DENVER -- With the first pitch of the first inning -- of arguably the day that the Rockies began to make the painful last few seasons worthwhile -- Chase Dollander set the tone for what the club hopes is its pitching future.
It could¡¯ve gone awry. The Athletics¡¯ Lawrence Butler sent a liner that had a chance to bounce fair at the left-field line, but Mickey Moniak made a sliding, backhand catch. The important part: Dollander attacked the inside corner with a 97.4 mph fastball.
Dollander, the Rockies¡¯ No. 1 prospect and No. 24 overall, attacked for 79 pitches over five innings. Many went well, as evidenced by his six strikeouts. Some, like Tyler Soderstrom¡¯s two-run homer in the first and Butler¡¯s leadoff shot in the fifth, didn¡¯t. In all, he held the Athletics to four runs and lifted the Rockies.
With his impressive first foray in the The Show, Dollander showed the traits that the Rockies believe will make him a workhorse while earning the win in the 12-5 victory on Sunday afternoon, which ended their losing streak at six games and avoided the sweep.
Dollander, 23, expressed the only appropriate attitude for someone whose assignment is to steer the Rockies around the proverbial -- and long-awaited -- corner.
¡°I¡¯ve got to have people behind me to be able to do this. I¡¯m grateful for all the guys behind me and everyone who has helped me get to this point,¡± Dollander said. ¡°Baseball¡¯s not a one-person game.¡±
Hitters helped. After squandering solid starting pitching this season, the bats arrived with Dollander on Sunday. Brenton Doyle¡¯s first-inning homer began a four-RBI day, Ezequiel Tovar tied a career high with four hits, and the Rockies exceeded their previous season high of runs by eight.
After the Rockies lost to the Athletics on Saturday night, Dollander exited the clubhouse with a smile, kept it Sunday morning and made his teammates and fans smile that afternoon.
¡°I felt everything was working pretty good today -- changeup, slider and curveball were all pretty good,¡± said Dollander, whose four-seam fastball averaged 97.8 mph and topped at 99.3. ¡°I made a couple mistakes and they took advantage. Other than that, I felt good.¡±
Dollander needs to pitch deeper into games, but Sunday¡¯s 62 percent strike rate will take him far. So will the grit he showed in the fourth. After two hits and a run, pitching coach Darryl Scott and catcher Hunter Goodman visited the mound, ¡°Just giving him a breather at altitude,¡± Goodman said.
Dollander then struck out Jhonny Pedera and Max Muncy to finish the inning with two on base.
This roster is full of players who made anticipated debuts, and more are coming. Third baseman Ryan McMahon gave a thumbs-up to how Dollander handled his first day of being seen as a franchise-changer.
¡°First pitch, I¡¯m sure he felt weightless,¡± McMahon said. ¡°Then a couple pitches in, he was like, ¡®Right, let¡¯s play some ball.¡¯¡±
Last time the Rockies had young starting pitching they were this excited about, Kyle Freeland, Germ¨¢n M¨¢rquez, Antonio Senzatela (all still here), Jon Gray (now with the Rangers) and Tyler Anderson (Angels) pitched the Rockies to the postseason in 2017 and 2018. However, the offensive roster disintegrated, which led to the suffering of 100-plus losses the last two years and this year¡¯s joint worst eight-game start (one win, tied with 2005) in franchise history.
Bill Schmidt, general manager since 2021, has hoarded pitching through the Draft and trades. But his program was set back during a two-day period in 2023, when not only M¨¢rquez and Senzatela but prospects Gabriel Hughes (the top pick in ¡®22) and Jordy Vargas (an international signing gem) underwent Tommy John surgery.
By making a quick, 24-start trip through the Minors and showing his wares Sunday, Dollander hinted at a new day, despite the inevitable growing pains for him and the club.
Manager Bud Black saw his new pupil imitate the 2017-18 rotation by fighting through occasional trouble to receive a reward that modern groupthink often poo-poohs -- the win. In '18, the Rockies led the National League West in innings pitched from starters, with Black often asking for one inning more at Coors than on the road.
¡°Every pitcher has to have the will to be the winning pitcher in professional baseball -- I am a believer in that,¡± Black said. ¡°The win is, a lot of times, overlooked in today¡¯s game and that bothers me, especially here.¡±
Among responsibilities, Dollander is here to help the Rockies make that point again.