It was only the first inning of Jon Gray’s outing against the Angels on Tuesday, and he already faced a decisive moment.
After recording two quick outs, a couple hits and a walk loaded the bases for Los Angeles, and the Coors Field crowd — anxious and likely remembering Gray’s stretch of three straight askew starts in April — rose to its feet for a 3-2 pitch on Zack Cozart.
But unlike those starts that went sour, Gray struck out Cozart swinging on a well-located slider down in the zone, ending the inning and the Angels’ threat.
Boxscore
From there, he settled in, finishing with an impressive line of four hits, one walk, eight strikeouts and no earned runs in seven innings pitched while the Rockies got a few sparks on offense in a 4-2 win.
“(Gray’s slider) was better as the game went on,” manager Bud Black said. “The first inning it was a little shaky — he didn’t really have the feel for the breaking ball or the fastball command — but to throw a good one to Cozart there to finally end the inning, that was a big pitch, no doubt about that.”
Gray’s outing gave the Rockies a franchise record ninth straight quality start. Colorado’s rotation has allowed just 1.08 runs per start over the past dozen games, and is pitching with a perceptible aggressiveness.
“We’re not walking guys — we’re going at them — and that has a lot to do with it,” Gray said. “We set the tone ourselves, and if you do that, you control the game.”
The continuation of that consistency on the mound gave the Rockies’ erratic offense another pass on a night in which they had a few clutch hits but were unable to string any big innings together.
DJ LeMahieu had an RBI single in the third in his return from the disabled list, and Gerardo Parra also brought home a run with a single in the sixth to give Colorado a 2-0 lead while Gray cruised.
Trevor Story’s two-out, two-RBI double then made it 4-0 in the seventh, a hit that provided valuable insurance against Justin Upton’s two-run homer against Adam Ottavino in the eighth. It was the first homer the steady Ottavino has given up in 21 innings pitched this season.
Wade Davis held the Angels at bay in the ninth, recording his National League-leading 14th save.
Looking ahead
Angels RHP Jaime Barria (2-1, 3.46 ERA) at Rockies LHP Tyler Anderson (2-0, 3.78), 1:10 p.m., ATTRM
The Rockies have won the last four games Anderson’s started, although he’s only gotten credit for two of those victories, and the southpaw flashed consistency again last week in a two-run, seven-inning outing in the Rockies’ 11-2 victory in Chicago. The Angels only have eight career at-bats against Anderson, and Los Angeles is likely to be free-swinging at the plate considering opponents are hitting .444 against him with an 0-0 count. Meanwhile, Barria is coming off a quality start against Baltimore last week and has never faced anyone in the Rockies lineup, and the rookie’s control issues (his 4.15 walk rate is seventh-worst in the National League) should be an advantage for Colorado.
Thursday: Brewers RHP Jhoulys Chacin (2-1, 4.54) at Rockies RHP German Marquez (2-3, 4.76), 6:40 p.m., ATTRM
Friday: Brewers RHP Chase Anderson (3-3, 3.97) at Rockies RHP Chad Bettis (4-1, 2.05), 6:40 p.m., ATTRM
Saturday: Brewers T.B.A. at Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (2-4, 3.95), 6:10 p.m., ATTRM