In simply his second begin of the season, Rockies right-hander Bradley Blalock gave Colorado precisely what it wanted: a poised, efficient outing from a contemporary arm. Referred to as up from Triple-A Albuquerque to switch the injured Ryan Feltner, the 24-year-old didn’t disappoint — holding the San Francisco Giants to simply two hits over 5 strong innings in Saturday’s 6-3 loss at Oracle Park.
“He threw the ball properly,” Rockies supervisor Bud Black mentioned postgame. “All of his pitches have been good. Fastball performed at present, the curveball was efficient, the cutter and slider have been good. 4 pitches well-thrown at present by Bradley.”
Blalock cruised by the primary 5 innings, retiring the primary seven batters and exhibiting veteran-level command. The lone blemish got here within the third when he left a dangling slider over the plate to Luis Matos, who launched a solo homer to left to place the Giants up 1-0. Nonetheless, Blalock bounced again shortly, retiring seven of the following eight batters.
“I left the slider as much as Matos,” Blalock mentioned. “In any other case, I believed it was fairly good.”
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Issues unraveled within the sixth when Blalock walked two of the primary three batters, prompting Black to show to the bullpen. That’s when San Francisco seized momentum. A bases-loaded single from Jung Hoo Lee tied the sport, and Matt Chapman adopted with a devastating 402-foot grand slam off Jake Chook — flipping the Rockies’ 3-1 lead right into a 6-3 deficit.
Regardless of the ultimate rating, Blalock’s outing stood out. He struck out 4, walked two, and allowed solely the Matos house run and a single to Willy Adames.
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“He did every little thing he may,” Black reiterated. “He needed to. Their man was good, too. Bradley did his job.”
Blalock’s begin got here simply days after being optioned to Triple-A following a tough outing in opposition to the Reds. He was already making ready to pitch within the Minors when the Rockies referred to as him again up.
“I didn’t assume it was going to return this quick,” Blalock mentioned. “I went right down to Albuquerque, labored on a number of issues there in a mid-week bullpen and I felt good coming in.”
A part of that work included enhancing mechanics, significantly strengthening his again leg to enhance pitch command — a spotlight that clearly paid off. Now with Feltner anticipated to overlook a minimum of a pair turns, Blalock appears more likely to get one other shot within the rotation.
For a Rockies workforce that has relied closely on its bullpen and ranks close to the underside of the league standings at 6-27, Blalock’s emergence might be a much-needed increase.
“Simply go down there and be prepared for something,” Blalock mentioned of the message he acquired when he was first despatched down. Now, he seems to be greater than prepared.