DENVER -- Rockies rookie right-hander Tanner Gordon cut through the Dodgers for six innings in Wednesday night’s 8-3 victory over the Dodgers with hardly a word from catcher Hunter Goodman.
It was the second straight solid start for Gordon, who held the Diamondbacks to three runs in five innings of a 4-3 victory on Friday. The difference between then and Wednesday was the need for Goodman to, let’s say, be forceful with Gordon – a righty who has had solid outings interspersed with clunkers.
“He’s a great catcher back there – and he’s hard on me,” Gordon said. “When I’m not executing, he lets me know, which I like.
“There were a few times against Arizona in my last start, when I was just kind of nibbling. He had some choice words and said, ‘Get the ball there. Just get it there and you’ll be all right.’”
This time, forget about choice words. Goodman hardly needed to talk at all. Shohei Ohtani – the two-way superstar against whom the Rockies hung nine hits and five runs in four innings – doubled on the game’s first pitch. But Gordon ended a scoreless first by forcing a Teoscar Hernández double-play grounder. The only mistake was Hernández’s homer with one out in the sixth.
“He’s great out there on the mound – his demeanor,” Goodman said. “He looks calm in all situations, and he takes everything really well. You saw what he can do when he’s right. Fastball command was there. Off-speed command was there.
“Honestly, the first inning, I thought he threw the ball well. When we got out of the first with not much damage, then went through the second, I was like, ‘This is going to be a good day.’”
Gordon, 27, who began the season at Triple-A Albuquerque and has had three stints on the active roster, has risen to a few occasions – two runs in six innings against the Yankees on May 23, no runs and four hits against the Cardinals on July 23 and the aforementioned game against the Diamondbacks.
But he entered Wednesday with a 7.98 ERA, and some spectacular clunkers on his ledger – seven runs and 11 hits in 2 2/3 innings against the Blue Jays on Aug. 4, and 10 runs on 12 hits at Arizona on Aug. 10.
On Wednesday, however, Gordon showed the confidence that leads manager Warren Schaeffer and the Rockies to keep giving him chances to develop in the Majors.
“Me and Schaeff had that discussion – it just comes down to confidence in your pitches and yourself,” Gordon said. “You go out there and attack. Once the ball leaves your hand, it’s out of your control. Just stay aggressive.”
Part of Wednesday's story was 16 hits in the continuation of a solid Rockies offensive approach that has been characteristic of the recent competitiveness – 15-16 since the All-Star break, with wins in seven of the last nine games. By winning two of the first three games of this series, the Rockies assured themselves of at least a split against the National West kingpins for the first time since dividing a four-game set from Sept. 26-28, 2023.
A promising sign for the Rockies after a near-historically rough first half has been the improvement from their young pitchers. Acquired from the Braves at the 2023 Trade Deadline, Gordon has received chances because of various injuries in the Rockies’ rotation.
By executing his pitch mix and “living on the edges,” as Goodman put it, Gordon can make himself a candidate as the Rockies’ rotation enters its next phase.
“A good mix, him and ‘Goody’ – they pushed and pulled,” Schaeffer said. “He just pitched and commanded the ball.”