Colorado
Rockies Journal: Bullpen has gone from worst to excellent. Will it last?
Bud Black is relentlessly positive but is also a realist, especially about his pitching staff.
The Rockies manager knew in spring training that the team’s bullpen would be its weakest link. He was right.
As the Rockies entered the weekend with just 15 games remaining, the bullpen had the worst ERA (5.36), worst WHIP (1.54), and highest batting average against (.281) in the majors. Its 459 strikeouts were the fewest in the National League and third-fewest in the majors.
But, as Black likes to say, the worm might be turning, thanks to a cadre of young, hard-throwing pitchers and the rejuvenation of veteran Tyler Kinley. Colorado’s bullpen, historically awful earlier in the season, has been excellent in the final month of the season.
Entering the weekend, Rockies relievers had posted a 2.16 ERA with no home runs allowed over their last 12 games. The late-inning meltdowns that decimated the team earlier in the season have ceased. At least for now.
“Those are good signs, what we’re seeing out of the bullpen,” Black said during the Rockies’ recent 4-5 road trip. “It bodes well for the future. All these guys that have come up are doing a nice job keeping the ball down, changing speeds and using their secondary pitches, along with velocity. So it’s promising.”
But to see where the Rockies think they’re going, it’s necessary to remember where they were.
Earlier this season, the bullpen qualified for federal disaster relief.
The dam broke in Colorado’s 11-9 loss to the Dodgers on June 18 at Coors Field. The Rockies led 9-4 going into the ninth inning but gave up seven runs in the top half of the inning, marking the sixth time the Rockies entered the ninth inning with a lead and allowed five or more runs to lose that lead. That gave Colorado the dubious record for most blown leads of that type in a single season in baseball’s modern era.
It couldn’t get worse, right? But it did. On Aug. 27, at Coors, the lowly Marlins scored five runs in the top of the ninth inning to stun the Rockies, 9-8. At that point, the Rockies’ 7.44 ninth-inning ERA was the highest by any National League team in any inning over the last 50 years.
The previous record holder? The 2023 Rockies, who posted a 7.17 ERA in the ninth inning.
Now, back to Black’s vision of a “promising future.”
His optimism stems from the emergence of the new kids on the block at 20th and Blake: right-handers Angel Chivilli, Seth Halvorsen, Victor Vodnik, Jeff Criswell and Jaden Hill, and lefty Luis Peralta. And from the 33-year-old Kinley, who’s taken over the closer role by turning his vertical slider into a devastating pitch.
Vodnik, Halvorsen and Hill have all hit 100 mph with their fastball, and all of Colorado’s young relievers can top 95 mph. But it’s not just their high heat that has Black bullish. He likes the fearlessness and aggressiveness of the young relievers, along with the fact that they aren’t walking a boatload of batters.
How long they can sustain that attitude and maintain their success will be a huge question for 2025 and beyond. Relievers are notoriously mercurial. But for the here and now, here’s what they’re doing:
• Kinley struggled mightily to command his fastball/slider combination earlier in the season, hence his 5.89 ERA. But he now has a career-high 12 saves in 13 chances and has held opponents scoreless in 22 of his last 25 games, posting a 2.45 ERA. Will he be next year’s closer? Possibly, though he’ll have competition.
• Vodnik has pitched 66 2/3 relief innings, sixth-most in the NL, and tied for the most among rookie pitchers. Despite a stint on the injured list, he’s thrown the most innings by a Rockies rookie reliever since Tommy Kahnle in 2014 (68 2/3). Vodnik’s given up only five homers compared to 11 by Kinley.
The Rockies love Vodnik’s ability to put adversity in his rearview mirror. He has nine saves and three blown saves. However, his strikeout rate (8.1 K’s per nine innings) is less dynamic than Kinley’s (10.1).
• Halvorsen, 24, is an enticing pitcher who pairs a triple-digit fastball with a confounding changeup. He threw just one pitch in his major league debut, but he dominated the Orioles in his next outing. After throwing a four-seam, 100-mph fastball to Jackson Holliday, he fed Holliday three consecutive changeups for his first big-league strikeout. He threw three more changeups against Gunnar Henderson to force a groundout and then powered his way past All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman with four 100-plus fastballs before getting Rutschman to pop out on a changeup.
Halvorsen has only appeared in six games (5 2/3 innings) but has struck out five of the 19 batters he’s faced. It remains to be seen if he can be a late-game reliever, but the Rockies love his fastball-slider punch.
