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Rockies are playing with fire with high walk rate

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Rockies are playing with fire with high walk rate


SAN DIEGO — Walks haunt, and late-game walks haunt absolutely.

Usually.

The Rockies’ 5-4 win over the Padres on Monday night at Petco Park was the exception. They pulled off the victory despite issuing 11 walks, only the third win in franchise history when they walked 11 or more. It also happened on May 12, 1995, at Florida and on June 5, 1999, vs. Milwaukee.

Monday night, the late-game relief trio of Jake Bird (two walks), Justin Lawrence (three) and Jalen Beeks (three) combined for eight walks over the final 3 1/3 innings. The Rockies played with fire but somehow survived.

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There are few things manager Bud Black hates more than walks, and he’s already seen a lot this season. Despite daily preaching by pitching coach Darryl Scott, bullpen coach Reid Cornelius and Black, the free passes keep piling up. Entering Tuesday night’s game against the Padres, Colorado had walked 161 batters for an average of 4.03 walks per nine innings. Only the Mets (4.55), Marlins (4.30) and Astros (4.08) have been worse.

With that in mind, I asked Black, somewhat facetiously, if walks can be contagious. After all, hitting is said to be infectious in a dugout. Perhaps the tendency to walk hitters spreads through the bullpen?

“I don’t know whether it goes from one guy to the next,” Black said. “But if you start walking guys as an individual, it can lead to more. I hate to say it, but it can. Last night that might have been the case. So the answer can be yes — to each individual.”

I took my theory to Lawrence. Like Black, he dismissed my nutty idea of walks spreading from pitcher to pitcher, but he said mind games definitely ramp up when a pitcher starts throwing more balls than strikes.

“Once it gets to a certain point, where you walk two guys in an inning, or you walk a guy and you throw three balls to the next guy, you start to press a little bit,” said Lawrence, whose 6.5 walks per nine are the second-highest on the team behind right-hander Tyler Kinley (6.6).

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“I think what happens is that you start thinking, ‘Oh, man, I have to throw a strike right here,’ instead of just going out there and making your pitch, being an athlete and trusting your process,” Lawrence said. “What you have to do, or think, is ‘Hey, if I walk this guy, I know I can get back in the zone and get out of the jam.’ ”

When asked if the pressure of the situation matters — late game, close game, momentum shifts — Lawrence said it doesn’t, at least not for him.

“I’ve been around long enough and pitched enough innings to know that it’s me vs. the hitter, not me vs. the score or the inning,” he said. “It’s my best stuff against his best swing, regardless of the game situation. It’s a matter of executing.”

Still, Lawrence acknowledged that walks can snowball on a pitcher as they did Monday night.

“It can happen, but I think that’s what separates (relievers) in this game is handling it,” he said. “You have to believe that, no matter what, you can get the next batter. Maybe one pitch gets you a double play and gets you out of trouble.”

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Lawrence is well aware of Black’s contempt for bases on balls.

“Yeah, I know he does, but it’s a long season and you’re going to have rough stretches like last night,” Lawrence said. “But we’re going to clean it up.”

They’d better. Because too many games like Monday’s game will make the Rockies’ long season feel like an eternity.

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Colorado mother says Lakewood crash killed son, left 2 of her children critically injured as driver is arrested

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Colorado mother says Lakewood crash killed son, left 2 of her children critically injured as driver is arrested


A mother is grieving after a crash in the Denver metro area last weekend left her son brain-dead and two of her other children fighting for their lives.

Lakewood police say 22-year-old Andrew Logan Miller has been arrested in connection with the crash, which happened Dec. 6 around 7:30 p.m. near Kipling Parkway and West 6th Avenue.

Police say Miller was driving an SUV southbound on Kipling Parkway at a high rate of speed when it collided with a bus carrying a wrestling team from Central High School, which is located in Grand Junction in Mesa County.

Sixteen people were taken to hospitals.

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Among the injured were three siblings who were riding inside the SUV.

