'We like what we saw': Blalock impresses in first MLB start

PHOENIX -- It got away from him a little at the end, and the bullpen had a brutal sequence an inning later, but Bradley Blalock’s Rockies debut and first career start gave the club plenty of reason to feel good about his future.

Blalock, who was acquired from the Brewers for Nick Mears at the Trade Deadline, kept a tough Arizona lineup in check and left the game in line for his first MLB win, but the D-backs took the lead on back-to-back wild pitches by Tyler Kinley in the seventh inning and handed the Rockies a 5-4 loss on Monday at Chase Field.

“We like what we saw,” manager Bud Black said of Blalock’s performance. “I like the stuff. I think the fastball played a little better than I anticipated. The curveball has real break to it, a sharpness -- it’s a legit curveball. The slider is real, and he had a little feel for the split. ... I think it was a good starting debut.”

The 23-year-old Blalock had a 4-1 lead and had retired seven straight with one out in the sixth before the D-backs rallied to make it a one-run game the third time through the order. He was lifted after 5 2/3 innings having allowed three runs on six hits and no walks.

“I’m excited to be here with the Rockies. I thought it went good,” Blalock said. “It kind of blew up there in the sixth after I got two outs, so I just have to limit the damage there next time. But otherwise I thought it went pretty good.”

Ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Rockies’ No. 20 prospect, Blalock got this shot because Cal Quantrill experienced some forearm tightness after his start on Aug. 4 and had his turn through the rotation skipped. The Triple-A Albuquerque rotation doesn’t include any players on the 40-man roster, so the Rockies went and got Blalock from Double-A Hartford.

He made his MLB debut with one inning of relief for the Brewers on June 20, but he was returned to Double-A Biloxi the next day and has never thrown a pitch at the Triple-A level. So that’s two organizations that have seen enough from the righty to have him skip a level to come up to The Show.

“You’re seeing [players skip Triple-A] more and more,” Black said. “I think it just depends on the player and their readiness. ... I think in Blalock’s case, he’s been a professional for a number of years, signed out of high school. He’s been at this for six professional seasons, so I think he understands a little bit about where he is. He’s been working toward this for a long time.”

Blalock said making his big league debut earlier this year helped him have fewer nerves heading into his first start.

“I was just ready to go and ready to start,” he said. “I kind of settled in after the first inning and me and [catcher Elias] Díaz were on the same page all night.”

Blalock’s night started with a 1-2-3 first inning, capped by getting Joc Pederson swinging for his first career strikeout. Díaz tucked the ball away and presented it to Blalock as they walked to the dugout. He said he’d be giving that keepsake to his parents, who were on hand for his memorable night.

“I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in without them,” he said. “So it’s good to have them here and have that support.”

He fell behind, 1-0, after Josh Bell and Jake McCarthy led off the second inning with back-to-back doubles, but Blalock regrouped and retired 13 of the next 14 hitters. That was especially impressive considering the D-backs lined up eight lefties against him.

“The game plan was to attack them, and I thought my fastballs and secondaries were working really well,” he said. “The split to all the lefties and curveball, I was able to get that going early and that opened up everything else.”

Unfortunately Blalock’s first big league win will have to wait till another day, as Kinley inherited a two-on, two-out jam in the seventh inning and couldn’t protect a 4-3 lead. The right-hander uncorked consecutive two-strike wild pitches on sliders in the dirt to Pederson. Both times the ball squirted away from Díaz and both times a D-backs runner scampered home.

“He really wanted to get that ball down. You want to make sure you don’t make a mistake, and he just overcooked it,” Black said. “Trying to execute a really nasty pitch a couple of times when you’re ahead in the count to a really good hitter came back to bite us.”