Relievers 'put up their dukes' to sweep Friars

DENVER -- Studying opposing lineups, keeping tabs on which bullpen mates may need a day off, and hearing reviews of his performances made Rockies rookie left-hander Lucas Gilbreath feel ready when called. So Gilbreath felt no shock when called upon for 1 1/3 key innings of Wednesday afternoon’s 7-5 victory over the Padres at Coors Field.

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But there was no preparation for the play that could have flipped the result.

Gilbreath replaced Tyler Kinley in the seventh with a two-run lead, two outs and Adam Frazier on second. One of Gilbreath’s pitches to Jake Cronenworth ticked off the lefty-hitting All-Star’s bat, but plate umpire David Rackley didn’t see it. The other umpires couldn’t tell, either. Frazier ran to third on the play and was allowed to stay there.

“That’s nothing you prepare for by any means,” Gilbreath said with a chuckle. “A lot of people saw it. I was a little bit surprised when they came together and said they didn’t see it. But after that point, it’s back to square one -- trying to execute a pitch, trying to get an out.”

Cronenworth drew a walk, but Gilbreath coolly worked Austin Nola into an inning-ending pop-up, then threw a spotless eighth.

Gilbreath’s resourcefulness was part of an afternoon when the Rockies had to use their bullpen heavily. Chi Chi González returned from a COVID-19-related illness to start for the first time since July 23 and gave up three runs on four hits in three innings.

Not only that, but manager Bud Black had to stay away from righties Jhoulys Chacín and Carlos Estévez, who have seen a lot of action of late. That meant a bullpen that entered with the National League’s second-highest relief ERA (5.27) would be relying on some of the relievers whose stats played heavily into that total to be able to give closer Daniel Bard a lead.

Bard did his job in the ninth -- by retiring three straight, after a leadoff single, for his 20th save -- because others did theirs.

The result brought the Rockies (55-66), fourth in the National League West but in perfect spoiler position, to an uncanny 41-21 at Coors. The Padres (67-56), who maintained their 1 1/2-game lead over the Reds (65-57) for the second National League Wild Card, finished the year 2-7 at Coors Field. About the best news for San Diego, which debuted starter Jake Arrieta but saw him leave with an injury after Nuñez’s homer in the fourth, is the Rockies still have six home games against the NL West-leading Giants (78-43) and three against the Wild Card-leading Dodgers (74-46).

The Rockies are running a different race. Wednesday was a big one for relievers trying to finish impressively so they’ll be counted upon in 2022.

“The five guys who pitched, they got punched a little but they put up their dukes and and responded back with some swings of their own,” said Rockies manager Bud Black, whose team benefitted from three C.J. Cron RBIs, a Dom Nuñez solo homer in the fourth off Arrieta, and a Trevor Story two-run no-douber off Nabil Crismatt in the fifth.

Here’s how relievers other than Gilbreath and Bard performed:

• Rookie Ben Bowden gave up Wil Myers’ second homer of the game (he also went deep off González) to tie the score at 4, but was otherwise smooth.

• Yency Almonte, whose 9.28 ERA entering the game was the highest among Major League relievers with at least 30 innings, gave up a run to end his scoreless streak at three outings but pitched two solid innings (three hits, two strikeouts).

• Kinley walked one in two-thirds of an inning, and was nowhere near sharp.

However, Gilbreath’s work made sure Kinley stayed scoreless for a fourth straight outing.

“Gilbreath was outstanding, maybe the key to that game,” Black said.

Four left-handed hitters were spaced through the Padres’ lineup. Gilbreath, a starter in Class A in 2019 before the 2020 Minor League season was wiped out by the pandemic and a reliever for the first time this year, did his homework and figured he would be needed. Three of the five batters he faced were lefties. All -- Cronenworth, Eric Hosmer (flyout in the eighth) and Trent Grisham (same as Hosmer) -- are capable of big swings.

Gilbreath also fanned the right-handed-hitting Myers for the middle out of the eighth.

“It’s always exciting when I see an inning coming up with two lefties -- left-right-left or left-left-right,” said Gilbreath, a product of nearby Legacy High School in Broomfield, Colo., and the University of Minnesota. “I try to mentally prepare for those situations and do my job.”