Lawrence allowed two earned runs on two hits and one walk while striking out two across 1.1 innings Monday against the Dodgers.
Lawrence was activated from the injured list Monday after missing around three weeks with a shoulder injury. He recorded the final out in the eighth inning without issue, but he then allowed the first two batters of the ninth frame to reach base -- leading to his two earned runs. Lawrence was projected to be Colorado's primary closer entering the season, but he has only two saves and two holds while struggling to a 6.35 ERA and 1.85 WHIP in 21 appearances.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Activated from injured list
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The Rockies reinstated Lawrence (shoulder) from the 15-day injured list Monday.
Lawrence had been on the shelf since May 27 with a right shoulder strain. He didn't look particularly good in his lone rehab appearance with Triple-A Albuquerque on Friday, allowing two runs on three hits one walk while registering one out. The Rockies were convinced enough in the 29-year-old's health to add him back to the big-league bullpen ahead of Monday's series opener with the Dodgers. He had previously picked up two saves in his 20 appearances with the Rockies prior to landing on the IL, but Lawrence will likely serve as a setup man for closer Tyler Kinley upon his return.
Lawrence (shoulder) will make his first rehab appearance Friday at Triple-A Albuquerque, Patrick Lyons of JustBaseball.com reports.
Lawrence was placed on the IL on May 27 due to a right shoulder strain. Though it's unclear how many rehab appearances he'll require, Lawrence seems poised to return in the next week or two.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Set to resume throwing
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Lawrence (shoulder) will throw bullpen sessions during the Rockies' upcoming road trip, MLB.com reports.
The Rockies will head out for a road trip Thursday, with Lawrence accompanying the team. The activity will mark his first intense throwing since landing on the injured list May 27. Lawrence is expected to return in mid-June.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Scoreless appearance in return
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Lawrence allowed one hit and one walk across a scoreless inning Wednesday against the Giants.
Lawrence missed three games over the weekend while on the paternity list and made his first appearance since being activated. He entered the game with the Rockies down by four runs and managed to work out of a jam with runners at first and second base with one out. Since allowing six earned runs across his first 4.2 innings of the season, Lawrence has allowed only two runs in his last 8.1 frames and remains the leading candidate for saves in Colorado.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Moves to paternity list
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The Rockies placed Lawrence on the paternity list Friday.
Lawrence will step away from the team for a few days to be with his growing family. Angel Chivilli was called up in a corresponding move, while Jake Bird and Nick Mears are the likely favorites to serve as fill-in closer if any save chances arise this weekend.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Collects save No. 2
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Lawrence earned a save against the Padres on Thursday, striking out one batter in a perfect inning of work.
Lawrence notched his first save of the season Tuesday in his ninth appearance of the campaign, and it didn't take him long to build upon that with another save two days later. After giving up five runs (four earned) in his second outing of the season April 5, the right-hander has yielded just two earned runs over eight outings covering 8.1 frames since. Given that he's logged back-to-back saves for Colorado and has two of the three saves overall on the campaign for the club, Lawrence appears to be strengthening his hold on the team's primary closer role.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Notches first save of 2024
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Lawrence secured his first save of the season Tuesday in a 7-4 win over the Padres after pitching a scoreless ninth while allowing one hit.
Lawrence's save Tuesday was just the second save by a Rockies pitcher this season, with Jake Bird getting the other back on April 8. Lawrence has now picked up a win and a save in his last two appearances and hasn't let up an earned run since April 10. His ERA is inflated by one rough outing earlier this month, as he now owns a 6.23 ERA, 1.73 WHIP and 9:4 K:BB in 9.2 innings.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Pitches seventh inning
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Lawrence allowed one hit and struck out one in a scoreless inning Monday against the Phillies.
Lawrence entered the game in the seventh inning of a tied game to face the Nos. 6-8 hitters in the Phillies lineup. He's made six appearances on the season and entered in non-traditional closer situations in three of his last four outings. Jake Bird has the only save to this point for the Rockies, and he also pitched the 10th inning of Monday's loss.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Another shaky ninth Wednesday
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Lawrence (0-1) took the loss Wednesday, giving up two runs on one hit and two walks in the ninth inning as the Rockies fell 5-3 to the Diamondbacks. He struck out one.
It wasn't a save situation after Jake Bird had coughed up the tying run in the seventh, but Lawrence still fell apart in a high-leverage spot. The Colorado bullpen has been a disaster to begin the season, and Lawrence's 11.57 ERA and 5:4 K:BB through 4.2 innings has been a big part of that. Tyler Kinley (10.80 ERA, 5:7 K:BB in 5.0 IP) has arguably been worse though, so the door is open for a younger arm like Nick Mears (2.84 ERA, 8:5 K:BB in 6.1 IP with three holds) to move into a more prominent role.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Works eighth inning
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Lawrence allowed one walk and no hits while striking out two across a scoreless inning Monday against the Diamondbacks.
Lawrence entered the game in the eighth inning to face the fourth, fifth and sixth batters in the Arizona lineup with the Rockies up by two. While he was effective, the team opted not to use him for two innings and thus bypassed him for a save chance. Lawrence has now turned in scoreless efforts in three of his four appearances this season, and he could continue to appear in the most high-leverage scenarios rather than exclusively in save situations.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Piling up strikeouts
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Lawrence has allowed three earned runs while maintaining a 9:1 K:BB across six innings in Cactus League action.
