Arizona right-hander Michael Soroka is scheduled to return to the starting rotation when the Diamondbacks face the Colorado Rockies in the first contest of a three-game series in Phoenix on Monday.
Soroka (8-3, 3.07 ERA) appeared to have broken through his injury-vexing past and was one of the keys to the Diamondbacks’ early success before suffering a strained left glute muscle that landed him on the injured list June 20.
He is to oppose rookie right-hander Gabriel Hughes (0-3, 4.25), taken by the Rockies with the 10th overall selection of the 2022 draft out of Gonzaga.
The D-backs enter after an emotional series against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers, when they won two of three to clinch the first season series win over Los Angeles since 2018.
“It was a great series,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “I want everybody to enjoy it and drink it up. We’re firmly planted in the middle of a wild-card race. I want them to feel what they did and be ready for a series that is going to be very stubborn against the Rockies.”
The D-backs are 18-9 since July 9, tied with Atlanta for the best record in the National League since then, and are tied with Philadelphia for the second wild-card spot.
Colorado has lost nine of 13.
Soroka threw nine pitches in the first inning of a 9-5 victory over Minnesota on June 16 but felt pain while warming up for the second inning and was removed. He won his first four decisions while earning a rotation spot and has made seven quality starts in his 15 appearances.
Soroka attributes his turnaround to a mechanical change. He lowered his release point, which allows him to create different angles with his four-pitch mix and has turned his sweeping curveball into more of a weapon.
He dropped the slider and added the curve last season and has relied less on his sinking fastball this season.
“I definitely feel like I’m at the point where I’m done really, truly tinkering with mechanics between every start,” Sorokoa told the Arizona Republic,
He will be a welcome addition to a rotation already missing Ryne Nelson (sprained elbow, strained forearm) and Zac Gallen (elbow inflammation). There is no timetable for either’s return.
Soroka will make this third against the Rockies this season after facing them back-to-back in late June. He beat them 8-6 in Colorado on May 17, giving up two runs in 5 2/3 innings. He then had a no-decision in a 3-2 home loss five days later after giving up one run in six innings.
He is 1-2 with a 2.49 ERA against them in four career appearances, three of them starts. Willi Castro is 4-for-10 against him.
Hughes struck out a career-high seven in his last outing, a no-decision against Tampa Bay last Tuesday in which he gave up four hits and five runs in 5 1/3 innings of a 9-7 home loss.
“We’ve seen so far in his limited time here that he makes adjustments where, if it’s going wrong, he’s able to mid-game right the ship,” Colorado manager Warren Schaeffer said. “Not everybody can do that. That’s a very unique skill set, and one that long-time big leaguers have.”
Hughes struck out five Rays with a curveball, part of a four-pitch mix that starts with a 92.5 mph fastball, according to FanGraphs. Hughes had a three-inning save in his first career appearance, a 15-3 win over San Francisco on July 3.
He has never faced the D-backs.
–Field Level Media
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