Brandon

Sproat

The Rockies got to Sproat in the first inning with one run on a double and a groundout. Three more hits in the second brought in a second run. Then Hunter Goodman took him deep for a solo homer in the third. Sproat held on for two more scoreless innings, ending his day after five with two strikeouts. The 25-year-old right-hander should be avoided for fantasy purposes when he takes a 6.17 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, and a 54/29 K/BB ratio across 54 innings into a start against the Athletics at Las Vegas Ballpark on Wednesday.

Sproat wasn’t actually too bad in striking out four and walking none today. However, he gave up two hits prior to Jeremy Peña’s homer in the third, and after he was pulled following a single, a groundout and a walk in the fifth, both inherited runners came around to score off Chris Rodriguez. Sproat has completed five innings in just one of his last six starts. Now 1-4 with a 6.24 ERA, his rotation spot is hanging by a thread. He’s in line to face the Giants on Thursday.

Sproat struck out seven and had 13 whiffs today. He dealt with a lot of traffic while walking three and hitting a batter, but he kept the Dodgers to one run through four. The fifth started with a single and his fourth walk, at which point he was pulled, and both runners came around to score off Shane Drohan. It’s the fourth time in five starts than Sproat has failed to complete five innings, and he’s now 1-3 with a 5.84 ERA overall. If he stays in the rotation — and he did get a vote of confidence from manager Pat Murphy after the game — he’ll face the Astros next weekend.

Sproat gave up three hits, walked three and struck out five. He was staked to an 8-0 lead, but couldn’t complete the fifth inning and thus failed to record the win despite the lopsided score. All three runs Sproat allowed came in the fifth inning on a two-run home run by Dansby Swanson and an RBI double by Michael Busch. It was an unfortunate ending to a promising start. Sproat will take a 5.75 ERA into his next start against the Dodgers at home this weekend.

It wasn’t Sproat’s best performance to date, but he’s finally on the board after going 0-2 in four starts for the Mets last season and 0-2 in five starts and two relief appearances to begin this year. He’s currently sporting a 5.75 ERA and a 36/20 K/BB in 36 innings. It’s likely that he’ll make his next start Sunday against the Twins.

Patrick pitched out of the pen last time out, too, but that was a three-inning stint. That he was just used for an inning tonight suggests he might be in the pen at least semi-permanently. That’d be good news for Brandon Sproat and Logan Henderson, as both would be in line to keep their rotation spots when Brandon Woodruff returns. Quinn Priester, though, might overtake one in a few weeks.

Sproat, who struck out five and walked three, left with a 5-0 lead in a game the Brewers won 6-2, but he didn’t get the victory, of course. Instead, that went to Andy Ashby, who was credited with his sixth win after pitching two innings in relief. Sproat is 0-2 with a 5.87 ERA over five starts and two relief appearances. The Brewers are off on Thursday and Monday, so it’s possible Sproat could make a relief appearance before his next chance to start.

There was zero chance of this one ever getting going based on the forecast at Busch Stadium on Tuesday night. It’ll be made up as a doubleheader on July 7. Tuesday’s original starters — Brandon Sproat and Andre Pallante — will presumably be pushed back to take the ball on Wednesday instead.

Recently, it’s felt like Sproat was getting over the hump. He’d pitched into the sixth inning in consecutive starts and allowed just four runs in the process. Then, he struck out the first four batters he faced in this game and the excitement grew. Just as it began to seem real, the wheels fell off in the fourth inning. Adrian Del Castillo golfed a sinker for a solo home run with one out and three batters later Nolan Arenado hit a three-run shot on nearly the same pitch, but from the perspective of a right-handed batter. He only threw seven sinkers all game, and two left the yard. Well, he’s lined up for a two-start week coming up against the Cardinals and Yankees.

Sproat allowed a two-run gopher ball to Riley Greene on a low curveball, but bounced back afterwards. He did have a fortuitous double play when a Kevin McGonigle pop up to center field led to a double play on a drifting Javier Baez. Sproat was pulled with a runner on in the sixth and Aaron Ashby allowed the inherited runner to come around, putting the count for the evening at three. Sproat generated a respectable 27 percent Whiff rate and has cut his ERA from 10.45 after his first three appearances to 6.45 in his last three starts. He’s an interesting streamer if not exactly a must-start against the Diamondbacks next week.