Pomeranz Struggles Early As Rockies Lose To Padres

As the Rockies made the decision to tweak their rotation plan so that their aspiring aces can pitch under relatively normal circumstances, Drew Pomeranz struggled once again in the early innings of Saturday’s game. His team eventually fell to the Padres 4-3 despite a late rally. Some wonder about shutting down Pomeranz in a last-place interpretation of the “Strasburg plan,” but the Rockies say they will continue to pitch the lefty through the end of the season to make sure he can last a full season. Apparently the front office figures that one stupid controversial decision with the starting pitching is enough for this season.

Gregerson got the save in Saturday’s home victory for the Padres. Image: Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE

The woefully overworked bullpen continued to shine, working another 6 shutout innings to give the Rockies a chance to mount a comeback. This left at least two men smiling at the fact that they lowered their season ERA. Edgmer Esalona brought his mark for the season down to 8.53, while Tulsa Driller legend Josh Outman scratched his down to 8.45 with a stellar 0.1 inning of work. If nothing else, this little rotation experiment should provide the Rockies with a set of durable, tough relievers for the coming seasons.

The other noteworthy moment from this game was the vicious collision that occurred when DJ LeMahieu and Charlie Blackmon crashed into one another on a shallow in-between fly ball. Both men stayed in the game and actually made contributions later, but it still goes to show an important lesson: not only will bad defense, which has plagued the Rockies all season, cost you games, it can also cost you players. And I am not trying to be funny; the last thing this Rockies team would need is another injury, especially as a result of bad fundamentals. Team defense needs to be a focus point going into 2013.

The Rockies play the Padres in the series rubber match this afternoon, with Alex White pitching opposite Andrew Werner in a marquee match-up. Or something.