As fast as it seemed like the Rockies season was taking that all-too-familiar May/June turn for the worse, dropping seven of eight games, they’re suddenly winners of four of their last five including a series win over the Dodgers in L.A. and yesterday’s victory against the current No. 2 Wild Card team, Pittsburgh.
The one constant through both of those stretches has been Jon Gray. The 24-year-old right-hander has won his last three starts, beginning with a win in Boston on May 26. He’s been the stopper of losing streaks in each of those outings, almost single-handedly keeping the Rockies within striking distance of .500 while the rest of the staff tries to rebound.
The struggling Chad Bettis didn’t do exactly that against the Bucs (he went just three innings), but Jorge De La Rosa was strong in long relief.
Chris Rusin was outstanding the night prior and Tyler Chatwood was at his best two nights before that.
After consecutive wins, Gray finds himself in an unfamiliar position heading into Friday’s series-opener against the Padres – tasked with turning the Rockies’ recent success into an actual winning streak.
In 2016, Colorado has just three winning streaks (three or more consecutive wins).
Gray (4-2, 5.16) faces Andrew Cashner (3-5, 4.78) whose last start and win came against Colorado. In fact, two of his three wins this season are against the Rockies.