MILWAUKEE — A little more than five years after he received a $500 bonus after signing as a non-drafted free agent out of Baylor University
Eagles Authentic Jerseys , Nate Orf is finally in the big leagues.
The Milwaukee Brewers selected Orf’s contract Monday from Triple-A Colorado Springs, where he was batting .307 with six home runs and 38 RBIs. Those numbers landed him a spot in the Pacific Coast League’s All-Star team but also fueled a social media movement — #FreeNateOrf — amongst Brewers fans wanting the 28-year-old to get his shot.
“This is the day you put all the work in for,” Orf said. “I signed for $500. This is why I signed for $500, to grind out as long as I needed to have this day come.””
Orf made his debut Monday night in Milwaukee’s 6-5 victory over the Twins and will likely be in the lineup against Tuesday afternoon as the Brewers continue their three-game holiday series at Miller Park.
“He’s a good player. He’s a very good hitter,” manager Craig Counsell said. “He has earned this.”
The Brewers are hoping Orf can provide a spark at a position that’s been an offensive liability all season. Though Jonathan Villar has shown improvement after a dismal 2017 campaign, Brewers’ second basemen are seventh in the NL with a .676 OPS this season, ninth with a .252 average and .299 on-base percentage.
Orf will also see time at shortstop, where Orlando Arcia had struggled to get into a rhythm since opening day and was demoted to Triple-A for the second time this season over the weekend.
“I still firmly believe that Orlando Arcia is going to be a very, very good player in this league for a long time,” general manager David Stearns said. “We have continued to see the defensive contributions he makes on a daily basis but we need to do better offensively.
“At this stage of the year, Orlando was not the type of offensive player we needed. I think we all bear some responsibility for that. As an organization, we need to help Orlando get through this.”
Looking to snap a three-game losing streak, the Brewers will turn to Junior Guerra on Tuesday. The right-hander won for the first time since May 14 his last time out despite allowing four runs over six innings against the Reds.
He struck out six in that outing and has 20 over his last three starts.
Right-hander Jake Odorizzi takes the mound for Minnesota hoping to build some momentum after getting back on track with six shutout innings of the White Sox in his last outing.
Odorizzi had a 3.34 ERA and was averaging nearly a strikeout per inning over his first 11 starts but stumbled mightily at the end of May, kick off a five-stark skid that saw him post a 9.74 ERA over the five stars leading up to his appearance in Chicago.
Extra work in the video room revealed a slight flaw in his delivery and during a bullpen session ahead of his last start, he worked on getting back to his normal mechanics.
“Pitching through a (back) injury last year created bad habits,” Odorizzi told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “It you do it for long enough, it creates an even worse habit, even when you’re healthy. Muscle memory takes over.”
Tuesday will mark Odorizzi’s third career start against the team that selected him in the first round (32nds overall) of the 2008 MLB Draft but the first time he’ll pitch at Miller Park.
He’s 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA in his two previous starts against Milwaukee and held the Brewers to a run on five hits and a pair of walks while striking out 10 back on May 20, but did not factor into the decision.
DENVER — Antonio Senzatela will join the Colorado Rockies rotation Tuesday, returning to the majors after two months at Triple-A and making his first start in the big leagues since Aug. 28.
Senzatela will take the turn of Jon Gray
Steelers Authentic Jerseys , whom the Rockies optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque last Wednesday. A member of Colorado’s Opening Day roster, Senzatela began the season as a long reliever and went 2-1 with a 6.23 ERA in 10 appearances.
The Rockies optioned Senzatela, 23, to Albuquerque on May 4. They wanted to have him build up arm strength to again start, feeling his ultimate value was in that role rather than in the bullpen.
Chris Stratton (8-5, 4.45) will oppose Senzatela as the Giants look to even the three-game series after losing 5-2 on Monday.
Senzatela went 3-1, 2.15 in eight starts at Albuquerque with 12 walks, 42 strikeouts and one home run allowed in 37 2/3 innings. He was forced out of a June 6 start in the first inning due to a right groin strain and didn’t start again until June 23 when he threw 74 pitches in 3 1/3 innings and allowed two runs (one earned). Senzatela threw a season-high 90 pitches Wednesday against Sacramento and allowed three hits in 7 2/3 scoreless innings.
Despite having never pitched at the Triple-A level, Senzatela was part of Colorado’s Opening Day rotation in 2017 and was the National League Rookie of the Month for April when he went 3-1, 2.81 in five starts.
He ended the season 10-5, 4.68 in 36 games (20 starts), and Rockies manager Bud Black said that experience should benefit Senzatela, whom the Rockies moved to the bullpen last year when he began to wear down and to monitor his innings. After pitching just 34 2/3 innings at Double-A in 2016, Senzatela threw 134 2/3 innings for the Rockies last season.
“He’s a year older,” Black said. “He’s throwing the ball well. He was our best pitcher the first two months last year, so he’s done it before. Last year, he just ran out of gas.
“I’m excited about Senza. We’ve seen Senza on this stage before in the big leagues and perform and pitch well. And he’s coming off a pretty good stretch of games in Albuquerque, especially his last one. He was nicked up a little bit with a leg problem, but he’s over that. You look at the collective numbers of what he did in Albuquerque, it’s good pitching.”
Senzatela is 3-0
49ers Authentic Jerseys , 4.24 in five games (three starts) against the Giants and 9-3, 5.28 in 23 games (11 starts) at Coors Field.
The Giants are 11-6 in games started by Stratton, who was not involved in the decision Wednesday at San Francisco when he faced the Rockies and gave up eight hits and five runs in four innings in San Francisco’s 9-8 loss.
Stratton is 1-0, 6.19 in four games (three starts) against the Rockies. In two starts against them this season, he is 1-0, 8.00. At Coors Field, Stratton is 0-0 3.86 in two games (one start).
Stratton, 27, made seven relief appearances for the Giants in 2016 and last year went 4-4, 3.68 in 13 games (10 starts) for them.
“Strat came up last year and was really impressive with his overall stuff and his command of it,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “Got off to a great start this year. He’s had a couple hiccups; he did (his) last start. But he handles everything well. Four-pitch guy.”
Stratton has had to assume more responsibility this season as Giants starters Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija were sidelined with injuries — the latter two are still out. Dereck Rodriguez, Andrew Suarez and Derek Holland have stepped in and helped stabilize the rotation behind Stratton.
“You see he has a sense of belonging up here,” Bochy said. “He was kind of our guy. Now the rest of the guys have picked up their pitching. But Strat with Bum down, Cueto down, Samardzija down, he became like the guy. He was the one leading the staff.”