CHICAGO -- In the bottom of the fifth, with the Rockies down a run, two outs, a runner on base and a dangerous batter in Cubs designated hitter Seiya Suzuki at the plate, interim manager Warren Schaeffer let left-hander Carson Palmquist take on the challenge.
Palmquist, 24, didn’t complete the fifth inning in either of the first two starts of his young career, and considering this was one of the bigger spots he’s been in in the Majors, he wanted to finish the frame.
So Schaeffer kept Palmquist in to face Suzuki, and Palmquist rewarded his skipper’s confidence with an inning-ending flyout. Though he ultimately took the loss in Colorado’s 3-1 defeat Monday at Wrigley Field, getting through that spot to finish his day can serve as a big confidence builder.
“No pitcher likes to come out, especially [at] 4 2/3 or 4 1/3 [innings],” Palmquist said. “It sucks. You want to get through that fifth inning, and knowing that [Schaeffer] has the confidence in me to get [Suzuki] out was huge.”
In his third big league start, Palmquist tossed five innings while giving up two runs to the Cubs. He tripled his early-career total for strikeouts with four on the day, though he also gave up three hits and three free passes.
Overall, it was a step forward for Palmquist, who carried an 11.88 ERA into the game.
Palmquist had tough matchups in his first two outings. His MLB debut came against Arizona on May 16, and then he faced Philadelphia on Wednesday. Entering Monday, the D-backs ranked fourth in MLB in OPS (.780) and were tied for fifth in runs scored (267). The Phillies ranked sixth (.747) and seventh (260), respectively, in those same categories.
That wasn’t going to let up Monday. Chicago entered the day leading the Majors in runs scored (321) and ranking third in OPS (.796). Schaeffer noted that, in the big leagues, “[Palmquist is] going to get tough lineups all the time. That's what happens when you come up here.”
In that sense, it was encouraging to see Palmquist was up to the task against a potent Cubs lineup. He walked Chicago left fielder Ian Happ to start the bottom of the first, who then came around to score after Suzuki doubled and shortstop Dansby Swanson hit into an RBI groundout. From there, Palmquist got through the third inning without another baserunner.
He did have to escape a jam in the fourth and then gave up the go-ahead run in the fifth (Mickey Moniak had tied the game with a solo homer in the top half of the inning), but his ability to limit an offense averaging just more than six runs per game on the season was a positive sign.
“I thought this was the best outing yet for Carson,” Schaeffer said. “Fastball playing up, got some punchouts on that. Got a punchout on a slider, I believe. But for me, he looked more comfortable in just being who he is and pitching the way he pitches.”
“Just trying to be on the attack always,” Palmquist said. “In the first inning, I was just falling behind and having to throw fastballs and pitches over the middle of the plate to get strikes. Then after that, just being on the attack, getting strike one, and then you can do whatever you want after that with any pitches.”
Though wins on the field have been hard to come by for the Rockies this season, getting wins in terms of player development is important, too.
Palmquist is Colorado's No. 8 prospect per MLB Pipeline, and along with other rising names, his continued development as he gets deeper into his big league career would be a boost to a Rockies team that's trying to turn things around.
“Personally, I'm not too sure as a position player what it's like to be a pitcher, but you want to see improvement every start, and I definitely think he's been able to do that,” Moniak said. “Coming here against a team like that who's in first place in the [National League Central], giving us five solid innings, that's huge.”