Adam Ottavino has managed to reinvent himself throughout his career, and never was it more necessary than in Colorado with the Rockies. Every pitcher has to do some reinventing and some adapting when pitching in Colorado. They all face a harsh realization that the ball isn’t going to spin and break the way they want it to in the altitude.
“You just deal with it,” Ottavino said. “You just have to understand it. You can’t be in denial about it. In reality, it’s going to affect you. So you pay attention when you play catch and that way you’re not freaked out when you’re on the mound and things aren’t exactly the way you think they’re going to be. I just have more experience than everybody else because I’ve pitched here a lot.
“But it was a process.”
The altitude got the better of Justin Verlander on Saturday night in the second game of a three-game series. He wouldn’t blame the thin mountain air, saying that’s “low-hanging fruit,” but he did admit that his stuff wasn’t quite the same.
Ottavino spent seven seasons in the Rockies’ bullpen and posted a 3.33 ERA at Coors Field over that time. It took a few seasons to figure out how to make his pitches work at 5,200 feet and it took some mental shifts as well.
“The biggest thing is changing your initial target, it has to be a little different here,” Ottavino said. “I started getting really good at it in 2014. I pitched pretty good in 2012 and 2013, but I wasn’t really doing anything different. In ‘14, I started developing more pitches with more movement, and then I started noticing that there was a big discrepancy between the road and home. I became really committed. Every time I came back, I would pay attention when playing catch and get re-dialed in and not taking for granted that it would be there.”
Ottavino has been happy to be back in the Denver area this weekend. The Brooklyn native enjoyed the outdoor activities when he played in Colorado and was able to get to Red Rocks Park with some teammates this weekend.
Of course, the trip was made better by a solid pitching performance as well. Ottavino got a two-out save in the series opener Friday. He struck out Mike Moustakas to end the game using only sinkers and cutters. Moustakas swung through a cutter that had movement that manager Buck Showalter said he had never even seen the right-hander throw in the past.
It’s not a favored park among most pitchers, but it’s a different story for Ottavino.
“I feel really comfortable on this mound,” he said. “I learned to really like it.”
Alvarez was moved up to the No. 2 spot in the batting order for the Mets’ series finale against the Colorado Rockies on Sunday afternoon. The Mets had previously been hesitant to move him from the ninth spot because the Mets liked the pitches he got in that spot, plus with the lack of production from the bottom of the order it was helpful to have a big bat down there.
But he’s been the Mets’ best hitter over the last few weeks. He came into Sunday’s game riding a seven-game hitting streak, going 11-for-25 (.440) with six runs, two doubles, four home runs 10 RBI and a walk in those seven games.
“He’s done well in the nine-hole and today it fits for our club,” said Showalter.
Brandon Nimmo remained in the leadoff spot as a DH and Starling Marte was moved to center field.
“We need to have a little bit more arm in center field in this big of a ballpark,” Showalter said. “And a little more coverage in this big of a ballpark. Marte obviously throws the best of those three guys and it comes into play here.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Jeff McNeil isn’t in the lineup Sunday but is eligible to come off the bench. He felt a twinge in his groin Saturday night in the second game of the series and the Mets aren’t concerned, but they’re hoping that a light workday and a day off on Monday will have him back to 100% by Tuesday.
Right-hander Elieser Hernandez started a rehab assignment with Low-A St. Lucie on Sunday. A depth starter, Hernandez will likely start his season with Triple-A Syracuse and gives the Mets another option should they need a spot start.