Lawrence gets masterclass in perseverance

DENVER -- Rockies rookie Justin Lawrence had just blown his first save chance in front of a full house at Coors Field on Friday night against the Cardinals. But not long after Lawrence reached the dugout, the person that mattered more than all of the thousands combined summoned him to the top dugout step.

“I said, ‘Hey, get up on the rail, cheer for your team, get your head up. I know you’re disappointed but there’s going to be a next time,'” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “'You're going to be out there again, in a situation that we're going to need you. You’re going to have to make some pitches. And we have all the confidence in you that you're going to do it.'"

The key words were “next time.”

The plan was for the two to talk at length on Saturday. But their efforts to beat a fireworks-night crowd, after things fell apart on Yency Almonte in the 10th inning of a 9-3 loss on Friday, led to a quicker timetable.

“We were both waiting for our valet tickets and he said, ‘Let’s chat now,’” said Lawrence, the Rockies' 27th ranked prospect who is on his fourth callup to the big club. “So we walked out and had a really good talk. To have those conversations with the manager, and some of the things that were said, it really puts into perspective the position and the possibilities that I could have with this team.”

Black hasn’t handed the closer's job to Lawrence, who increased his total to 10 2/3 Major League innings in the unsuccessful venture into the spotlight. Veterans Daniel Bard and Carlos Estévez are the top options when available. Mychal Givens also is due back as early as next week from his back strain.

But situations like Friday, when Black’s decision to match Jhoulys Chacín with the top of the Cardinals' order in the eighth meant the ninth was Lawrence’s, will happen. And who knows how the bullpen will look after the Trade Deadline?

But while the ending was bitter, the taste of the ninth inning Lawrence received left him wanting more.

“It was definitely different,” said Lawrence, who earlier this season did a term as the Triple-A Albuquerque closer and earned five saves. “I mean, I felt like myself out there. You know, I didn't feel like I was out of my element. It felt right.

“It's cool to be able to say that my first time at the save opportunity was in front of almost 50,000 people on Friday night at home -- fireworks. The moment was there, and it was fun.”

Lawrence took a hard shot off his left foot from Yadier Molina, whose Major League debut came when Lawrence was 9, but third baseman Ryan McMahon corralled the rebound and threw to first for the out. Lawrence, at times, wasn’t close to the strike zone while walking two, but he came from 2-0 down to fan Paul DeJong. A strike away from a save, he threw a slider to José Rondón. Had it been anything like the wipeout pitch to DeJong, Lawrence would have been celebrating. Instead, Rondón lashed the tying hit.

The game brought mixed memories for Lawrence, who was a mediocre starter at Jacksonville University but transferred to Daytona (Fla.) State College, lowered his arm angle and blossomed after the Rockies made him a 12th-round pick in 2015.

More importantly, the outing gave Black information -- no way to know how a guy handles the ninth in front of a huge crowd until it happens -- for coaching points. Black delivered key info as the pair waited for their cars.

“Experience is your best teacher; control your heart rate,” Black said. “The thing that I told him primarily was I thought that on his fastball his delivery looked a little bit like he was trying to create too much velocity. There was maximum effort to his delivery. That was natural. He tried to overthrow his fastball to get as much velocity as possible.

“And I told him, that’s not how you pitch. You’re not a thrower. You’re a pitcher. We talked about controlling his delivery. We talked about what he learned pitching in that type of moment. He’ll be better off next time, and the time after that.”

The overriding message for Rockies rookies -- Lawrence, Lucas Gilbreath, Ben Bowden and Jordan Sheffield (when he returns from a right shoulder strain) -- is that their ability is earning them chances. And if it doesn’t work out, they will learn.

“I think sometimes people get the wrong impression of a rookie or a young guy coming up -- that they’re only going to pitch if were up 10 or down 10,” Lawrence said. “That's not the case. If you’re ready to pitch in the big leagues, you’re ready for any situation. Buddy has shown that to be true.

“When I came back up from Triple-A, my first two games back were the sixth and seventh innings of a tie ballgame and extra innings.”