When Tomoyuki Sugano takes the ball on Tuesday night for the Colorado Rockies, he might just be the spark that the Rockies need against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
While anyone looking at the pitching numbers for the Colorado Rockies this season might turn up their noses at them, Tomoyuki Sugano deserves a tip of the hat for his efforts.
Sugano is going to get another chance to show the MLB world what he can produce as he and the Rockies are going into their second game of a three-gamer series on Tuesday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Rockies and Diamondbacks are playing this series at Chase Field, located in Downtown Phoenix. Sugano might look to become as prickly as a saguaro cactus in Arizona, too.
Entering Tuesday night's game, Sugano is 11-5 with a 4.51 ERA. Arizona will counter Sugano with Mitch Bratt, who is 1-1 with a 3.90 ERA. Ironically, over their last three starts, Sugano and Bratt have put up identical 3.18 ERAs.
Sugano has given up 16 hits while striking out 10 in that timespan, too. His walk total has been really down, too, as he allowed just three batters to reach on base from walks.
As for Bratt, he's allowed 11 hits while striking out 13 and walking six.
Rockies' bullpen might get a call
Don't expect Nick Frasso or Zach Agnos to pitch at great lengths on Tuesday night. They both worked in Monday night's 9-0 loss to Arizona. Other Colorado relievers who might get a call from Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer include left-handers Brennan Bernardino and Parker Mushinski.
What about the right-handers available, too? They include Jimmy Herget, Jordan Romano, and Juan Mejia.
The Rockies are now 46-73 in the 2026 MLB season. This means that they are just nine games away from confirming that Colorado will not finish with a .500 record this season.
That's not to say, though, that the team has not improved. Of course, wins and losses are what measure success and failure in the sports world. Yes, this definitely is the case in baseball.
It's hard to see some improvement in the Rockies' franchise after a few woeful seasons. Yet some people around the game understand what is happening in Colorado right now. These trades that the ballclub made might not make sense in the immediate plans.
Maybe Rockies general manager Josh Byrnes and president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta are following their own game plan. Because it is theirs, don't expect them to open up their playbook and share it with other ballclubs.
At this point of the season, though, winning more games this season than in 2025 can be a signal of better things to come.
