Moniak has had hot streaks before. Can he be productive for a full season?

But wouldn’t it be cool if Moniak gets to play in the All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia? Remember, the Phillies selected him with the first overall pick in the 2016 draft.

Ezequiel Tovar will play better: The shortstop has not played well thus far, at least not by his standards. His .967 fielding percentage ranks 10th in the majors, his 3.70 range factor is ninth, and his 0.0 DWAR ranks 23rd. His numbers will improve because he’s a talented, athletic shortstop who could still end up in the Gold Glove conversation.

However, Tovar looks lost at the plate right now, as evidenced by his .216/.255/.330 slash line that includes just one home run.Ěý His strikeout rate is 28.4%, his walk rate is just 2.9%, and his chase rate is a very hight 48.5%. Those are reasons why he’s hitting low in Schaeffer’s lineup.

When Tovar hit .269 with 26 homers and 45 doubles in 2024, I thought he was just getting warmed up. It’s early, but he needs to become a more disciplined hitter to become the star so many envisioned.

What’s up with Brenton Doyle and Jordan Beck? There have been flashes that they could be pillars of the Rockies’ outfield for years to come. That’s not happening right now.

Beck isn’t getting on base consistently (.204 on-base percentage), so he’s not getting consistent playing time, which, in turn, is part of the reason why he’s hitting just .160 with one home run. He’s in no-man’s land right now. He might be a slow starter, but he’s going to need to earn more at-bats to climb out of his funk. That’s not easy in the big leagues.

Doyle is beginning to hit the ball hard again, and the Rockies need his defense in center field. But he’s striking out 35% of the time, and his track record shows he’s a streak hitter. Right now, he’s slashing .219/.288/.288 with one home run and a .143 average with runners in scoring position. The jury is still out on his future.

TJ Rumfield is a real find: The rookie first baseman is everything that former first baseman Michael Toglia was not. In Friday night’s win over the Mets, he put together a seven-pitch at-bat against Freddie Peralta with the bases loaded in the fifth inning. Rumfield didn’t get a hit, but he grounded out and scored a run. He takes unselfish at-bats, which is not always easy for a rookie. He’s hitting a solid .292 (7 for 24) with runners in scoring position.

Major decisions loom for the front office: Paul DePodesta, president of baseball operations, has been progressive since taking over the front office — pitch-calling “suggestions” from the dugout, a lot of new people on staff, and beefing up the analytics department.

Former general manager Bill Schmidt was criticized for holding on to players and getting nothing in return. So I’ll be curious to see how many veteran starters DePodesta will put on the market as the Aug. 3 trade deadline comes into view. Right-handers Michael Lorenzen and Tomoyuki Sugano, and lefty Jose Quintana, are all pitching on one-year deals. Lorenzen has a $9 million club option for 2027, but I doubt the Rockies will pick it up. Senzatela is also in the final year of his contract.

The wild-card here is lefty Kyle Freeland, who’s in his 10th year with the Rockies. He’s pitched terrifically so far, but his stint on the injured list means his player option likely won’t kick in. He needs to pitch 170 innings for his $17,000 option to vest for 2027.

The resurgent Rockies held on to beat the Mets, 4-3, at Citi Field on Friday night behind a terrific start from Michael Lorenzen and some timely hits.

The Mets, who took two games from the Twins after losing 12 games in a row, usually dominate Colorado, especially in Queens. But Colorado made the key plays in the key moments on Friday night.

Colorado rebounded after a painful ninth-inning loss to the Padres on Thursday at Coors Field.

Key moments: Right fielder Troy Johnson delivered a two-run single in the seventh inning to score Hunter Goodman and TJ Rumfield and increase Colorado’s lead to 4-1. Johnson’s big hit came off reliever Sean Manaea.

In the eighth, after New York tagged Jaden Hill for two runs on four hits in one-third inning, right-hander Antonio Senzatela rode to the rescue. He got Mark Vientos to line out to a double play to end the inning. Senzatela pitched a perfect ninth, striking out pinch-hitter MJ Melendez with a 98 mph fastball to end the game. Senzatela notched his second save and lowered his ERA to 0.50.

