Rockies' bullpen shows strain of heavy workload
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DENVER -- With their 6-4 loss to the Giants on Thursday afternoon, the Rockies were swept by San Francisco in a three-game series that could have been won by Colorado if not for late-inning bullpen woes.
On Wednesday and again on Thursday, the Rockies held the lead late behind strong starts from Connor Seabold and Chase Anderson, but those advantages were relinquished by the relief corps.
• Game Story: Rockies bat around in 1st, then see lead vanish ▶️
The Rockies’ bullpen is showing signs of fatigue after an injury-ravaged starting rotation has necessitated a heavier workload for the relievers. Entering Thursday, the Rockies’ ’pen had pitched 251 2/3 frames, behind only the Rays and A’s for most in the Majors.
On Wednesday, two of Colorado’s most reliable relievers -- Brent Suter and Justin Lawrence -- gave up the lead, a warning sign that often suggests an unsustainably high workload.
On Thursday, it was closer Pierce Johnson who surrendered the lead. Johnson saw his ERA rise to 7.50 for the season when he opened the ninth by walking consecutive batters while clinging to a 4-3 lead, and then giving up three runs.
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Pinch-hitter Brandon Crawford tied the game with an RBI double before LaMonte Wade Jr.’s sacrifice fly put San Francisco ahead. Two batters later, a Joc Pederson RBI single gave the Giants an insurance run.
“I think the innings pitched component is real,” manager Bud Black said. “Suter, [Jake] Bird … I think the guys who pitch multiple innings are the guys we have to keep an eye on as their innings count builds.”
With his appearance Wednesday, Suter has thrown 35 2/3 frames this season. And with his scoreless inning Thursday, Bird has thrown 41 1/3 innings.
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Johnson, meanwhile, was deputized as the club’s closer after Daniel Bard was placed on the injured list due to anxiety to open the season. While the ERA wasn’t pretty, Johnson converted 11 of 11 save opportunities to begin the season, but his struggles have become more prominent of late.
All of which begs the question: Will the Rockies make a change at closer?
“We’re going to address that,” Black said. “When Daniel went on the injured list in Spring Training, we had to move on the fly. We felt the best option at that time was Pierce, and Pierce delivered [early on]. But there was a little walk in there. It was stressful, but he got it done.
“Whether the walks now are coming back to haunt him, and how other teams are approaching him and what they’re doing against him, we’re going to have to get together here as a staff and readdress what we’re going to do later in the game.”
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By an oddly apropos coincidence, Bard was summoned from the bullpen to relieve Johnson and struck out J.D. Davis on four pitches to end the inning.
The Rockies have been deploying Bard in a variety of scenarios, but he hasn’t yet returned to his closer role. Could that be on the horizon for the soon-to-be 38-year-old, who posted a 1.79 ERA with 34 saves last year?
“The anxiety is in a good place right now. It’s not an issue,” Bard said. “Strike-throwing could be better, but it’s not anxiety-related. I work every day to get my delivery as clean as I can and get my feel for my pitches as good as I can that day and go out and compete with what I’ve got.”
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Bard has had control issues, at least on paper. He walked four and yielded his first run in a month Tuesday during the series opener. But he thinks he’s closer than that line suggests.
“Even the walks, some of them have been just that teams are taking [close pitches]. Like [on Tuesday], there were like six pitches that were only two or three inches off the plate, and they’re not even checking.”
Only time will tell whether the Rockies again turn to Bard as their man in the ninth inning. But according to him, leverage is not the issue.
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“I think I’d be better [in a save situation],” Bard said. “Honestly, like the higher the leverage, lately, I’ve felt more focused. It’s not any less intensity or anything … but once you’ve been in the highest leverage situations, that’s a huge driver of your focus.”
Given the Rockies’ current predicament, it may end up being Bard’s heightened focus and penchant for overcoming adversity that restores reliability at the back of the bullpen.