DENVER – When Jeff Hoffman stepped out of the Coors Field visitor's dugout to play catch before Thursday's series opener, Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black turned to him to give him a fist bump.
Hoffman, who spent the first five years of his career with the Rockies, was a popular guy throughout pre-game batting practice. Former teammates hugged him. Former coaches came over to talk with him.
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"I’ve got a lot of friends here," Hoffman said. "A lot of people I’ve spent a lot of time with over the past five years of my life. I got to catch up with some of guys on the field earlier. Nothing has really changed with those guys. They’re a great group of guys and I had a lot of fun while I was here."
The Cincinnati Reds acquired Hoffman in November, along with pitching prospect Case Williams, in a trade for reliever Robert Stephenson and outfield prospect Jameson Hannah.
Hoffman will make his first start against his former team when he starts Sunday's game. Some former teammates texted him after his first start with the Reds went well, happy to see him having success.
He's struggled in his last three starts, yielding 10 hits, 10 runs and eight walks in his last 10 2/3 innings. He's been falling behind in counts and giving up too much hard contact.
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His challenge will be trying to have a bounce-back start at Coors Field, a place that he knows is difficult to pitch. He owns a career 7.58 ERA in 40 appearances (22 starts) in that ballpark.
"At the end of the day, we’re just focused on executing what we can do and not really worrying about the environment around us," Hoffman said. "Doing the best job we can to keep our team in the game."
Reds pitchers gave up at least 15 hits during the first two games of the weekend series, both losses. It was the first time that's happened in consecutive games since May 16-17, 2016 against Cleveland.
Manager David Bell and Wade Miley gave the Rockies some credit for their offensive approach after Friday's 9-6 loss, but there have been some Coors Field specials with weak contact finding holes for hits.
"The outfield is enormous," Hoffman said. "I think singles turn into doubles, doubles turn into triples and home runs are going to go out if they get the barrel on the ball and they get it into the air. The ball is going to go out pretty much no matter where you’re at. I think you just get penalized a little more for your mistakes here.
"Obviously, you see the scores of some of the games that we play here. It’s definitely a hard place to pitch, but at the end of the day, you hope your offense comes out on top."
When other pitchers ask Hoffman about pitching in Coors Field, it's usually about how the altitude will affect their breaking balls. Some breaking balls don't have the same break as they do in other parks.
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"I think you still need to attack to your strengths," Hoffman said. "When they’re talking about keeping the ball down here to prevent them from keep getting the ball in the air, I don’t think that’s the way to go. If you have a hoppy fastball and it plays at the top of the zone, I think you need to keep pounding it there.
"For the breaking stuff, I think it’s just important to know how much it’s affecting you and know where you're changing your starting point to. From there, you can kind of go about maneuvering the lineup. I think the big part is knowing how much it’s affecting you and adjusting your sights due to that."
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