Colorado

Rockies Journal: Bullpen has gone from worst to excellent. Will it last?

Published

1 year ago

September 14, 2024

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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

Colorado mom, 6-year-old son found dead in Canyonlands National Park in apparent murder-suicide

Published

11 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Colorado mom, 6-year-old son found dead in Canyonlands National Park in apparent murder-suicide

A Colorado woman and her 6-year-old son were found dead in Canyonlands National Park near Moab, Utah, this week in what appears to be a murder-suicide, law enforcement officials said.

Park rangers responded to a suspicious vehicle parked in a no-camping area near Shafer Trail in the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands at 8:15 a.m. Thursday, the San Juan County, Utah, Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Park rangers found an unresponsive 6-year-old boy in the vehicle and started life-saving measures, but the boy was pronounced dead when he arrived at the hospital.

The woman was found dead outside of the vehicle.

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Colorado

Battle with the Blue Jackets | Colorado Avalanche

Published

23 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Battle with the Blue Jackets | Colorado Avalanche

Columbus Blue Jackets (18-18-7) @ Colorado Avalanche (32-4-7)

2 p.m. MT | Ball Arena | Watch: Altitude, Altitude+ | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)

After a homestand-opening win on Thursday, the Avalanche hosts the Columbus Blue Jackets for Next Gen Night on Saturday. This is the second and final regular-season matchup between the teams in 2025-26, as the Avalanche defeated the Blue Jackets 4-1 in Columbus on October 16th.

A Big Night at Ball

Josh Manson recorded the first two-goal and four-point game of his career, along with a Gordie Howe hat trick, as the Avalanche defeated the Ottawa Senators 8-2 at Ball Arena on Thursday. Manson was one of five Avs to post at least three points on Thursday, alongside Nathan MacKinnon (1g/3a), Ross Colton (3a), Brock Nelson (2g/1a) and Cale Makar (1g/2a). Additionally, Brent Burns added a goal for Colorado while Scott Wedgewood stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced in net for the Avs. With the victory, the Avalanche extended its home win streak to 16 games.

At 10:11 of the first period, Manson opened the scoring with his third goal of the season via a shot from the point through traffic. MacKinnon doubled Colorado’s lead at 17:14 of the first period with his 36th goal of the season via a shot from the slot set up by Necas. The Avs took a 3-0 lead at 2:35 of the second period when Makar scored his 13th tally of the season via a left-circle shot after receiving a drop pass from MacKinnon. At 5:08 of the middle frame, Shane Pinto put the Senators on the board. The Senators momentarily made it 3-2 with 13:41 remaining in the second period, but the goal was disallowed after the Avs successfully challenged for offside. After the disallowed tally, the clock was reset to 13:48.

Necas gave the Avs a 4-1 lead on the power play at 11:46 of the second period with his 20th goal of the season via a sharp-angle one-timer from the bottom of the left circle set up by MacKinnon. At 12:03 of the middle frame, Burns made it 5-1 with his sixth goal of the season via a right-point shot through traffic. Nelson gave the Avs a 6-1 lead on a five-on-three power play at 14:23 of the second period with his 20th goal of the season via a right-circle one-timer set up by MacKinnon’s cross-ice feed. The Avalanche took a 7-1 lead at 16:48 of the middle frame when Manson scored his second goal of the game and fourth of the season via a one-timer from the point set up by Jack Drury’s feed. At 18:04 of the middle frame, Nelson scored his second tally of the game and 21st of the season via a right-circle one-timer set up by Ilya Solovyov’s feed from the left point. Brady Tkachuk made it 8-2 with a shorthanded goal from the doorstep at 7:03 of the third period.

Leading the Way

Nate the Great

MacKinnon leads the NHL in goals (36) and points (78) while ranking tied for third in assists (42).

All Hail Cale

Makar leads NHL defensemen in points (51) and assists (38) while ranking third in goals by blueliners (13). Among all NHL skaters, he’s seventh in assists.

