Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Back from paternity leave
Rotowire
The Rockies activated Lawrence (personal) from the paternity list Monday.
Lawrence missed the Rockies' weekend series in Pittsburgh but will be back for the start of their series against the Giants, which begins Tuesday. He holds a 6.00 ERA this season but leads the club with two saves and should regain his spot atop the bullpen hierarchy.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Moves to paternity list
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The Rockies placed Lawrence on the paternity list Friday.
Lawrence will step away from the team for a few days to be with his growing family. Angel Chivilli was called up in a corresponding move, while Jake Bird and Nick Mears are the likely favorites to serve as fill-in closer if any save chances arise this weekend.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Expected to go on paternity list
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The Rockies are set to place Lawrence on the paternity list for Colorado's upcoming series against Pittsburgh, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.
With Lawrence expected to miss the upcoming series, the Rockies will likely turn to Jake Bird for save situations. Lawrence has two saves over 11 games this season with a 7.20 ERA and 1.80 WHIP over 10 innings. Right-hander Angel Chivilli is expected to be called up from Double-A Hartford due to Lawrence being on the paternity list.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Stuck with first blown save
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Lawrence was tagged with a blown save in Tuesday's loss to the Marlins, allowing two runs on two hits and a walk in one-third of an inning.
After Ryan Feltner allowed the first three Marlins to reach in the ninth, Lawrence would be called upon to protect a 5-1 lead with runners on second and third. The right-hander ultimately recorded just one out, allowing Miami to tie the game 5-5 in his first blown save this season. Lawrence had allowed just one unearned run in his previous five outings, earning saves in his previous two appearances. His ERA is now up to an ugly 7.20 with a 1.80 WHIP and 10:5 K:BB through 10 innings this season. Despite his struggles, Lawrence is still likely the top ninth-inning option in Colorado, though he's unlikely to see a high volume of save chances on a Rockies team that's now 7-22 on the year.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Collects save No. 2
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Lawrence earned a save against the Padres on Thursday, striking out one batter in a perfect inning of work.
Lawrence notched his first save of the season Tuesday in his ninth appearance of the campaign, and it didn't take him long to build upon that with another save two days later. After giving up five runs (four earned) in his second outing of the season April 5, the right-hander has yielded just two earned runs over eight outings covering 8.1 frames since. Given that he's logged back-to-back saves for Colorado and has two of the three saves overall on the campaign for the club, Lawrence appears to be strengthening his hold on the team's primary closer role.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Notches first save of 2024
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Lawrence secured his first save of the season Tuesday in a 7-4 win over the Padres after pitching a scoreless ninth while allowing one hit.
Lawrence's save Tuesday was just the second save by a Rockies pitcher this season, with Jake Bird getting the other back on April 8. Lawrence has now picked up a win and a save in his last two appearances and hasn't let up an earned run since April 10. His ERA is inflated by one rough outing earlier this month, as he now owns a 6.23 ERA, 1.73 WHIP and 9:4 K:BB in 9.2 innings.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Picks up win
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Lawrence (1-1) allowed one unearned run on one hit while striking out two to earn the win in Game 1 of Sunday's doubleheader against the Mariners.
Lawrence entered in the 10th inning of a scoreless game. He allowed a single to the first batter he faced -- which plated a run -- but he went on to retire the next three batters he faced. The Rockies rallied in the bottom of the frame to give Lawrence his first win of the season, and he has not been charged with an earned run in six of his eight appearances.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Pitches seventh inning
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Lawrence allowed one hit and struck out one in a scoreless inning Monday against the Phillies.
Lawrence entered the game in the seventh inning of a tied game to face the Nos. 6-8 hitters in the Phillies lineup. He's made six appearances on the season and entered in non-traditional closer situations in three of his last four outings. Jake Bird has the only save to this point for the Rockies, and he also pitched the 10th inning of Monday's loss.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Another shaky ninth Wednesday
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Lawrence (0-1) took the loss Wednesday, giving up two runs on one hit and two walks in the ninth inning as the Rockies fell 5-3 to the Diamondbacks. He struck out one.
It wasn't a save situation after Jake Bird had coughed up the tying run in the seventh, but Lawrence still fell apart in a high-leverage spot. The Colorado bullpen has been a disaster to begin the season, and Lawrence's 11.57 ERA and 5:4 K:BB through 4.2 innings has been a big part of that. Tyler Kinley (10.80 ERA, 5:7 K:BB in 5.0 IP) has arguably been worse though, so the door is open for a younger arm like Nick Mears (2.84 ERA, 8:5 K:BB in 6.1 IP with three holds) to move into a more prominent role.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Works eighth inning
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Lawrence allowed one walk and no hits while striking out two across a scoreless inning Monday against the Diamondbacks.
Lawrence entered the game in the eighth inning to face the fourth, fifth and sixth batters in the Arizona lineup with the Rockies up by two. While he was effective, the team opted not to use him for two innings and thus bypassed him for a save chance. Lawrence has now turned in scoreless efforts in three of his four appearances this season, and he could continue to appear in the most high-leverage scenarios rather than exclusively in save situations.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Can't protect lead against Tampa
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Lawrence got charged with five runs (four earned) on five hits in only one-third of an inning Friday against the Rays.
He wasn't fooling anyone, and most of the balls Tampa Bay batters put in play against Lawrence seemed to find holes. He avoided a blown save only because he entered the game to protect a four-run lead, and Lawrence was taken off the hook for a loss by a Ryan McMahon walkoff grand slam in the bottom of the ninth. The 29-year-old right-hander is still viewed as the nominal favorite to get saves for the Rockies, but performances like this won't help his tenuous job security.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Tallies final outs
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Lawrence allowed one walk and no hits across a scoreless ninth inning Saturday against the Diamondbacks.
Lawrence was called in to protect a five-run lead in the ninth inning. He allowed a leadoff walk but immediately erased the runner by inducing a double-play ball. The Rockies have yet to have a save chance this season, but Lawrence's usage suggests he will be first in line.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Piling up strikeouts
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Lawrence has allowed three earned runs while maintaining a 9:1 K:BB across six innings in Cactus League action.
Lawrence's ERA isn't particularly impressive, but he's held opponents scoreless in four of his six outings. He's also struck out at least one batter in each appearance. Lawrence is in competition for the closer role in Colorado with Tyler Kinley, and both pitchers have performed well this spring. That leaves things murky for the ninth-inning job to begin the season, though last season's usage -- 27 of Lawrence's 69 appearances began with runners on base, and he pitched multiple innings on 21 occasions -- suggests that the Rockies may prefer to utilize Lawrence in the highest-leverage situations rather than reserve him for the ninth inning.
Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Competing with Kinley at closer
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Lawrence and Tyler Kinley are competing this spring to become the Rockies' closer, Patrick Lyons of TheDNVR.com reports.
Manager Bud Black indicated that he plans to name one of the two relievers his closer prior to Opening Day. Lawrence's 11 saves in 2023 leads all returning Rockies relievers, but Kinley notched five saves in September. For fantasy purposes, this is one of the shakiest closer situations in baseball.
Lawrence allowed two hits and no walks while striking out one in two-thirds of a scoreless inning during Wednesday's loss to the Padres.
Lawrence exited Friday's appearance against the Giants due to an ankle injury, but he made two appearances during the team's series in San Diego this week. He tossed 1.2 scoreless innings during those outings but was charged with a blown save during Wednesday's appearance. Tyler Kinley picked up two saves over the past week but gave up two runs in two-thirds of an inning Tuesday against the Padres, so it's unclear which pitcher will be used in save situations over the final few games of the regular season.