• Chivilli, 22, has been lit up a couple of times, but he’s been unscored upon in 13 of his last 17 appearances since being recalled from Triple-A on July 30. Over that span, he has a 2.41 ERA with 16 strikeouts vs. just four walks. He hasn’t shown the strikeout power of some of the other young relievers (6.8 Ks per nine), but his sinker/changeup combination is producing weak contact.
• Criswell, 25, averages 95.7 mph with his fastball, which is hot, but he needs to keep the ball down. He did that against the Marlins on Aug. 28 when he struck out five of the six batters he faced. However, three days earlier he gave up home runs to three consecutive Yankees batters in the Bronx. Granted, the trio was Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, but Criswell learned some hard lessons that day.
His 3.60 ERA and 11 strikeouts vs. four walks are impressive, but the sample size is tiny (eight games, 10 innings).
• The Rockies desperately need a quality lefty in their ‘pen, especially with the injured Lucas Gilbreath facing an uncertain future. They hope Peralta is that guy.
His rise has been meteoric. Peralta began the year in Single-A with the Pirates and came to Colorado in a deadline deal for veteran lefty Jalen Beeks. He has yet to surrender a run in eight games (7 1/3 innings) with the Rockies. He’s given up just three hits and walked three while striking out nine. It’s an impressive big-league splash.
• Hill, a second-round pick out of LSU in 2021, has a miniature sample size at the big-league level (just two scoreless innings), but his fastball/slider/changeup combo is intriguing. As Black likes to warn, “There’s a walk in there,” but if Hill can improve his command, he could evolve into a back-end reliever.
As is always the case with Rockies relievers, this crew faces many “what ifs” and “yeah, buts.” How teams begin adjusting to them will be a major test. So will their durability and the challenges of pitching at Coors Field.
But during another lost season, the bullpen has at least shown that it might be part of the Rockies’ solution instead of their biggest problem.
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Colorado
How to watch the Colorado vs. Colorado State NCAA college football game today: Livestream options, more
The Colorado vs. Colorado State game will be played today. Both teams come into Week 3 with one loss and one win.
Keep reading to find out how and when to watch the Colorado vs. Colorado State game, even if you don’t have cable.
How and when to watch the Colorado vs. Colorado State game today
The Colorado vs. Colorado State game will be played on Saturday, September 14, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT). The college football game will air on CBS, and stream on Paramount+ and the platforms featured below.
How and when to watch the Colorado vs. Colorado State game without cable
While many cable packages include CBS it’s easy to watch the game if CBS isn’t included in your cable TV subscription, or if you don’t have cable at all. Your best options for watching are below. (Streaming options will require an internet provider.)
Paramount+: Watch CBS-aired college football games without cable
If you want to spend your weekend watching football but don’t have a cable subscription, consider a subscription to Paramount+. Paramount+ gives viewers access to all CBS original content, movies and more. NFL fans can enjoy CBS-aired NFL games on Paramount+ for $7.99 per month. Or, watch college football on the Paramount+ Showtime tier starting at $12.99 per month.
The platform live streams college and NFL football games airing on CBS, NCAA college football, PGA Tour golf, professional soccer.
What you can stream with Paramount+:
- SEC college football games live (with Paramount+ with Showtime)
- All NFL football airing on CBS locally and nationally
- On-demand CBS programming, including hit shows like “Survivor” and “NCIS”
- Paramount+ original programming like “Lawmen Bass Reaves” and “Tulsa King”
- Professional soccer, including Champions League live (with Paramount+ with Showtime)
Add Paramount+ to your Amazon Prime Video subscription
You can also add Paramount+ to your Prime Video subscription to access CBS-aired NFL games, plus Paramount+ originals. Add Paramount+ Essential to your Prime Video subscription for $7.99 per month and watch every CBS-aired NFL game this season. Or, college football fans should add Paramount+ with Showtime to their Prime Video subscription to get access to CBS-aired college football and more for $11.99 per month. Both subscription tiers include a seven-day free trial.
Watch the Colorado vs. Colorado State game with free Fubo
Live TV streaming service Fubo offers the same top-tier programming you can get from your local cable provider at a fraction of the price. The streamer is a sports fan’s dream considering the sheer volume of live sporting events you can watch on it.