Who’s hot:Ěý Lorenzen, who struggled to begin the season, pitched seven terrific innings. Although the Mets knocked out seven hits, he limited them to one run, didn’t walk any, and struck out three. Lorenzen induced three groundball double plays to get himself out of trouble.

Who’s not: The Rockies’ lineup on the road. Although the Rockies came up with key hits, they also struck out 15 times, were 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position, and left 11 runners on base.

Worth noting: Colorado snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Mets and won for just the second time in its last seven games at Citi Field.

Injury update: Right-handed starter Ryan Feltner was placed on the 15-day injured list Friday with right ulnar nerve inflammation. Feltner exited Colorado’s 10-8 loss to the Padres on Thursday after pitching just two innings when he felt tightness in his right triceps and numbness in his fingers.

that he’s hopeful that Feltner’s stint on the IL will not be a long one.

“The MRI looked pretty good,” Schaeffer said. “We are hoping (Feltner is on the IL for the minimum 15 days). ItśśŇőap just a little elbow inflammation.”

To replace Feltner on the roster, Colorado called up left-hander Sammy Peralta from Triple-A Albuquerque on Friday. Peralta, 27, was claimed via waivers from Milwaukee earlier this month. In seven appearances with the Isotopes, he has a 3.72 ERA with seven strikeouts and three walks over 9 2/3 innings.

Pitching probables

Saturday: Rockies LHP Jose Quintana (0-2, 6.23 ERA) at Mets RHP Kodai Senga (0-3, 8.83), 2:10 p.m.

Sunday: Rockies TBD at Mets RHP Nolan McLean (1-1, 2.67)

Monday: Off day

TV: Rockies.TV

Radio: 850 AM & 94.1 FM

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced Friday that the Winter Classic next season will be on Dec. 31, not on one of the first two days of January. The Avs will play the Utah Mammoth at the University of Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium.

This is the 18th edition of the Winter Classic, the NHL’s signature regular-season event. It will be the second time the game is played on New Year’s Eve — the St. Louis Blues beat the Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field on Dec. 31, 2024.

Bettman made the announcement in Salt Lake City just before the first home Stanley Cup Playoffs game in the Mammoth’s brief history.

Colorado has previously played in three outdoor games. The first two were part of the NHL’s Stadium Series, first at Coors Field in 2016 against the rival Red Wings and next at Air Force’s Falcon Stadium in 2020 against the Kings. The Avs also played the Golden Knights at Edgewood Tahoe Resort for the NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe in 2021. Colorado is 1-2-0 in outdoor games.

The game will be the 47th NHL regular-season outdoor game and the first for Utah, the only franchise that has yet to play in one. The NHL expects a crowd of over 50,000 for the 2027 Winter Classic; Rice-Eccles Stadium holds 51,444.

The Winter Classic was first played in 2008 when the Sabres hosted the Penguins at the Bills’ stadium.

The other outdoor game announced for next season will be a Stadium Series game hosted by the Dallas Stars at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Feb. 20, 2027. The Stars’ opponent is yet to be announced.

The Rockies’ late-game reliever took note of a leadoff walk that haunted him, expressed frustration about the groundballs that found holes, and took responsibility for a poorly executed pitch that turned a significant Rockies’ victory into a stinging 10-8 defeat.

Leading the Padres 8-5 entering the ninth at Coors Field on Thursday afternoon, the Rockies were on the cusp of clinching the three-game series. But Vodnik walked Jackson Merrill, and then saw Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts and Miguel Andujar rap out groundball singles.

Then Vodnik threw a first-pitch cutter to Gavin Sheets. Bang: a three-run 379-foot homer down the right-field line. Ecstasy to agony.

“On the Gavin Sheets homer, it was a pitch I didn’t execute,” said Vodnik, who was charged with his second loss and his second blown save as his ERA spiked to 7.59. “It was a backup cutter. The Padres did a good job of executing, and I got a bit unlucky on those groundballs, and I didn’t execute when I had to.”

It was the second time this season that Sheets crushed Colorado. On April 10 at Petco Park, Sheets hit a three-run, walk-off home run off Roberto Mejia to beat the Rockies, 5-2.

Wasted in Colorado’s defeat on Thursday was left fielder Mickey Moniak’s 4-for-5 performance that included two solo home runs. Adding oomph to the gut-punch loss was the injury suffered by starter Ryan Feltner.

