In the eighth inning of the Rockies’ 6-4, series-clinching win over the Mets on Thursday afternoon, it appeared the bullpen was on the verge of yet another collapse.
Veteran Chris Rusin had just yielded consecutive singles putting runners on the corners with no outs in a 5-2 game. The potential tying run, Wilmer Flores, strode to the dish.
Coors Field then held its collective breath as rookie right-hander Yency Almonte, freshly called up from Triple-A Albuquerque, trotted in to replace Rusin in his big league debut.
Almonte’s mouth was dry. He was well aware of the Rockies struggles in the bullpen, which is last in the major leagues with a 5.