Fubo packages include access to NCAA and NFL football games airing on your local CBS affiliate, Fox Sunday NFC games via “NFL on Fox,” “Sunday Night Football” on NBC, “Monday Night Football” on ABC and ESPN, and all games aired on NFL Network. There are plenty of channels for NCAA college football fans too, including SEC Network, Big Ten Network and ESPNU.
If you want to give Fubo a try, now’s a great time to do so: Fubo is currently offering $30 off your first month of any subscription tier. That means you can watch every college football and NFL game airing on network TV this week starting at just $49.99 after a seven-day free trial. Once you subscribe, you can begin watching immediately on your TV, phone, tablet or computer.
Top features of Fubo:
- There are no contracts with Fubo. You can cancel at any time.
- Fubo offers a seven-day free trial for all pricing tiers.
- The Pro ($49.99 first month, $79.99 thereafter) tier includes over 200 channels, including channels not available on some other live TV streaming services.
- Upgrade to 4K resolution with the Elite with Sports Plus tier ($69.99 first month, $99.99 thereafter). It features 299 channels, including NFL RedZone.
- Fubo also offers live MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS and international soccer games.
- All tiers now come with unlimited cloud-based DVR recording.
- You can watch on up to 10 screens at once with any Fubo plan.
- Stream on your TV, phone, tablet and other devices.
Sling TV: Save 50% and stream college football
If you don’t have cable TV that includes CBS, one of the most cost-effective ways to stream college football this season is through a subscription to Sling TV. We suggest leveling up your coverage to the Orange + Blue with Sports Extra tier to get more NFL and college football games this fall.
The Orange + Blue plan regularly costs $60 per month, but the streamer currently offers a 50% off promotion for your first month, so you’ll pay just $30. The Orange + Blue with Sports Extra plan is $45 for your first month and $75 per month after. The Sports Extra add-on features 18 channels, including NFL Redzone, ESPNU, SEC Network, Big 10 Network and ACC Network, making it ideal for pro and college football fans.
The streamer is also currently offering big savings on four months of the Orange + Blue tier plus the Sports Extra plan when you prepay for the Sling TV Season Pass. The plan costs $219, reduced from $300.
Note: Because Sling TV does not carry CBS, Sling subscribers will want to add Paramount+ to their bundle. The Sling + Paramount+ still offers the most cost-effective way to stream NFL games airing on network TV. (Paramount+ and CBS Essentials are both subsidiaries of Paramount Global.)
Top features of Sling TV Orange + Blue plan:
- Sling TV is our top choice for streaming major sporting events like NASCAR.
- There are 52 channels to watch in total, including local ESPN, NBC, Fox and ABC affiliates (where available).
- You get access to most local NFL games and nationally broadcast games at the lowest price.
- All subscription tiers include 50 hours of cloud-based DVR storage.
- You can add Golf Channel, NBA TV, NHL Network, NFL RedZone, MLB Network, Tennis Channel and more sports-oriented channels (18 in total) via Sling TV’s Sports Extras add-on.
Watch the Colorado vs. Colorado State game on Hulu + Live TV
You can watch college football, including CBS, with Hulu + Live TV. The bundle features access to 90 channels, including both Fox and FS1. Unlimited DVR storage is also included. Watch every game on every network with Hulu + Live TV, plus catch live college football games, exclusive live regular season games, popular studio shows (including NFL Total Access and the Emmy-nominated show Good Morning Football) and lots more.
Hulu + Live TV comes bundled with ESPN+ and Disney+ for $77 per month after a three-day free trial.
Watch today’s game with a digital HDTV antenna
You can also watch sports airing on network TV with an affordable indoor antenna, which pulls in local over-the-air HDTV channels such as CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, PBS, Univision and more. Here’s the kicker: There’s no monthly charge.
For anyone living in a partially blocked-off area (those near mountains or first-floor apartments), a digital TV antenna may not pick up a good signal — or any signal at all. But for many homes, a digital TV antenna provides a seriously inexpensive way to watch sports without paying a cable company. Indoor TV antennas can also provide some much-needed TV backup if a storm knocks out your cable.
This ultra-thin, multi-directional digital antenna with a 65-mile range can receive hundreds of HD TV channels, including ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, Fox, and Univision and can filter out cellular and FM signals. It delivers a high-quality picture in 1080p HDTV, top-tier sound and features a 12-foot digital coax cable.
