This reliever is hitting the right notes

This story was excerpted from Thomas Harding’s Rockies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Rockies right-handed reliever Jake Bird marked his seventh-inning-ending strikeout of the Rays’ Randy Arozarena by spinning and slapping his glove with his pitching hand. The celebration of the first of his two scoreless innings was one of a man who feels his groove is coming back.

Bird also is finding his groove in a literal, as in musical sense, once again. Just maybe, the sounds he’s making as a self-taught keyboard player success on the mound are connected.

Performance-wise, some ebb and flow is expected. Bird’s 71 relief innings pitched lead all MLB relievers -- and he has made three starts in addition to 54 times out of the ‘pen. All can’t be good. In his first eight appearances out of the All-Star break, Bird posted a 9.00 ERA.

But he has been stingy in his last seven games -- a 0.84 ERA with seven strikeouts and two walks in 10 2/3 innings. Overall as a starter and reliever, he is 2-1 with a 3.79 ERA, 65 strikeouts to 25 walks.

After examining his downturn, his response was to improve his first pitches and put-away pitches, and address seemingly minor physical imbalances that affected results. Then came a return to his musical stylings.

During the 2020 pandemic, Bird lived with his parents and found an old keyboard that his mother used while teaching children. He dusted it off, plugged it in, and taught himself to play -- mainly using online tutorials. As he worked his way to the Majors, his music was his way of leaving the game at the park. But as games piled up this year -- which health permitting will be his first wire-to-wire year in the Majors -- the music faded.

“You really have to have something that separates the field from home,” Bird said. “You go to the field and you’re locked in, because you could be going in the third inning or the ninth. It shouldn’t be that exhausting but it kind of is.

“If you go home thinking about the outing, adjustments and reports, it really takes a toll.”

So Bird talked to veteran lefty Brent Suter, a player he respects for his baseball-life balance. It just so happened that Suter’s family has left Denver to get ready for school. Suter, who plays some guitar among his many interests, invited Bird to stay with him.

There are no jam sessions. Bird is in a quiet room with his keyboard and his headset. But Bird is finding his happy zone.

“That really helps me hit the reset button,” Bird said. “I’m getting back into the rhythm, trying to complete songs instead of learning little bits. I’m looking forward to the offseason to move into a new house, get a piano there and maybe then start composing stuff. That could be fun.”