Marty Party

Necas is seventh in the NHL in points (55) and tied for ninth in assists (35).

Series History

In 70 previous regular-season games against the Blue Jackets, the Avalanche has a record of 45-19-1-5.

Defeat on the Road

The Blue Jackets lost 5-3 to the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday. In the first period, Columbus took a 2-0 lead after goals from Boone Jenner at 8:24 and Kent Johnson at 10:41 before Reilly Smith put Vegas on the board at 12:20. The Golden Knights took a 4-2 lead after second-period goals from Smith at 5:19, Jack Eichel at 13:07 and Mark Stone on the power play at 18:44. Kirill Marchenko scored for the Blue Jackets to make it 4-3 at 14:28 of the third period before Brett Howden gave the Golden Knights a 5-3 lead at 16:14 of the final frame.

Contributors Against Columbus

MacKinnon has posted 26 points (7g/19a) in 22 games against the Blue Jackets.

In nine contests against Columbus, Makar has registered 17 points (6g/11a).

Necas has recorded 21 points (4g/17a) in 26 games against the Blue Jackets.

Producing Offense for Ohio’s Team

Zach Werenski leads the Blue Jackets in points (46) and assists (30) while ranking tied for first in goals (16).

Marchenko is tied for the team lead in goals (16) while ranking second in points (35) and tied for second in assists (19).

Dmitri Voronkov is third on the Blue Jackets in points (28) and goals (15).

A Numbers Game

30

Colorado’s 30 five-on-five goals since December 19th (10 games) are the most in the NHL during that span.

63

The Avalanche’s 63 second-period goals lead the NHL.

3.94

Colorado’s 3.94 goals per game since December 1st lead the NHL during that span.

Quote That Left a Mark

“It was fun. I don’t think he’s ever seen that before. He’s seen me fight. He’s maybe seen me score. But I don’t think he’s ever seen—actually, nobody’s ever seen that before out of me in the NHL. So, it was a first for everybody, including myself.”

— Josh Manson on recording a Gordie Howe hat trick with his father, former NHLer Dave Manson, in attendance

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Colorado man heads to Washington, D.C., to gain support for Marshall Fire survivors

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Colorado man heads to Washington, D.C., to gain support for Marshall Fire survivors

Four years after the fire, recovery is still incomplete for some Marshall Fire victims. A Colorado man is joining wildfire survivors from across the country to push lawmakers to make changes and provide support for survivors still rebuilding.

Recently, a historic $640 million settlement was reached with Xcel Energy, but the Coloradans who lost everything in the Marshall Fire might not be receiving all the money that they’re owed. Some settlements could be taxed, while others were paid in full.

Benjamin Carter

“I was the fourth responding fire engine to the Marshall Fire. By the end of the night, I was triaging homes in the neighborhood that I grew up in,” said former firefighter Benjamin Carter. “I’ve seen how much the community’s hurting, and I just wanted to do whatever I could to help.”

Carter is now fighting for those who lost their homes, including his mother. He’s working with an organization called After the Fire, joining up with wildfire survivors in Oregon, Hawaii and California. This week, Carter flew to Washington, D.C., to speak with lawmakers about how they can help survivors rebuild.

In 2024, lawmakers passed the Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act, which exempted wildfire survivors from taxes on related settlements, among other tax relief. But the bill expired last week, shortly after Xcel agreed to settle over the Marshall Fire.

“If the people don’t have to pay taxes on the damages, then it helps them rebuild,” Carter explained. “Some of the smaller attorneys still haven’t received payment, so all those people will be subject to those taxes; all the attorney fees, and what the actual settlements end up being. And, of what they’re actually getting at the end of the day, that’s been a huge challenge.”

Congress has already proposed extension options. But Carter hopes that by sharing their stories, legislators will act before survivors lose anything else.

“With a lot going on in Washington and everything, the representatives don’t always know about all the issues. And so, we want to educate them on this issue and hopefully gain their support,” Carter said.

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