On Friday, their mother, Suleyma Gonzalez, identified them as Julio Gonzalez, 18, Analelly Gonzalez, 17, and Christopher Gonzalez, 14.

Analelly and Christopher remain in critical condition. Julio will never wake up.

“I didn’t want to believe it, until they had to do the second testing where they didn’t find blood going through his brain,” she said. “My other two are in comas.”

Gonzalez said doctors ultimately declared Julio brain-dead.

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She describes her children as disciplined students and ROTC members with plans for the future.

“Two of my kids were going to graduate this year,” she said. “No drugs. No alcohol. They were good kids.”

CBS Colorado’s Tori Mason, right, interviews Suleyma Gonzalez.

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Gonzalez confirmed that Miller, who was driving the SUV at the time of the crash, was her daughter’s boyfriend.

“I know he loved my daughter,” she said. “I don’t think he did this on purpose or intentionally. It was an accident.”

Police say the investigation is ongoing, but believe speed played a major role in the crash.

Miller was arrested Wednesday night and is facing multiple charges, including:

• Vehicular assault (7 counts)
• Speeding 40 mph or more over the limit
• Reckless driving
• Child abuse (2 counts)
• Reckless endangerment

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“My kids know when you get in somebody’s car, there’s always a risk. Always,” she said.

Julio’s organs will be donated. He’s on life support, while the hospital searches for matches.

“He wanted to give to the world,” she said. “Now that I can’t get him back, we want to give life to somebody else.”

family-photo.jpg

Suleyma Gonzalez with her family  

Suleyma Gonzalez

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Miller is currently being held in the Denver County Jail and is awaiting transfer to the Jefferson County Jail. His bond and court appearance have not yet been announced.

Lakewood police say the investigation remains active.

Gonzalez, a single mother of five, says her focus now is on her surviving children and getting clarity.

“I just want answers.”

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DOJ sues Colorado Secretary of State for failure to release state voter information

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DOJ sues Colorado Secretary of State for failure to release state voter information


DENVER, Colo. (KKTV) – The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced Thursday a lawsuit against the Colorado Secretary of State for failure to produce state voter information.

Secretary of State Jena Griswold claims the DOJ sent a “broad” request for the voter registration rolls on May 12.

Griswold says her office complied with the request and “shared the publicly available data consistent with applicable law.” However, the lawsuit against Griswold says that her office did not respond to the letter.

Griswold sent a letter in November signed by several Secretaries of State to the DOJ and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requesting clarification on how the data would be used, but she claims neither replied to the questions in the letter.

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The lawsuit goes on to allege that DOJ attorney Eric Neff followed up by emailing Secretary Griswold on Dec. 1, requesting Colorado’s Statewide Voter Registration list.

Griswold said this request asked the office to share unredacted voter data, including a voter’s full name, date of birth, residential address, and complete state driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number.

Griswold responded by email on Dec. 3, stating, “We received your request. We will not be producing unredacted voter files or signing the MOU,” the complaint alleges.

The lawsuit cites the Civil Rights Act, which gives the United States Attorney General the power to demand the production, inspection, and analysis of the statewide voter registration lists.

The DOJ is requesting a judge to declare that Griswold violated the Civil Rights Act and to order her to provide the current electronic copy of Colorado’s statewide voter registration list.

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Griswold’s office released the following statement:

The DOJ released the following statement regarding the lawsuit:



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Toyota Game Recap: 12/11/2025 | Colorado Avalanche

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Toyota Game Recap: 12/11/2025 | Colorado Avalanche


ColoradoAvalanche.com is the official Web site of the Colorado Avalanche. Colorado Avalanche and ColoradoAvalanche.com are trademarks of Colorado Avalanche, LLC. NHL, the NHL Shield, the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup and NHL Conference logos are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks and NHL team logos and marks as well as all other proprietary materials depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective NHL teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. Copyright © 1999-2025 Colorado Avalanche Hockey Team, Inc. and the National Hockey League. All Rights Reserved. NHL Stadium Series name and logo are trademarks of the National Hockey League.



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