SAN DIEGO — For many major league pitchers, Colorado is Siberia, and Coors Field might as well be a gulag.
That’s why Cal Quantrill’s early success with the Rockies has been so compelling.
The right-hander didn’t choose to be exiled to the majors’ most hitter-friendly ballpark. The Rockies acquired him in a trade with Cleveland last November in exchange for minor-league catcher Kody Huff.
So far, it’s looked like a smart move by general manager Bill Schmidt. Quantrill hasn’t pouted or made excuses when his pitches don’t behave as he expects them to at 5,280 feet.
LastThursday night, in Colorado’s 9-1 rout of the Giants in LoDo, Quantrill pitched six innings, allowing one run on five hits and three walks. His only major mistake was serving up a leadoff homer to Michael Conforto in the fourth.
What he said after the game should be part of the Rockies’ pitching bible.
“It’s just being competitive — not being OK with how things have gone this year for us,” Quantrill said after Colorado snapped its four-game losing streak. “I want to win when I pitch. When it’s here (in Denver), I choose to look at it as an advantage because I know (the opposing starter) doesn’t want to pitch here.”
Quantrill is on a roll as he enters his scheduled start Tuesday night against the Padres at Petco Park. He’s 2-2 with a 2.70 ERA over his last six games, with five quality starts. He’s the first Rockies pitcher with a quality start in each of his first three starts at Coors Field since Chris Rusin in 2015. Overall, he’s 2-3 with a 3.94 ERA for a team that entered Monday with a 12-28 record.
“The No. 1 priority when you pitch in Denver is having the mentality that it doesn’t matter where you pitch,” manager Bud Black said Monday. “Your job is to get outs. Your job is to keep your team in the game. Your job is to record, hopefully, 18 outs or more every time you take the ball.
“Cal has taken on the mindset to do exactly that. He’s a pitcher’s pitcher. He’s taken the challenge of pitching in Denver — and pitching in and out of altitude — as something to embrace. That’s stood out for me.”
In three starts at Coors Field this season, Quantrill is 1-1 with a 2.00 ERA. His one clunker, home or road, came on April 27 in Mexico City when the Astros ripped him for six runs on six hits (including two homers) in Colorado’s 14-4 loss.
Left-hander Austin Gomber, who came to Colorado as part of the 2021 Nolan Arenado trade with St. Louis, has shared some of his Coors Field wisdom with Quantrill.
“The biggest thing is, guys can’t try reinventing themselves,” Gomber said. “You can’t try to pitch one way at Coors and another way on the road. That doesn’t work.”
Gomber made his Coors Field debut in 2018 as a member of the Rockies. He pitched six innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits. He struck out six and walked just one.
Gomber remembers the advice he got from Adam Wainwright, who pitched for the Cardinals for 18 years and finished his stellar career with 200 victories and a 3.53 ERA. In seven career games (six starts) at Coors, Wainwright went 4-0 with a 2.22 ERA, 37 strikeouts, and only eight walks.
“Adam always told me just come in and pitch,” Gomber recalled. “He said, ‘If you throw a curveball, throw a curveball.’ There might be sight adjustments, and you might have to start your pitch in a different place. But those are micro changes you can make within a game.”
Quantrill, 29, is making $6.5 million this season. He’s arbitration-eligible again for the 2025 season before he becomes a free agent in 2026. Quantrill might be itching to escape LoDo by then, but, for now, he’s the Rockies’ model pitcher.
“I think (at Coors), sometimes it’s about just staying in the game longer than the other guy,” Quantrill said. “And it’s knowing (your team) can score seven runs in an inning. You cannot quit on your team there.”
Tuesday’s pitching matchup
Rockies RHP Cal Quantrill (2-3, 3.94 ERA) at Padres RHP Dylan Cease (5-2, 2.19)
7:40 p.m. Tuesday, Petco Park
TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).
Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM
Quantrill is coming off a strong start at Coors Field last Thursday when he finished with five strikeouts and just one run allowed in six innings in Colorado’s win over the Giants. It was his team-leading fifth quality start of the season. Quantrill, who began his career with the Padres, is 6-3 with a 4.24 ERA in 18 games (12 starts) at Petco Park. As a member of the Guardians, he faced the Padres twice, going 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA.
Cease, who’s become the Padres’ ace, dominated the Cubs in his last start. In a 3-0 victory, the right-hander threw seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit, walking two and striking out 12. He threw 113 pitches, and his fastball reached 99 mph. He has a minuscule 0.75 WHIP with 60 strikeouts in 49 1/3 innings through eight starts this season. He’s given up more than two earned runs in just one start, that coming on April 27 when he was charged with five runs over six innings against the Phillies. In three career starts vs. Colorado, Cease is 1-1 with a 4.32 ERA.
Pitching probables
Wednesday: Rockies LHP Austin Gomber (0-2, 3.43) at Padres RHP Michael King (3-3, 3.67), 2:10 p.m.
Thursday: Off day
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