Feltner pitched just two innings before being removed from the game because of right triceps tightness. Starting second baseman Willi Castro departed after three innings because of pain in the patella tendon in his right knee.

“We have been working on (the triceps) in the training room for the last few days, and it just got a little tight in the second inning, so we took precautions,” Feltner explained.

His anger was evident on the mound at the end of the second when he snapped his glove when he struck out Jake Cronenworth to end the inning.

“That wasn’t the exact moment (of the injury), but that was frustration there,” he said.

Feltner said that the concern of a major injury is “pretty low,” but added, “There is no prognosis right now.”

Castro said the decision to pull him from the game was precautionary and said he didn’t expect to miss much playing time.

Moniak, meanwhile, continues flashing star power.ĚýTen years after he was the first player selected in the major league draft, he’s playing as if he belongs in the Midsummer Classic in Philadelphia in July.

After batting .270 and hitting 24 homers for the Rockies last season, he’s hitting .324 with a 1.097 OPS this season. He believes the Rockies are making strides, but couldn’t hide his disappointment in letting a win slip away.

“At the end of the day, the name of the game is to win.Ěý We weren’t able to get that done, but that’s baseball,” said the 27-year-old Moniak, who was selected in the first round by the Phillies in 2016 out of La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad, Calif.

“Vic has been huge for us this year, but he just had a tough day,” Moniak continued. “That’s how it goes sometimes. I have all the confidence in the world in that guy. As much as this one hurts, we have to move forward.”

The Rockies begin a six-game, seven-day road trip in New York on Friday when they play the Mets at Citi Field. Moniak expects the Rockies to rebound from Thursday’s loss.

“I think so,” he said. “It’s been a year so far, with a lot of highs and some lows. Now it’s just going to be about finding that consistent high and figuring out ways to win baseball games. As bad as this one sucked, we had a .500 homestand against two good teams (Dodgers and Padres), and we easily could have been above .500 on the homestand.”

Pitching probables

Friday: Rockies RHP Michael Lorenzen (1-2, 7.48) at Mets RHP Freddy Peralta (1-2, 4.05), 5:10 p.m.

Saturday: Rockies LHP Jose Quintana (0-2, 6.23) at Mets RHP Kodai Senga (0-3, 8.83), 2:10 p.m.

Sunday: Rockies TBD at Mets RHP Nolan McLean (1-1, 2.67)

TV: Rockies.TV

Radio: 850 AM & 94.1 FM

Their 8-3 victory over the Padres on Wednesday night at Coors Field offered the latest proof.

One night after losing a 1-0 game at home for the first time since Aug. 1, 2006, the Rockies rebounded with an impressive performance and snapped their seven-game losing streak to San Diego. Behind a strong start from Tomoyuki Sugano and a huge night at the plate from Hunter Goodman, Colorado improved to 10-15, including a 7-5 record at Coors.

Great shakes? No, but compared to a year ago, it’s baseball nirvana.

“There is a lot of confidence in this group and we have shown that we can do good things,” said Goodman, who hit 3 for 4 with a solo home run and two doubles. “You are not going to keep us down to three hits. You’re not going to do that a lot, and I think we have confidence as a group that we are going to bounce back, especially in this ballpark.”

After the first 25 games of last season’s 119-loss debacle, the Rockies were 4-21 and had already suffered a six-game losing streak and an eight-game losing streak, and they were three games deep into another eight-game skid.Ěý In 2025, the Rockies did not win their 10th game until June 2, to improve to 10-50.

Sugano, who pitched poorly in Colorado’s 7-1 home loss to the Dodgers last Friday, handled the Padres for 5 2/3 innings. The veteran right-hander allowed one run on five hits, struck out four and walked one. He was never in serious trouble, though he departed the game with Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts on base after back-to-back, two-out singles. But reliever Jaden Hill cleaned up the mess by getting Gavin Sheets to ground out to second.

“Sugano has been fantastic,” manager Warren Schaeffer said. “He’s locating the heater, and tonight the slider was really good, and the sweeper was good. He was just competing and attacking the zone. He’s a professional, and you can tell that when he goes out there.

“I think every time out there is probably a different pitch working for him. Tonight it was the sweeper and the slider.”

