Colorado Rockies: 3 interesting quotes we heard in San Diego

SAN DIEGO, CA - AUGUST 11: Tony Wolters #14 of the Colorado Rockies scores as Francisco Mejia #27 of the San Diego Padres loses the ball during the eighth inning of a baseball game at Petco Park August 11, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA - AUGUST 11: Tony Wolters #14 of the Colorado Rockies scores as Francisco Mejia #27 of the San Diego Padres loses the ball during the eighth inning of a baseball game at Petco Park August 11, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)
3 of 4
Next
SAN DIEGO, CA – MARCH 28: San Diego Padres wait to enter before a game between the San Diego Padres and the San Francisco Giants on Opening Day at Petco Park March 28, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA – MARCH 28: San Diego Padres wait to enter before a game between the San Diego Padres and the San Francisco Giants on Opening Day at Petco Park March 28, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images) /

The Colorado Rockies are coming off a four-game series in San Diego against the Padres that started ugly but ended on a positive note.

After losing the first three games of the series, the Colorado Rockies rebounded behind balanced hitting and the stellar pitching of German Marquez to grab an 8-3 win. After falling behind 2-0 heading into the fifth inning, Colorado responded with a four-run sixth and then tacked on two runs each in the eighth and ninth to secure their only victory of a six-game road swing through Houston and San Diego.

As the only print media member to travel to Denver for the four-game series in San Diego, I had plenty of opportunities to interview Rockies players and coaches and spend time in the clubhouse gauging the emotions that were going along with the mounting losses.

The word that I heard often from players and coaches alike in San Diego was “frustration.” There’s no question that Colorado knows it is playing below expectations. However, at times this season, it’s also been like trying to plug a dam with many leaks. You put a stop to one (in other words, your offense clicks) and another leak forms (your pitching can’t keep the other team off the scoreboard).

With that in mind, here are three of the more interesting quotes I heard during my time with the team in San Diego.

HOUSTON, TEXAS – AUGUST 07: Peter Lambert #23 of the Colorado Rockies pitches in the first inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on August 07, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS – AUGUST 07: Peter Lambert #23 of the Colorado Rockies pitches in the first inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on August 07, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

Peter Lambert was the only Colorado starter to not take the mound in San Diego. With the schedule, Lambert pitched the last game of the series against the Astros in Houston and will start the series for the Rockies on Monday at Coors Field against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Lambert’s 11th professional start was statistically his roughest one to date. The Astros lit the 22-year-old right-hander up for a season-high nine runs and seven hits in three innings of work. He also walked four while striking out just one.

While the outcome was anything but what Lambert and the Rockies wanted, there was also much talk about Lambert’s growth from the tough outing and the lessons learned from it.

Lambert was pulled from the game after facing four Astros in the top of the fourth. None of them got out, with two walks and two singles scoring a run and keeping the bases loaded.

More from Colorado Rockies News

In San Diego, I asked Lambert about being pulled with the bases loaded. His answer showed his competitive side as he said he wished he had had a chance to push through a dire scenario.

“I don’t ever want to stop pitching,” Lambert said. “Especially when it’s coming out of the game with bases loaded and nobody out. You know you’re the one who put the team in that situation. You want to try to bail everyone out so it’s tough to come out of a game like that.”

There’s a lot of room for growth with Lambert and the Rockies are willing to take some lumps as he matures into a Major League pitcher. However, they like the fire and competitive nature that Lambert brings to the mound.

“We talked about (Thursday) and a number of things, like pitch usage and certain scenarios in yesterday’s game,” Black told me in San Diego. “But more importantly, his answers back were great. Where Peter is and the perspective he has so far has been really solid for a young pitcher. That leads me to believe that the confidence hasn’t wavered. He believes in himself and his stuff.”
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – JULY 06: Manager Bud Black #10 of the Colorado Rockies yells to home plate umpire Bill Miller #26 during the first inning of a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on July 06, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – JULY 06: Manager Bud Black #10 of the Colorado Rockies yells to home plate umpire Bill Miller #26 during the first inning of a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on July 06, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /

There is no question that the Rockies are struggling. Since June 21 (which began a series of three consecutive walk-off losses to the Dodgers in Los Angeles), the Rockies are 13-30.

More from Rox Pile

As I mentioned earlier in the article, “frustration” was the key word I heard in the Colorado clubhouse this weekend. Jon Gray, Kyle Freeland, Yonder Alonso and others talked about their frustration with Colorado’s steady slide out of playoff contention.

I asked Bud Black about how he is balancing out that frustration in the clubhouse.

“A lot of times, you walk that fine line of guys trying too hard and putting too much pressure on themselves,” Black said. “The tension of playing and trying to win a game can subtly affect performance. We’re doing everything we can as a coaching staff and players, and that includes veteran players trying to get that right mix of intensity and free and easy play.”

Sunday’s win was a start to negating some of that frustration, but it’s going to take more than one victory for the Rockies to start building some positive momentum.

How do they do that? That ties into the final quote I heard in San Diego to share with you in this article.

DENVER, COLORADO – AUGUST 04: Starting pitcher Kyle Freeland #21 of the Colorado Rockies throws in the fifth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field on August 04, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO – AUGUST 04: Starting pitcher Kyle Freeland #21 of the Colorado Rockies throws in the fifth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field on August 04, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /
“That’s how you win,” Black said after Sunday’s game. “You get good starting pitching. You get timely hitting and that’s how you win. That’s what happened today. The goal is to make that happen tomorrow. Good pitching and timely hitting. We just haven’t had that for the greater part of a month.”

Let’s look back at Colorado’s last two victories. Both came on a Sunday, with one happening in Denver and the other at Petco Park.

Kyle Freeland was solid on the mound and Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story had home runs in a 6-2 win over the San Francisco Giants for the win at Coors Field. German Marquez was solid on the mound and four different players had two hits each in Colorado’s 8-3 road win over San Diego on Sunday.

The key for Colorado last season was finding opportunities and capitalizing on them. That’s something that just hasn’t happened this season and it’s made the difference between being in the cellar of the division and fighting for a playoff berth.

Next. Our exclusive chat with Bud Black on a very interesting first pitch experience. dark

It sounds simple, but Colorado has to hit and pitch better … and actually do them at the same time. Black knows it. The players know it. Now it just has to happen. Hopefully it begins again on Monday at Coors Field against the Diamondbacks.

Next