ST. LOUIS — Right-handed long man Christian Bergman talked through the pain in his left side Thursday night after the Rockies fell to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The reliever strained an oblique muscle in the fourth inning and likely will head to the disabled list.
“The third pitch,” Bergman said, identifying the throw that caused him to hurt. He pitched through the pain to get two outs in relief of Jon Gray. “I couldn’t get anything tonight glove-side. It was really pretty painful.”
Bergman said he had never suffered an oblique strain, the same muscle injury near the rib cage that pushed catcher Nick Hundley to the disabled list two weeks ago.
“That’s why it’s kind of strange to me. I threw off the mound before the game today and didn’t feel anything. I got loose — then it came out of nowhere.”
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Bergman came in to face Matt Holliday in the fourth inning with a 7-6 deficit, after the Cardinals bounced Gray from the game. Bergman got Holliday to pop up, but gave up an RBI double to Stephen Piscotty and a two-run single to Matt Adams before Yadier Molina flied out to left field.
Bergman, the Rockies reliever most equipped to threw multiple innings, was trying just to survive one.
“That was my hope, to get through the inning and not have to get another guy loose just for that inning,” he said. “Just find a way through it. Hopefully it didn’t make anything worse.”
Said manager Walt Weiss: “We’ll have to check him out. But it didn’t sound too good.”
If Bergman moves to the DL, the Rockies will need a long-relief arm. Left-hander Chris Rusin started the season in that role before moving into the rotation, where he is 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA. On Wednesday, Rusin allowed two runs on six hits against the Cardinals over six innings.
Lefty Jorge De La Rosa (groin injury), in Triple-A Albuquerque on a rehab assignment, pitched seven innings against the New Orleans Zephyrs on Thursday. He gave up four runs on six hits. His promotion back to the Rockies, Weiss said earlier in the day, depends on his ability to pitch efficiently and to eat innings.
“We need length,” Weiss said. “We need him to get deeper into games and force some swings.”
The Rockies are also awaiting the return of late-inning reliever Jason Motte, who threw one perfect inning Thursday and struck out two. Weiss wants Motte to pitch on back-to-back nights before he’s called back.
Looking Ahead
Rockies RHP Eddie Butler (2-1, 4.74 ERA) at Pirates RHP Gerrit Cole (4-3, 3.05), 5:05 p.m. Friday, ROOT; 850 AM
For the first time in his career, Butler is coming off two consecutive wins, including a a nine-hit effort against the New York Mets at Coors Field on Sunday. His key number from that game was zero — he did not allow a walk. And the Rockies won 7-4. His outing before that was markedly better, a scoreless six innings in a victory at San Francisco. In two starts on the road this season, Butler has struck out nine and walked three. Nick Groke, The Denver Post
Saturday: Rockies RHP Tyler Chatwood (5-3, 3.20 ERA) at Pirates LHP Jonathon Niese (4-2, 5.28), 2:05 p.m., ROOT
Sunday: Rockies RHP Chad Bettis (4-2, 4.18) at Pirates RHP Juan Nicasio (4-3, 4.46), 11:35 a.m., ROOT
Monday: Off