Lawrence's ERA isn't particularly impressive, but he's held opponents scoreless in four of his six outings. He's also struck out at least one batter in each appearance. Lawrence is in competition for the closer role in Colorado with Tyler Kinley, and both pitchers have performed well this spring. That leaves things murky for the ninth-inning job to begin the season, though last season's usage -- 27 of Lawrence's 69 appearances began with runners on base, and he pitched multiple innings on 21 occasions -- suggests that the Rockies may prefer to utilize Lawrence in the highest-leverage situations rather than reserve him for the ninth inning.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Competing with Kinley at closer
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Lawrence and Tyler Kinley are competing this spring to become the Rockies' closer, Patrick Lyons of TheDNVR.com reports.
Manager Bud Black indicated that he plans to name one of the two relievers his closer prior to Opening Day. Lawrence's 11 saves in 2023 leads all returning Rockies relievers, but Kinley notched five saves in September. For fantasy purposes, this is one of the shakiest closer situations in baseball.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Takes seventh loss
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Lawrence (4-7) allowed two earned runs on three hits and a walk while striking out one across two-thirds of an inning to take the loss Saturday against the Blue Jays.
Lawrence was unable to close out Saturday's win against the Rangers but was called upon again Sunday in a high-leverage chance. This time, he entered the game in the ninth inning with the score tied, but he surrendered three singles and a walk to take the loss. Lawrence has now allowed at least one earned run in five of his last seven appearances, and he has an 18.00 ERA and 3.33 WHIP across six innings in that span. It's possible the Rockies look to other options at closer, with Tyler Kinely being one potential alternative.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Can't convert save chance
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Lawrence allowed two earned runs on three walks and a hit while striking out one across two-thirds of an inning Saturday against the Blue Jays.
Lawrence entered the game to start the ninth inning with a three-run lead but failed to convert the save. He allowed six batters to reach base, four of which came via either walk or a hit-by-pitch, and he was pulled with the bases loaded and a one-run lead still intact. Tyler Kinley ultimately came on to convert the save, and Lawrence's grip on the closer role could be in danger given he's allowed 14 earned runs across 18.1 frames and 18 appearances since the All-Star break.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Earns win in relief
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Lawrence (4-6) earned the win in Sunday's 4-3 victory over Baltimore. He struck out two over 1.1 perfect innings.
Lawrence was called upon with two outs in the eighth to preserve a tie game. Once Colorado took the lead, he stayed on in the ninth to close out the victory. Lawrence had allowed eight earned runs in 2.1 innings over his previous three appearances, putting his role as closer on shaky ground. But this strong performance combined with his usage during a crucial juncture of the game suggests that he remains the Rockies' closer for the time being.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Strikes out side for save
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Lawrence earned a save over Arizona on Monday, striking out all three batters he faced in a perfect inning.
Lawrence needed 15 pitches to punch out Christian Walker, Kyle Lewis and Jace Peterson to notch his 10th save. The righty reliever had blown three of his past five save chances coming in, though no other Rockies pitcher has picked up a save since prior to the All-Star break. With that in mind, Lawrence appears to be relatively secure in his role, and he's been solid overall this season with a 2.76 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 61:26 K:BB over 58.2 innings.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Hangs on for four-out save
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Lawrence allowed a hit and two walks while striking out one over 1.1 scoreless innings to earn the save in Sunday's 1-0 win over the Cardinals.
Lawrence also hit a batter as he loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth inning, but he escaped the jam on a Paul Goldschmidt flyout. In the ninth, Lawrence walked Nolan Arenado before retiring the next three batters. This was Lawrence's first outing since his blown save versus the Padres last Monday. He's now 9-for-12 in save chances, but there's been a few nervy outings in the mix lately. For the season, he has a 2.89 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 57:26 K:BB through 56 innings.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Earns save Sunday
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Lawrence struck out two in a perfect inning to earn the save in Sunday's 2-0 win over the Athletics.
Lawrence suffered a blown save in his last outing Tuesday versus the Nationals, allowing four runs (three earned) in one inning. The right-hander has largely avoided blow-ups like that this year, allowing multiple runs in just five of his 45 appearances. Tuesday's mess was his lone misstep in July -- he's kept runs off the board in his other nine innings this month while settling in to head the Rockies' closer committee lately. Lawrence owns a 2.89 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 55:24 K:BB through 53 innings with eight saves and eight holds this year.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Picks up seventh save
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Lawrence picked up the save in Saturday's 4-3 victory over the Marlins, allowing one walk over a scoreless inning.
Lawrence entered the game with a one-run lead in the bottom of the ninth and got Joey Wendle to ground out to open the inning before issuing a free pass to Yuli Gurriel. The right-handed reliever quickly made up for the walk, however, forcing Jon Berti to ground into a double play on the first pitch of the next at-bat to end the contest. It marked Lawrence's seventh save this season and his seventh straight appearance in which he did not allow a run.
