The Colorado Rockies lost a key piece on Monday when they were forced to place closer Adam Ottavino (1-0) on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 26, with right triceps inflammation. The ball club is yet to reveal the results of the closer’s Monday MRI.
Either way, the Rockies will want to exercise caution rather than have the injury linger deep into the season. The 6-foot-5 righty is 3-for-3 in save opportunities since taking over the closer job two weeks a go. He still hasn’t allowed a single run in 10 and one-third innings work with 13 strikeouts this season.
With Ottavino on the shelf, the Rockies elected to recall relief pitcher Jorge Rondon from Triple-A Albuquerque. Rondon – who the club picked up off waivers in the offseason from the St. Louis Cardinals – has allowed just one run in six and two-thirds innings in Triple-A this season.
John Axford takes over the closer role in Ottavino’s absence. The veteran righty earned his third save of the season and the 119th of his career in Monday night’s 5-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. In five appearances this season, Axford has six strikeouts and has also yet to allow a run.
Rafael Betancourt, who may also be in line for a couple of save opportunities, was the setup man on Monday night.
The Rockies’ pitching staff received another scare when starter Tyler Matzek (2-0) was forced from Monday’s win in the sixth inning with a hamstring cramp. The 24-year-old lefty has a 2.70 ERA on the season and hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any of his last 10 starts. After the contest, Rockies manager Walt Weiss said Matzek was just dealing with a cramp and that he expects the pitcher to be ready for his next start.
“I feel fine.” Matzek said after the game. “It just was cramping up. I didn’t want to push it.”
Nathan is a staff writer for Mile High Sports. He can be reached on Twitter at @TheRealNatron.
