DENVER -- The baseball in Rockies pitcher Tanner Gordon's locker was inscribed in black ink: “Good luck today. Love, Dad.”
This baseball actually had nothing to do with Gordon’s first Major League win -- a six-inning, five-hit, five-strikeout effort in a rare Rockies victory, a 3-2 triumph over the American League East-leading Yankees on Friday night in front of a sellout crowd of 47,211.
It was the ninth win in 51 games for the Rockies, who for a night can smile about the result even if their 9-42 record is still tied with the 1904 Washington Senators for the worst beginning in the Modern Era (since 1900).
For Gordon, the baseball is a symbol of a long personal wait.
Acquired from the Braves along with relief pitcher Victor Vodnik for reliever Pierce Johnson at the 2023 Trade Deadline, Gordon made eight starts over four callups last year, with Friday his second start in as many callups this year. He was 0-7 with an 8.19 ERA in his career entering the contest.
That’s where the ball comes into the story. Tanner's father, Robert Gordon, decided to write his message and have a clubhouse attendant give it to him before his Major League debut last July 7, a loss to the Royals.
The message is about luck, but it’s more about love.
"I basically take it with me everywhere I go,” Gordon said. “I keep it in my locker, even in Triple-A.”
It wasn’t until Thursday night’s flight from Reno, where his Triple-A Albuquerque club was playing, that he knew he would be placing the gift ball from his father in the Coors Field locker. Rookie standout Chase Dollander was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right forearm strain, necessitating Gordon’s promotion.
Dollander said he believed he could have made the start, but the Rockies were concerned about first-inning forearm cramping he experienced during a start on Sunday at Arizona.
"I had heard rumors, but I always try to be where my feet are and stay present,” Gordon said. “But that’s not the first time that I’ve had to get onto a flight within 24 hours’ notice.”
Gordon, 27, a sixth-round Draft pick by the Braves in 2019, said he landed at 10:30 p.m. on Thursday and “went straight to bed.” But the first inning was a wakeup call, with Paul Goldschmidt’s RBI triple.
"It comes at you fast,” Gordon said. “It’s a really, really good lineup of hitters. You try to erase that as quickly as you can and have a short memory."
Aaron Judge’s 17th homer of the season, a solo shot with two out in the fifth, was the only other run Gordon surrendered to the Bronx Bombers.
Rookie second baseman Adael Amador and shortstop Ezequiel Tovar (2-for-4) dazzled on a double play on an Austin Wells grounder in the fourth. Beyond that, Gordon was workmanlike.
"Going up against a team like the Yankees, you think you’ve got to be perfect and hit all your spots and all that,” Gordon said. “But I remember I’ve got a really good defense behind me.”
Defense continued behind relievers Jake Bird, Seth Halvorsen and Zach Agnos, who walked Jasson Domínguez with one out but benefitted from a tough barehand pickup by Ryan McMahon at third base.
The Rockies saw Gordon as a depth piece this spring. He pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts and two walks in three Cactus League games but spent most of his prep time in Minor League contests.
“I was proud of him tonight,” said interim manager Warren Schaeffer, who earned his first win at Coors Field since replacing Bud Black on May 11. “He was poised. He attacked the zone. All his pitches were working. His changeup was good.”
Friday was much like many nights at Coors. A storied opponent (the Rockies are in a 29-game stretch against teams above .500) means a strong crowd cheering for the players in the visitors' dugout.
"In the first inning when they scored, I felt like I was in New York,” Gordon said.
But Gordon, son of a handyman/arts-and-crafts whiz father, hairstylist mother and brother of a solid high school player, pitched like a man who belonged, no matter how the stadium sounded. He worked with his longtime trainer Joe Yager at home in Champaign, Ill., after last season to make sure he didn’t lose confidence from the rough Major League beginning.
"I’d be lying if I said I didn’t do that,” he said. “I bounced around a lot last year, up and down a ton. You want to pitch the best you possibly can. I may have put pressure on myself. This year I have kind of a different personality.”
But every game he pitches, he is buoyed by the same message from his father.