The Colorado Rockies announced that relief pitcher Adam Ottavino has been placed on the 10-day disabled list with a left oblique strain Monday. Right-hander Scott Oberg has been recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque in his absence, but the loss of Ottavino is big for Rockies manager Bud Black.
In 27 games this season, Ottavino has recorded 28.1 innings and has an ERA of 0.95. What’s more, the veteran relief pitcher has a WHIP of just .635 and a large reason why is Ottavino has been able to consistently locate his slider which has allowed him to rack up the strikeout totals and avoid creating situations with traffic on the base path.
Through the first two months of the season, Ottavino has given up only eight hits and three runs, while striking out 45 hitters and walking 10. His consistency will certainly be missed as the Rockies enter the month of June with a 1.5 lead over Arizona in the NL West standings.
In 10 games this season, Oberg has an ERA of 6.55 and has really struggled with his location. If the Rockies are going to remain in the first place in the division, they are going to need guys like Oberg to pick up the slack out of the bullpen.
Colorado has been fortunate to get the type of production it has received from Wade Davis and Ottavino through the first third of the season, but with over 100 games remaining, these are the kind of 10-game stretches that can really impact a club’s chances at contention.
The Rockies will begin a three-game series with the San Francisco Giants Monday, before hosting the Los Angeles Dodgers this weekend.