If you’re anxiously waiting for today’s game to begin, now is a great time to check out Amazon’s college football fan shop. The Amazon College Fan Shop is filled to the brim with officially licensed fan gear: You’ll find jerseys, team flags, T-shirts, hoodies and more, including tons of great gear for the football fan in your life. There are plenty of great deals awaiting you at Amazon, too, including some must-see deals on TVs for watching sports.
Tap the button below to head directly to the College Fan Shop page on Amazon and select your favorite team.
What is the Colorado Buffaloes current team ranking?
The Buffaloes are currently ranked No. 75 out of 134 teams, according to our sister site CBS Sports.
What is the Colorado State Rams current team ranking?
The Rams are currently ranked No. 95 out of 134 teams, according to CBS Sports.
When is the 2024 NCAA college football championship game?
The College Football Playoff National Championship will be Monday, January 20, 2025, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
As the cooler Colorado evenings set in, it’s evident football season is in full swing. For Denver singer-songwriter and entrepreneur Dre Lane, this means he gets to watch his favorite football player — his son Mario Lane.
“We call him deuce deuce,” said Dre.
Since Mario was 4 years old, his dad Dre made sure he was on the field. Entering his junior year at Cherokee Trail High School, this season is special for them for more reasons than one.
“It really just transcends through my soul. You know, being able to be out here and watch him compete with his brothers,” said Dre.
This is the season the 5-foot-5 fullback has been waiting for his whole life, hoping to show off all the training his father put him through.
“It’s my first year, actually starting on varsity, and I just want to prove that I could play at the top level,” said Mario.
However, news over the summer has now made this a bittersweet season for the Lane family.
At the same time of locking in a starter position, Dre was told he will only have just 18 months to live after finding out his prostate and bladder cancer has spread.
“I’m just taking it one step at a time, I try not to think about it,” said Dre.
Dre remains positive despite the odds, and watching Mario advance in the sport has provided a boost.
“He started off young as a kid, I’m saying, with the long hair, little flag football, and he couldn’t grab a flag to save his life,” laughed Mario. “He’s really put a lot of work into his craft, to really be able to have the ability to be able to do what he does out there.”
And playing for a team like the Cherokee Trail Cougars during trying times has been a true honor for Lane and his family.
“The team support has been monumental. These guys have been backing me since day one. It’s like a brotherhood,” said Dre.
Despite the grim prognosis, Dre still hopes to see his son finish out his senior year next season.
“I’m the director of my life, so I quickly changed the channel and changed the mindset of that situation. I’m going on God’s timetable,” said Dre.
The family is accepting donations to help them through this journey. You can find ways to help on Instagram.
The Cherokee Trail Cougars face the Mountain Vista Golden Eagles for their homecoming football game on Friday at 7 p.m. Watch a live stream of the game on CBS News Colorado.
Xcel Energy’s Day of Service is playing out over two-days with hundreds of volunteers signed up to do service work at about 40 projects across the state. About 150 volunteers started work at The Urban Farm in Denver on Friday morning.
“We couldn’t do our work without these huge community service groups. They manage the big projects that smaller groups and staff can’t get done,” said Paige Heydon, Executive Director of The Urban Farm.
In just three hours the Xcel Energy volunteers will do weeding and cultivating in the Food Forest – a task which would take staff members some 80 hours to accomplish.
“Today is a lot about weeding. Right now, we’re in the harvesting season, and so with that comes a lot of the preparation for next growing season. It’s rooting out all of the weeds you see here, being sure the plants are in a healthy state for next year,” said Stanley Evans, Board President for The Urban Farm and a Data Scientist for Xcel Energy.
The Urban Farm has been around for 39 years. It started as an animal sanctuary and has now grown into a massive working farm and ag center. The Urban Farm serves about 20,000 kids a year through summer camps and fields trips. There are 175 animals that live on the farm; and it produces 12,000 pounds of produce each season which then gets donated back to the community. This is the first year Xcel Energy has done a service project at The Urban Farm.
“To have Xcel have the exposure and see something different, something that has been near and dear to my heart, as someone who grew up in an urban area and not having a lot of exposure to agriculture, for being able to have that opportunity for kids to come here as well as their families and adults to learn just how much goes into farming,” Evans explained.
LINK: Xcel Energy’s Day of Service
Xcel Energy’s Day of Service continues tomorrow with more service projects across the state.
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