Rockies’ Austin Gomber counting on two-seamer to sink opponents

SAN DIEGO — Austin Gomber is not a grip-it-and-rip-it pitcher. The Rockies’ southpaw utilizes a plus changeup and an effective curveball to confound hitters.

But he went into the offseason knowing that he needed to add something new if he wanted to keep hitters honest. So he fiddled with a new grip and started throwing a sinking, two-seam fastball in January. He believes it compliments his four-seamer, which he tends to throw up in the zone.

“I felt like hitters were starting to sit on my off-speed stuff, so we thought, how can I make my fastball more effective?” said Gomber, who’ll make his first start of the season Sunday against the Padres at Petco Park.

Last season, when Gomber was relegated to the bullpen for part of the season, his four-seamer was often an ineffective pitch. He threw it 40% of the time but hitters teed off on the pitch, hitting .376.

Part of the Nolan Arenado trade with St. Louis before the 2021 season, Gomber was terrific in his first season at Coors Field, going 5-1 with a 2.09 ERA across nine starts. He walked only 14 batters while striking out 40 and holding opponents to a .187 average.

But 2022 was a different story. His ERA climbed to 5.72 in nine starts at Coors, with 14 walks and 32 strikeouts. Opponents hit .300 against him in LoDo.

“I haven’t thrown my two-seamer at Coors yet, but I think it’s going to play there,” he said. “My four-seamer is not great, but it’s usable on the road. At home, it gets hit.

“So I wanted to find a fastball that was effective in Denver. So started playing around with the two-seamer.”

Pitching coach Darryl Scott, who worked with Gomber over the winter at the Rockies facility in Scottsdale, Ariz., was amazed at how quickly Gomber has incorporated the new pitch.

“He changed his grip and picked it up immediately,” Scott said. “He said, ‘Wow, that feels really comfortable.’

“But I wanted to make sure that he took this on as purely a grip change. I didn’t want him trying to throw a sinker or try to pronate his hand or mess with his mechanics. I wanted him to throw it just like his four-seamer, but just change the seam orientation. It seemed quick and easy for him and we got the movement we were looking for.”

Scott said that the two-seamer will help Gomber generate more grounders and will also set up his changeup.

Manager Bud Black, however, doesn’t see Gomber’s new pitch as a panacea.

“I think it’s a complimentary pitch,” Black said. “I still think his best stuff is the four-seam fastball and the change, along with mixing in the curve and slider.

“So if you count him having two different fastballs, he has a five-pitch mix, pretty much.”

Black also noted that last season Gomber “didn’t command his fastball” as well as he did in 2021.

“So with Austin, it still comes down to fastball command, whether it’s the two-seamer or the four-seamer,” Black said.

Profar update. Left fielder and leadoff hitter Jurickson Profar is close to making his Rockies debut, perhaps as soon as Sunday afternoon’s game against the Padres.

“He’s closer than you might think,” Black said Saturday, the manager’s code indicating that something is imminent.

Profar, who didn’t sign with Colorado until after playing for the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic, has been playing in minor league games in Arizona. The native of Curacao was delayed getting his visa to the United States and the Rockies wanted to make sure he was fully ready when he joined them.

Freeland fallout. Kyle Freeland’s spectacular fielding play during Friday night’s game had baseball — and Freeland’s phone — buzzing.

“I got about 50-60 text messages,” the left-hander said. “It was definitely a cool play. As pitchers, we are told we are non-athletes. But that’s the kind of play, as pitchers, that we kind of dream about. You usually only see position players making that jump-spin play. I’ve tried it many times just messing around, but to be able to do it in a game is really cool.”

Austin Nola led off the Padres’ fifth with a dribbler down the third-base line where Freeland snared the ball, took two steps and made a jump throw — a la Derek Jeter — to first baseman C.J. Cron, who stretched to make the catch and retire Nola.

Pitching Matchup
Rockies LHP Austin Gomber (5-7, 5.56 in 2022) at Padres RHP Seth Lugo (3-2, 3.60)
2:10 p.m. Sunday, Petco Park
TV: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM

Gomber, who was relegated to the bullpen for part of last season, is firmly cemented in the rotation after a solid spring in which he went 2-1 with a 3.78 ERA over five Cactus League starts. Gomber pitched well at the tail end of last season, posting a 3.86 ERA over his last nine outings (one start). In three games (one start) against the Padres in 2022, he was 1-0 with a 0.96 ERA, with seven hits allowed, three walks and seven strikeouts. In nine career games (five starts) against San Diego, Gomber is 2-2 with a 2.01 ERA.

Lugo spent most of his seven years with the Mets as a reliable reliever, but he’s always wanted to be a full-time starter. He’s getting that chance with the Padres. Lugo spins a nasty curveball, a pitch he used extensively last season. Over his last two seasons, Lugo owns a 3.56 ERA over 111 1/3 innings, averaging 10 strikeouts per nine innings. In nine career appearances (two starts) against the Rockies, he’s 2-0 with a 3.04 ERA.

Pitching probables
• Monday: Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (4-9, 5.83 in 2022) at Dodgers RHP Michael Gore (1-0, 4.6), 8:10 p.m., ATTRM
• Tuesday: Rockies RHP German Marquez (1-0, 3.00 in 2023) at Dodgers Julio Urias (1-0, 3.00 in 2023), 8:10 p.m., ATTRM
• Wednesday: Off day

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