Gomber struggles with control in Rox debut

DENVER -- Left-hander Austin Gomber’s Rockies debut on Sunday afternoon was highly anticipated. Now that it didn't go great -- he issued a career-high seven walks and had a throwing error in three innings of a 4-2 loss to the Dodgers at Coors Field -- Gomber realizes only he can make it right.

Gomber carried the added element of being the lone Major League player who Colorado received in the trade that sent star third baseman Nolan Arenado to St. Louis, and Gomber was understandably, and admittedly, “a little amped up.” But Gomber put all the pomp of how he got to Denver aside, dismissed the excitement of a debut in a new uniform and assessed himself clearly.

The outing can’t be unseen, not by Gomber nor by a Rockies team that dropped three of four games in their season-opening series. What he sees when he looks at it again will be key.

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“I’ll watch it, because there’s got to be something specific I was doing to not throw strikes,” Gomber said. “Then, I’ll flush it and move on. This isn’t the first time I’ve pitched bad in my career, and it certainly won’t be the last. The biggest thing is to get the work in this week, then go out and go back to being the guy I was all Spring Training and my entire career, which is a strike-thrower.”

A first-inning leadoff walk to Mookie Betts was the first sign Gomber would show control issues that the Rockies had not seen from him. In 19 2/3 Spring Training innings, the southpaw struck out 19 against two walks.

The second missed target compounded Gomber’s problems. He fielded a bouncer from Dodgers No. 2 hitter AJ Pollock, turned toward second and then jerked a throw into center field. So much for a double play to settle Gomber into the game.

“He made a great pitch to Pollock -- jammed him, got the comebacker and made a bad throw ” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “That's probably as frustrating. That probably stayed with him a little bit, too. I don’t think he was nervous. I think once that inning got going, he just got really, really frustrated.”

Gomber not only walked four in the opening frame, but he was involved in another fielding play that could have helped him escape trouble. Gomber bounced a bases-loaded pitch to Will Smith, which catcher Elias Díaz then retrieved and threw to Gomber, who was headed to cover home plate. However, Gomber looked toward Betts, who was speeding down the line, and didn’t secure the catch.

The non-play at the plate was the first of three Los Angeles runs in the first. Gomber walked Max Muncy to reload the bases, then walked Chris Taylor to force in another run. The third came on a Gavin Lux sacrifice fly, which right fielder Charlie Blackmon turned into a double play by smartly throwing to third to nab Muncy. It was the second such play this series by Blackmon.

The only hit off Gomber was Zach McKinstry’s second-inning leadoff double, and he didn't allow a run after the first. But in three innings, Gomber needed 73 pitches, only 37 of which were strikes.

“It’s not really who I am,” Gomber said. “I’ve never been a high-walk guy.”

Chi Chi González rescued a starter for the second time in the opening series, as he previously relieved a struggling Germán Márquez on Opening Day. González, a member of the rotation whose first start has been delayed by his bullpen interventions, pitched three hitless innings. However, the Rockies' lineup couldn’t solve Dodgers starter Julio Urías, and their only runs came on a two-run double by Garrett Hampson in the eighth following Urías' departure.

The Rockies entered 2021 counting on their rotation, one of their more experienced position groups. The confidence in the starters remained even after Kyle Freeland was lost for at least a month because of a left shoulder strain sustained during Spring Training.

But each of the first four starters had short outings against the Dodgers. Only Jon Gray, who left Saturday's game in the sixth with full-body cramps, went longer than four innings.

Gomber’s arrival made the Rockies more confident in their starters. With the Cardinals in 2018 and '20 (he battled left biceps tendinitis in '19), Gomber struck out 94 against 47 walks in 43 outings (15 starts).

There just wasn’t room in St. Louis' rotation for Gomber. Considering who went the other way in the trade, Gomber, whose previous career high was four walks, has work to do for Rockies fans to let him into their hearts.

“I'm confident in my abilities, I'm confident in what I'm able to do,” Gomber said. “One bad outing is not going to make me make wholesale changes. Let’s get in the video room, probably tomorrow or even tonight, figure out what was going wrong. Then, we’ll address it this week, and it’ll be forgotten about by my next start.”