Lawrence allowed two hits and no walks while striking out one in two-thirds of a scoreless inning during Wednesday's loss to the Padres.
Lawrence exited Friday's appearance against the Giants due to an ankle injury, but he made two appearances during the team's series in San Diego this week. He tossed 1.2 scoreless innings during those outings but was charged with a blown save during Wednesday's appearance. Tyler Kinley picked up two saves over the past week but gave up two runs in two-thirds of an inning Tuesday against the Padres, so it's unclear which pitcher will be used in save situations over the final few games of the regular season.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Exits with ankle injury
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Lawrence exited Friday's game against the Giants with an ankle injury, Luke Zahlmann of The Denver Gazette reports.
Lawrence entered the game in the eighth inning after Chase Anderson worked seven hitless innings. He retired the first batter via strikeout, but he twisted his ankle on the follow-through of his delivery on the third strike. If Lawrence is sidelined for any amount of time, Tyler Kinley should a greater share of save chances.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Handles ninth-inning work
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Lawrence picked up the save Tuesday against the Cubs. He allowed one walk while striking out two over a scoreless inning.
Lawrence earned his first save since Aug. 14, taking over the ninth-inning role for the night with Tyler Kinley having pitched on back-to-back days and blowing a save opportunity Monday. The save was Lawrence's 11th of the campaign in 17 opportunities. Regardless, expect Kinley to remain ahead of Lawrence in the pecking order for now.
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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: Blows sixth save
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Lawrence gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in the ninth inning Wednesday, blowing his sixth save chance of the season in an eventual 6-5 loss to the Rays. He struck out one.
The 28-year-old righty didn't get stuck with the losing decision -- that honor went to Brent Suter, who got tagged for an unearned run in the 10th -- but Lawrence was the architect of this defeat, loading the bases with one out before giving up a two-run single to Yandy Diaz. Lawrence has blown five of his last eight save opportunities, stumbling to a 10.80 ERA and 2.10 WHIP over his last 10 innings, and it's not clear how much longer manager Bud Black will stick with him as closer.
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: Takes blown save
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Lawrence allowed a run on three hits and struck out one over 1.2 innings to take a blown save in Monday's 4-3 extra-inning win over the Padres.
Lawrence escaped a jam he inherited from Daniel Bard in the eighth inning, but he proceeded to give up a solo home run to Trent Grisham in the ninth. This was Lawrence's second blown save in his last three outings, which could be bad news for his ability to retain the closer role. The right-hander is 8-for-11 in save chances with eight holds, a 2.96 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 56:24 K:BB through 54.2 innings overall.
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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.
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.
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Rockies' Justin Lawrence: Earns sixth save
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Lawrence picked up the save Tuesday against the Astros. He struck out one over a clean inning.
Lawrence notched his sixth save of 2023 on Tuesday, taking the mound for the Rockies in the ninth and turning in a perfect inning. Though he's been losing some high-leverage work to Daniel Bard lately, Lawrence has been far and away the more effective option, having given up one earned run since June 13 (13 appearances) compared to Bard's six (12 appearances) in that same span. However, there won't be many save opportunities for either player considering the Rockies own the worst record in the National League.
Lawrence picked up a save against the Dodgers on Wednesday, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out three batters over 1.1 innings.
Lawrence entered in the eighth inning with two outs, two on and Colorado clinging to a two-run lead. He allowed a Freddie Freeman RBI single and walked Will Smith to load the bases but got J.D. Martinez to strike out to end the threat. Lawrence then returned for the ninth and had a much smoother frame, retiring the side in order to secure a save. He appears to be settling in as Colorado's closer with three saves over the past six days.
