Rockies spurn complacency in trek to league's most shuffled lineup, Díaz exits latest loss early

Jun. 10—Consistency is essential in most sports, but a luxury in baseball's 162-game marathon.

In Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Padres as the second act of a three-game set, Colorado put out its 64th different lineup combination in 66 games to aid Kyle Freeland's efforts.

The mark is the league's highest, but not a direct indicator of success. In many ways, it represents the change happening to the Rockies' organization and the signal of a possible shift from veterans to young players.

For comparison, the Oakland Athletics are also one of the league's top-five most shuffled lineups, as are the Tampa Bay Rays — the winningest team in the league through Saturday's action. The fewest lineup combinations is held by two teams, division rivals Atlanta and Philadelphia at 43.

A trend is hard to spot with the jumbled standings, but the exploits of Nolan Jones and his six hits in the last six games are a sign that the new blood could be of assistance in the wake of several Rockies' injuries.

"Anytime you get an opportunity to be around guys like Charlie Blackmon, Ryan McMahon and Kris Bryant — these guys that have such great careers already — (you) get to learn from that," Jones said.

Brenton Doyle, Jurickson Profar and others are also part of a group that, while not initially expected to make a grand impact, has been a silver lining for the Rockies.

"It's a multitude of things that causes a lineup construction on a given night," manager Bud Black said. "You're putting your best nine guys out there on a given night based on, you know, your 12 or 13 (position) players you have.

"I think the impact on the player is minimal."

Those factors have been multiple for the Rockies.

Injuries have been apparent. First baseman C.J. Cron is still working his way back from a back injury and left a void at the corner. Outfielder Kris Bryant, too, is dealing with a heal injury and his spot in right field has largely been reserved for Jones.

The two are still without timetables for their return according to Black.

On top of that, the Rockies have a glut of position players who can contribute, split between the 26-man roster and Triple-A Albuquerque. Jones was a victim of the log jam before injuries. Elehirus Montero, too, has dealt with stints with the Isotopes when his struggles crept up. The two hold the Isotopes' home run lead with Montero's team-high 13 in just 28 games and Jones' 12.

Coco Montes is hitting .321 with 12 home runs in 59 games for the Isotopes. Aaron Schunk, a second-round draft pick out of Georgia in 2019, has 10 long balls of his own as part of a .341 average.

The elevation and league for the Rockies' affiliate skew the numbers, but the production has been there for several potential call-ups.

Finding room for all of them in a given lineup is tough with veterans like Ryan McMahon, Charlie Blackmon and Harold Castro vying for their own playing time. The Rockies are seeing it through this season, though, and seemingly flipping the switch that they'd avoided for several seasons after 2018's first-round playoff exit.

"You've got to make sure that, you know, they keep their heads above water — that they're staying confident or staying positive (and) playing with freedom (without) pressing," Black said of the newest lineup members in recent weeks. "This is an opportunity for them to show what they can do in the big leagues."

In Saturday's loss, Montero and Jones both found their way into the lineup and combined to go 1-for-7 with Jones' home run as the pair's sole contribution.

Díaz exits with an apparent injury in eighth

Elias Diaz has been struck by balls behind the plate in back-to-back games. And the latter of the two forced his exit in the eighth inning of Saturday's loss.

The combination of the shots in consecutive days caused a "precautionary" removal according to Black and doesn't appear to be a long-term ailment after the team went through the concussion protocol.

"He's feeling better," Black said. "(It happening) on back-to-back nights, we were cautionary in taking him out. (Athletic trainer Keith Dugger) is confident he's going to be fine."

Padres 3, Rockies 2

What Happened: The Rockies dropped their ninth consecutive game to a division opponent. It also clinched another losing series against a National League West foe — Colorado has yet to win a series against a division opponent this season.

On the mound: Kyle Freeland tossed five innings and allowed one earned run to bring his season earned run average to 3.91. Jake Bird came on in relief but gave up the lead in his two-run, 2/3 innings. Four other Rockies' relievers combined to pitch the final 3 1/3 innings without giving up a run.

At the plate: Nolan Jones blasted his third home run in his first 14 games with the club. Two of the long balls have come during the team's current six-game homestand and all three have come against National League West opponents. Ezequiel Tovar collected a pair of hits to raise his average to .253.

What's next: San Diego Padres (Blake Snell, 2-6) at Colorado Rockies (Dinelson Lamet, 1-3) on Sunday at 1:10 p.m. MT at Coors Field (AT&T Sports Net).