Brown to rejoin Rockies for doubleheader
Reliever 'ready to go' after rehabbing sore shoulder
DENVER -- Rockies reliever Brooks Brown, coming off a successful injury rehab appearance Thursday for Triple-A Albuquerque, is expected to be activated from the 15-day disabled list for Saturday's doubleheader against the Giants.
Thursday was Brown's third rehab appearance since landing on the DL with right shoulder inflammation. He surrendered just one hit in 1 1/3 scoreless innings, including three strikeouts.
"He threw the ball very well last night," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said Friday. "As long as he shows up without any issues, it's possible he could be activated [Saturday]."
Weiss said earlier in the week that the biggest focal point with Brown was making sure he could throw more than one inning without any issues. Brown hasn't pitched with the Rockies since May 3, but a third of his Major League appearances this season lasted longer than one inning.
"I'm itching to go back," Brown said. "I needed some time off with my shoulder. Thank God nothing serious was wrong. I think the rest did a lot for it. The rehab assignment went really well, and I'm ready to go."
• Injured reliever LaTroy Hawkins (biceps tendinitis) has thrown two rehab appearances with Albuquerque in the last week. But he will be slowed down and won't be appearing in games anytime soon, Weiss said. Hawkins, 42, hasn't pitched in the Majors since April 21.
• For the second game of Saturday night's doubleheader, Weiss will start right-hander David Hale, who is being called up from Albuquerque as the allotted 26th player on the roster. Weiss said long reliever Christian Bergman was "an option," but he warmed up for Wednesday night's game and appeared in Thursday afternoon's.
Bergman, who made 10 Major League starts last season, has a 3.38 ERA over nine relief appearances this year, including one run surrendered in his last eight innings. He also pitched four scoreless innings against the Giants in a spot-start April 14. Pitching coach Steve Foster said it's too early to determine whether Bergman's future is as a starter or a reliever.
"I think right now at this point in time," Foster said, "the weapons that he has and the ability to command those weapons makes him a valuable asset in whichever role he's in. To me, he's valuable right now because he can do either, and very few guys can do that."