Rockies right-hander Chi Chi Gonzalez was brutally honest after Saturday’s game in which he gave up seven runs on eight hits in four-plus innings in a 9-8 loss to St. Louis.
“I was flirting with danger the whole game,” said Gonzalez, who’s 1-1 with a 5.97 ERA after six starts and eight appearances.
Gonzalez also said he needs to find another weapon. Specifically, a swing-and-miss pitch. Because so far this season, 16 of the 30 hitters he’s faced to begin innings have reached base. That’s an on-base percentage of .533 and it’s putting Gonzalez back on his heels right from the start.
“It does put pressure on a pitcher when the leadoff guy’s on base. That’s a tough scenario,” manager Bud Black said. “As often as it has happened with Chi Chi — to get three outs with a guy on first — that’s not an easy task.”
Gonzalez is a groundball pitcher, and when that works, he’s effective. But when he gets in trouble, he said he needs a reliable solution.
“I need a swing-and-miss pitch,” Gonzalez said. “That first batter of the game (Saturday) was nine pitches. He fouled off a bunch. They increased my pitch count and that catches up to you (later) in the game.”
Almonte’s tune-up. Right-handed reliever Yency Almonte’s stint on the injured list with a bruised right hand him a chance to work on his command and tinker with some mechanical issues. Almonte has a 12.46 ERA in 11 appearances.
He’s thrown two simulated games and the Rockies might activate him for Sunday’s series finale at St. Louis.
“He’s got a really good slider and we’ve got to make sure that that’s in play again,” Black said. “What we’ve seen these last couple of simulated games, it looks really good.
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Injury updates. First baseman C.J. Cron, who was starting to heat up and add power to the offense, has missed the last two games because of lower-back tightness. Black said he’s hopeful that Cron can avoid going on the 10-day injured list, but he’s not certain of that.
“We’re hoping it resolves itself the next day or two, to avoid the injured list,” Black said. “We’ll know more tomorrow. (Head trainer) Keith (Dugger) is somewhat optimistic that we can avoid it. But I think tomorrow and Monday are really big days when we evaluate C.J.”
Both lefty Kyle Freeland (shoulder strain) and shortstop Brendan Rodgers (strained hamstring) checked out fine Saturday morning after participating in a simulated game on Friday. Black said a decision about the next step in their rehab stints will be made on Sunday.
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