Johnson (0-2) blew the save and took the loss Thursday against the Diamondbacks. He allowed two runs on two hits and a walk while striking out one over two-thirds of an inning.
Johnson had the Diamondbacks down to their final strike before surrendering a double to Ketel Marte, followed by Corbin Carroll's walk-off base hit. It's Johnson's first blown save of the year despite his 6.85 ERA and 1.88 WHIP through 22.1 innings. While the 32-year-old righty has struggled, Daniel Bard has pitched to a 0.57 ERA. Johnson's grip on the closing job may be slipping.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Clean inning for save
Rotowire
Johnson pitched a perfect inning to earn the save in Saturday's 10-7 win over the Mets.
Johnson melted down in a non-save situation in his last outing Thursday, but he responded well. He needed just six pitches (five strikes) to set down the Mets' 3-4-5 hitters. While pitching at Coors Field can lead to the occasional blow-up, Johnson has converted all 11 of his save chances this season. He's at a 6.23 ERA, 1.80 WHIP and 29:13 K:BB through 21.2 innings.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Blows four-run lead
Rotowire
Johnson allowed four earned runs on four hits and a walk while striking out two across 0.2 innings Thursday against the Marlins.
Johnson entered the game in the top of the ninth inning with a four-run lead and served up a pair of two-run homers to blow the lead. He was ultimately bailed out by his offense in the bottom of the same frame, though the performance continued a shaky stretch for Johnson. Across his last 12 appearances, he's allowed at least one earned run on six occasions. On the other hand, he has tallied seven saves in that span and there is no sign that the Rockies are looking to move away from him as the closer at this point.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Allows run but secures save
Rotowire
Johnson gave up a run on two hits and struck out one over one inning to earn the save in Tuesday's 5-4 win over the Marlins.
Johnson gave up an RBI double to Jorge Soler, but he was able to protect the lead from there. While he doesn't have a dominant reputation, Johnson has converted all 10 of his save chances this season, including seven in his last nine appearances. He owns a 4.95 ERA, 1.70 WHIP and 27:12 K:BB through 20 innings this season.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Converts ninth save
Rotowire
Johnson allowed a hit and struck out one in a scoreless inning to earn the save in Monday's 5-3 win over the Marlins.
Johnson has converted six of his nine saves during May, though he's also allowed five runs over 8.2 innings this month. Monday marked his third straight scoreless outing. He has a 4.74 ERA, 1.68 WHIP and 26:12 K:BB over 19 innings this season while working as the Rockies' primary closer.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Locks down eighth save
Rotowire
Johnson picked up the save Wednesday against the Reds, striking out one over two-thirds of an inning.
Johnson relieved Riley Pint in the ninth inning, inheriting runners on second and third, coaxing a pop-out from Wil Myers before striking out Jose Barrero to end the game. Johnson is now 8-for-11 in save opportunities. He's managed to stave off Daniel Bard for the ninth-inning job despite a 5.29 ERA and 1.82 WHIP through 17 innings this season.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Escapes with save
Rotowire
Johnson allowed one run on two hits and a walk in one inning of work against the Reds on Monday. He earned a save but did not record a strikeout.
Johnson entered a 9-7 game in the ninth inning and flirted with danger. He gave up a two-out RBI single to Nick Senzel before closing out the one-run game with a pair of runners on base. Johnson has now converted all seven of his save opportunities despite a 5.51 ERA through 16.1 innings.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Notches sixth save
Rotowire
Johnson picked up the save in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Pirates. He allowed a hit and a walk while striking out two over one inning scoreless inning.
Johnson worked around a walk and a two-out double to close out a one-run victory and earn his sixth save this season. The 32-year-old Johnson is now a perfect 6-for-6 in save opportunities despite a subpar 4.40 ERA and 1.74 WHIP. Johnson has been the Rockies' primary closer, while Daniel Bard works lower-leverage situations. Even if Johnson can hold off Bard in the ninth inning, it's hard to put extra faith in a reliever pitching in Coors Field for a last-place Rockies squad.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Notches fifth save
Rotowire
Johnson gave up a hit and struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning Saturday to record his fifth save of the season in a 5-2 win over the Mets.
Daniel Bard is being eased back into action after returning to the bullpen Wednesday, allowing Johnson to continue serving as the Rockies' closer for the time being. The 31-year-old righty has an 8.10 ERA at home but a 1.35 mark on the road after Saturday's appearance, and he's a perfect 5-for-5 on save chances with a 20:8 K:BB through 13.1 innings. Even if Bard does take back ninth-inning duties in the near future, Johnson should remain in a high-leverage role for Colorado.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Locks up fourth save
Rotowire
Johnson picked up the save Tuesday against Milwaukee. He did not allow a run while surrendering one hit over one inning.
Johnson gave up a one-out double, but he shut the door with a groundout and a strikeout for his fourth save. The righty is piling up the punchouts with 17 in his first 11.1 innings. He is perfect in save situations as well, but he sports a career-high 1.68 WHIP.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Takes loss Tuesday
Rotowire
Johnson (0-1) was charged with the loss Tuesday against the Cardinals after he allowed three runs on three hits and one walk over two-thirds of an inning.
Johnson entered for the ninth inning with the game tied 6-6, only to surrender a home run to Nolan Gorman on his first pitch, and St. Louis then struck for two more runs. The right-hander has served as Colorado's closer to begin the season with Daniel Bard on the injured list due to anxiety, and he has three saves with four runs allowed and a 7:4 K:BB across 4.2 innings.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Secures save
Rotowire
Johnson issued a walk in a scoreless inning and earned a save over the Nationals on Sunday.
Johnson worked around a leadoff walk to finish off the 7-6 victory. He's seemingly locked into Colorado's closer role at the moment, converting on all three of his attempts in four total appearances. During that stretch, he's allowed one run with a 7:2 K:BB.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Notches second save
Rotowire
Johnson picked up a save against the Nationals on Thursday, striking out two batters in a perfect ninth inning.
Johnson was called upon in the ninth inning to close out a rare 1-0 Coors Field game, and he succeeded with ease, needing just nine pitches -- eight of which were strikes -- to retire the side in order. The right-hander struck out two in the frame, giving him seven punchouts over three innings so far this season. Daniel Bard was expected to open the season as the Rockies' closer, but he's currently on the injured list while he deals with anxiety. Johnson has stepped in to notch both of Colorado's saves thus far, and he has an opportunity to dig his heels into the closer role with Bard's timeline for a return uncertain.
Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Earns Colorado's first save
Rotowire
Johnson allowed one hit in a scoreless inning against the Padres on Friday. He struck out two and earned the save.
Johnson worked around a leadoff single and made quick work of the Padres to close out the 4-1 win. He fired 14 of 19 pitches for strikes, including three whiffs, all coming on his curveball. With Daniel Bard (not injury related) unavailable, Johnson got the Rockies' first save opportunity while Brent Suter and Brad Hand pitched the seventh and eight frames.