Sugano, who improved to 2-1 with a 3.42 ERAĚý through his five starts with Colorado, said he’s enjoying his time in Colorado.

“It’s a new team, new coaching staff, new environment, and good teammates,” he said through his interpreter, Yuto Sakurai. “Overall, it’s a very good environment for me so far.”

Last season, the Rockies’ offense often got stuck in a rut and stayed there, spinning its wheels. In their 1-0 loss on Tuesday night, the Rockies managed just three hits. But they pounded out 15 hits on Wednesday, and scored five of their eight runs with two outs.

Goodman launched a 427-foot leadoff home run in the eighth, his sixth homer of the season, tying Mickey Moniak for the team lead.

Moniak continues to rake. He hit two doubles and drove in a run, and has hit safely in his last seven games, slashing .346/.393/.654 during the streak. Rookie first baseman TJ Rumfield drove in Goodman with an RBI single in the fourth and scored Moniak with a double in the sixth. Rumfield and Moniak are tied for the team lead with 13 RBIs.

San Diego veteran right-hander Walker Buehler dominated the Rockies on April 10 at Petco Park, pitching six scoreless innings, allowing just three hits, walking none, and striking out four. Wednesday night, he got the hook after just 2 2/3 innings. The Rockies wrecked Buehler for four runs on eight hits, and he walked three.

The differing results were not solely due to different ballparks. The Rockies attacked Buehler differently this time around.

“It’s another step forward for us,” Schaeffer said. “Just the fact that we forced him to throw so many pitches within the first three innings (82), just tells me we are spitting on the balls.

“It’s so simple. I don’t want to make too much out of it, but it’s baseball. It’s spitting on the balls and offering at pitches in the zone. That’s what we did tonight. It was good and we have to do it again tomorrow.”

Colorado will attempt to win its third series of the season on Thursday afternoon vs. the Padres. Last season, Colorado didn’t win its third series until July 18-20, when it took two of three games from Minnesota at Coors.

Pitching probables

Thursday: Padres RHP Matt Waldron (0-1, 14.73 ERA) at Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (1-1, 6.00), 1:10 p.m.

Friday: Rockies RHP Michael Lorenzen (1-2, 7.48) at Mets RHP Freddy Peralta (1-2, 4.05), 5:10 p.m.

Saturday: Rockies LHP Jose Quintana (0-2, 6.23) at Mets RHP Kodai Senga (0-3, 8.83), 2:10 p.m.

TV: Rockies.TV

Radio: 850 AM & 94.1 FM

During the Rockies’ 9-6 victory over the Dodgers on Sunday afternoon at Coors Field, Hunter Goodman, Troy Johnston, Edouard JulienĚýand Jake McCarthy all hit doubles, and they all pantomimed a fisherman casting his line and reeling in a catch.

Clearly, it was a clever celebratory response to the comments made by Dodgers backup catcher Dalton Rushing after the Dodgers’ 4-3 loss to Colorado on Saturday. Rushing made some veiled accusations, saying the Rockies made some “fishy” swing decisions.

On Monday, when asked about the Rockies’ act at second base, Johnston didn’t take the bait.

Rockies’ Antonio Senzatela embraces change and it’s paying off | Journal

"What was it all about? Fishing," McCarthy answered Monday as a big smile spread across his face. "We all like to fish, and we like the outdoors. This is Colorado."

So, it had nothing to do with Rushing comments?

"Well, I mean, that's open to interpretation," he said, flashing another big grin. "It's a team bonding thing. It's all in good fun."

Goodman, Colorado's All-Star catcher, as it turns out, is also a big fisherman in his home state of Tennessee.

"I enjoy bass fishing," Goodman said. "And Colorado is an outdoor state. And one of the best players to ever play here, Chuck, fishes all of the time. I'm sure he loves it."

Goodman was referring to Rockies icon Charlie Blackmon.

So, did Goodman's air casting have anything to do with Rushing's fishy comments?

"I mean, I'll leave that up to other people to decide," he said.

Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer added, "Sometimes guys just say things, that's all. I mean, we are the highest percentage 0-0 swing team in the league, and I think everybody knows that. It is what it is. (Rushing) is free to say whatever he wants."

And what was Schaeffer's response to his players' second base celebration?

"I don't know anything about that," he said.