Colorado Rockies: Tyler Chatwood departs after being hit by comebacker

Tyler Chatwood pitched a masterful game for the Colorado Rockies against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Coors Field on Sunday afternoon. However, his start came to a premature end after he was struck in the hand/lower arm area by Daniel Descalso’s comebacker in the eighth inning.

Chatwood tried throwing after being hit but came out of the game. He stayed at the top of the dugout rail after coming out of the game and it didn’t appear any additional medical attention was needed.

Chatwood, who entered Sunday’s game with a 15-14 record and 5.04 ERA in 39 career appearances at Coors Field, showed flashes of brilliance against the Diamondbacks. He allowed just a fourth-inning single to Jake Lamb before Descalso’s liner bounced off him for a base hit. Descalso would score on Nick Ahmed’s single for the only run Chatwood allowed on the day.

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The 27-year-old Chatwood entered Sunday with a 1-2 mark and 7.16 ERA in three Coors Field starts this season. Colorado manager Bud Black had challenged Chatwood to return to his form of 2016, which saw him post an 8-1 mark and 1.69 on the road. Coors Field, however, has historically proven to be a challenge for Chatwood.

Sunday, however, was a different story. The right-hander retired the first six batters he faced before walking Chris Herrmann to open the third inning. A wild pitch moved him to second but that was the only scoring threat faced by Chatwood until the eighth when he left the game.

"“Today for Tyler, we are focusing on the ball-strike ratio where he is throwing strikes and consistently pounding the zone,” Black told Rox Pile and other reporters before the game. “If we see the good ball-strike ratio, we see the mix of pitches where the curveball and changeup come into play, we’re going to have a good game.”"

Chatwood threw 95 pitches on Sunday, with 53 going for strikes. Of the 11 outs that came from batted balls, 10 were groundouts.

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Adam Ottavino replaced Chatwood and got out of the eighth before a weather delay hit Coors Field. High winds, lightning and a downpour caused the stands to clear as a severe thunderstorm warning was issued.