Colorado Rockies morning after: 3 things we learned from Dodgers series

Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black liked what he saw out of Ty Blach

Ty Blach, the Opening Day starter for San Francisco in 2018, had made 16 appearances across three levels in the Baltimore Minor League system last year after returning from his surgery in 2020 before coming to the Rockies and delivering on his first opportunity.

Blach is also a native of Aurora, Colo., and grew up a fan of the Rockies so he was elated to take the mound for the first time as a member of the team.

“It is one of those lifelong dreams as a kid,” he said after Sunday’s game. “I don’t think it has quite set in yet. It’s a dream come true. It is one of the most wonderful things to ever happen to me. I just feel really, really blessed for sure.”

Colorado Manager Bud Black gushed about Blach’s four-strikeout, one-hit performance.

“Ty was outstanding,” he said. “I told him on the field I was so proud of him (especially with) what he’s been through the last few years.

“He lived up to his expectation of helping the Rockies after we signed him,” Black added. “So, it’s a great story. In the present, hopefully, this will continue—him helping us win. He was awesome. I mean, pitched great. We saw that in Arizona.

“He’s healthy. He feels good. He’s confident. He’s got a mix of pitches. He pitched today, which was great. Lovely.”

Bud Black won his 1,000th career game on Sunday

For Bud Black, now in his sixth season leading the Rox, Sunday’s victory allowed the skipper to reach a milestone—his 1,000th career managerial win. Black is now 1,000-1,073 overall in 15 Major League seasons having guided San Diego to a 649-713 mark from 2007-15.

“It shows that I’ve had some longevity,” he said about reaching the 1,000-win plateau.

“But that’s a tribute to the players that I’ve had and the two teams that I have managed—to have faith in me to manage the club. The players, the coaches, the front office, the people behind the scenes, they are all part of this.

“We do a little postgame stuff after we win and there were some nice things said that I’ll remember.”

Thanks to a Los Angeles error, Colorado tallied three unearned runs in the first inning, which featured a run-scoring single by newly acquired Randal Grichuk.

Cron’s two-run blast to deep left field came as part of a three-run third inning that gave the Rox a 6-0 lead.

The Dodgers battled back against Colorado starter Antonio Senzatela, touching the righthander for nine hits and four runs in 3.1 innings. Three of those runs were unearned, however, when left fielder Kris Bryant misplayed a two-out fly ball that allowed three Dodgers runs to cross the plate.

Díaz lined his home run to left field in the seventh inning to give Blach plenty enough of a cushion heading into the final two innings.

Díaz was one of four Colorado players with two hits. Bryant, Cron, and Yonathan Daza (making his first start of the season) each collected a pair of hits.

Here are 3 things we learned about the Rockies’ from the season-opening series.

1) Connor Joe continues to swing a big bat

After a solid spring training in which he batted .412 with a pair of home runs and eight RBIs in 14 Cactus League contests, Joe started the regular season right where he left off in Scottsdale.

The seven-year veteran had two runs batted in, including an eighth-inning game-winning solo homer, in Colorado’s 3-2 victory Saturday night against the Dodgers. The 444-foot blast to center field was the longest of Joe’s career and the first roundtripper for the Rox this season. He also had a hit and notched a run in the opener on Friday and scored a run in Sunday’s series finale.

2) Elias Díaz shows veteran presence behind the plate

Besides flashing his prowess offensively with his home run and two-hit day on Sunday, Diaz exhibited his experience in handling and understanding pitchers as he indicated to Black that Blach was throwing well enough and could remain in game in the ninth to finish Sunday’s contest. Diaz’s suggestion came despite his never having teamed up with Blach before Sunday.

“I said we (can) go,” Diaz said. “He (Blach) was great. His command. He came on and he looked really nice. So that’s why I said he was ready for another one.”

“I want to tell you the truth, this was the first time that I caught him,” Diaz added. “I saw him in spring training. I watched a game and how he liked to pitch. I understand how he liked to throw it.”

3) Fans flock to Coors Field for Dodgers series

Despite a 99-day lockout between players and MLB management that forced a late start to the season, fans came in droves to see Colorado and Los Angeles open the season. A total of 137,529 fans witnessed the three games at Coors Field with all thee contests drawing crowds of at least 40,000. The three-day attendance of 137,359 was the second-highest average attendance in the Majors for Opening Weekend.

Following their home series to open the year, the Rockies have a quick turnaround with a two-game road series set to begin at 2:10 p.m. (Central time)/1:10 p.m. (Mountain time) on Monday against the Texas Rangers.

Austin Gomber is scheduled to make his initial start on the mound in 2022 for Colorado with Taylor Hearn listed to go for the Rangers. Newly acquired Chad Kuhl is slated to start on the hill for the Rockies for the 6:05 p.m. (Central time) Tuesday contest with Spencer Howard the announced starter for Texas.

Rox Pile’s Kevin Henry will be with the team in Texas so we will have live coverage from Texas in both games of the series.