Colorado Rockies morning after: Austin Gomber debuts in "attack" mode

After 355 days, Cactus League action has resumed for the Colorado Rockies.

Yessssssss!

When the Colorado Rockies met the Arizona Diamondbacks today at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Arizona, in the opener of Colorado’s 29-game exhibition schedule, it marked the first time the Colorado Rockies had taken part in Cactus League play since March 10, 2020.

How ironic that what turned out to be the team’s final game of the spring that day with the Cincinnati Reds ended in a 5-5 tie.

Two days later, Major League Baseball suspended spring training with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and, ultimately, no more exhibition games at spring training sites would be played in 2020.

For the record, on Sunday, Colorado rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to defeat Arizona, 5-2, before an announced sellout crowd of 2,100. The Rox finished with 11 hits while seven Colorado hurlers combined on a four-hitter in the contest that was called after eight innings.

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But the result of the game, in many respects, takes a back seat to the simple fact that exhibition play — both in the Grapefruit League in Florida and the Cactus League in Arizona — has once again returned to the sports landscape.

The return to the diamond after nearly a year’s absence at Salt River Fields — the spring training home for both the Rockies and D-backs — was not lost on the players.

“We were really excited. There was a little bit of an extra pep in everybody’s step this morning getting to the field,” said Austin Gomber, who tossed two scoreless innings on the mound Sunday, allowing just one hit, as Colorado’s starting pitcher.“The music was a little bit louder in the clubhouse. Everybody was excited. It’s kind of been a while, especially after a short season last year, so I think guys were kind of chomping at the bit to get back out there.”“I know, for me, it was good to get out there and try to set the pace,” said Gomber, who came to Colorado as part of the trade earlier this month that sent Nolan Arenado to the St. Louis Cardinals.“The guy that starts it off every spring, it is kind of his job to go out there and set the pace, work fast, throw strikes, and get us off and started.”

And that is exactly what the left-hander did for Manager Bud Black in his two-inning stint against Arizona.

Gomber, who is competing for the final spot in the Rockies’ five-man starting pitching rotation, threw just 25 pitches with 19 going for strikes.

In the first inning, he needed only eight pitches and worked around a game-opening error in the field, ending the frame by getting the D-backs to hit into a double play.

In the second, Gomber — who appeared in 14 games a year ago for St. Louis and compiled a 1.86 earned run average — surrendered a leadoff double. But he struck out the next batter and followed that with back-to-back outs to keep the D-backs scoreless.

For Gomber, it was business as usual on the mound.

“For me, just treat it as a regular start,” he said. “Obviously, kind of abbreviated with the plan to only go two (innings). The mindset and the game plan never changes. Go out there, attack, try to throw strikes, try to get us in the dugout and hit as much as we can. So whether it is 110 pitches or only 25 or 30, the game plan and mindset stays the same.”

Like Gomber, Josh Fuentes — who started the game Sunday at first base — also picked up on the anticipation of the team being ready to return to Cactus League play.

“I think the guys they are just excited,” said Fuentes, who had a pair of singles in two at-bats and scored a run against Arizona.“Everyone is ‘Oh, no!’ I think we have definitely grasped that mentality of ‘Oh, no!’ and ‘Let’s get ready to work.’ Guys are very excited. They are excited to work. They are excited to battle for spots. I know we have a lot of spots open that guys are trying to get. Everyone is competing. Overall, everyone is just excited. We are excited to play. We are excited to mash some baseballs and to play good.”

Colorado Rockies morning after: Austin Gomber debuts in “attack” mode

After 355 days, Cactus League action has resumed for the Colorado Rockies.

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