ST. LOUIS -- Rockies interim manager Warren Schaeffer was optimistic about the return of Chase Dollander to the team’s rotation on Monday night.
“His body's moving better,” Schaeffer said before the opener of a three-game series against the Cardinals. “His fastball shape is better. So he did some work in the lab, and he's on the right track.”
Dollander showed the work he put in at Triple-A Albuquerque paid off, allowing just one run in five innings in a 3-2 loss to the Cardinals. While he didn’t factor in the decision, Dollander allowed five hits, struck out five, walked three and threw 60 of his 92 pitches for strikes.
Dollander was able to establish a fastball that prompted the Rockies to draft him ninth overall in 2023, topping out at 99.6 mph on Monday, according to Statcast.
“I thought he competed very well tonight,” Schaeffer said. “Good four-pitch mix. When he had his walks, he came right back in the zone and got back in there with good poise. I thought he did a really nice job coming back up and getting on track.”
Dollander peppered the strike zone in the first inning, with 10 of his 14 pitches in the zone, and he was able to pitch around a one-out walk to Nolan Gorman in a 15-pitch second inning.
“That was one of the main things that we talked about when I got sent down was just getting in the strike zone more,” Dollander said. “My stuff's good enough to be in the strike zone often, so it's just a matter of getting there. Had some really good work in both Arizona and back in Albuquerque, so it was just a byproduct of that.”
Dollander’s second free pass, a leadoff walk to Victor Scott II in the third, came back to bite him as Scott stole second and then scored on a two-out single by Alec Burleson to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.
The 23-year-old right-hander pitched around a pair of singles in the fourth and around a two-out single and a walk in the fifth.
“You know, just take away the good things that you can and wash away the bad,” Dollander said. “Would have liked to have a couple less walks. I think I would have been able to go into the sixth inning if I did.”
Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas silenced the Rockies’ bats through the first 5 1/3 innings before a one-out single by Tyler Freeman in the sixth broke up the no-hit bid.
The Rockies finally broke through on the scoreboard in the seventh. Jordan Beck and Mickey Moniak started the frame with back-to-back singles, Warming Bernabel’s groundout scored Beck and a two-out single by Brenton Doyle gave the Rockies a 2-1 lead and ended Mikolas’ night.
The Cardinals rallied in the eighth and took the lead on a two-run pinch-hit double by Brendan Donovan.
Rockies third baseman Kyle Karros then prevented St. Louis from tacking on with a diving snag on a Yohel Pozo liner that left his bat at 104.8 mph. Karros finished the unconventional unassisted double play by tagging the base to get Donovan, who left on contact.
“That is an unbelievable play,” Schaeffer said of Karros, who made his Major League debut on Friday. “He's making himself known immediately in the big leagues, and I'm happy for him. But, I mean, I think you're going to see a lot of that coming up in the future.”
While the result left something to be desired, Dollander’s re-emergence could provide long-term benefits.
His effort was a far cry from the previous two outings before he was sent down to Triple-A to rediscover his command. Dollander, who entered the season as the team’s top prospect according to MLB Pipeline, racked up 11 swings and misses. His five strikeouts were his most since a six-strikeout outing against Arizona on May 18, and it was his second start of at least five innings with just one run allowed.
He said he used being sent back to the Minors as fuel.
“I knew what I needed to work on, and I feel like I executed that,” Dollander said. “We had a plan for everything, and [I] just kind of took it and ran with it.”
Dollander highlighted the Rockies’ youth movement on Monday. For the third time in the team's last four games, Colorado’s lineup didn’t feature a single player age 28 or older, per the Elias Sports Bureau.
“It's a very positive thing moving forward that these guys are getting opportunities to play and get experience and be a part of our future,” Schaeffer said.