Rockies’ Kris Bryant dealing with back tightness, is ‘day-to-day’

DENVER — Nine games into the season, and Kris Bryant is already dealing with a health issue.

Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black said that he would hold the first baseman out of the lineup for Saturday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays due to back tightness.

“This is truly day-to-day. It’s not an injury,” Black said. “It’s just a little bit of a back that tightened up a little bit.”

Kris Bryant played Friday in the Rockies’ 10-7 season-opening win, going 1-for-5 with a 2-run home run in the eighth inning. But Black said the back tightness actually began during the previous series in Chicago, when it was “a little bit” tight.

“We don’t want to pick a scab here,” Black said. “Let’s get it feeling better.”

Rockies 1B Kris Bryant’s back is “a little tight,” manager Bud Black says. He’s day to day. Won’t play tonight. pic.twitter.com/cxdijDYvts

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) April 6, 2024

One of Bryant’s previous IL stints during his two-plus seasons with the Rockies involved back tightness. That set in two years ago, when Bryant was one of multiple Rockies who struggled with back tightness. Second baseman Brendan Rodgers referred to “jail beds” during a hotel at which the Rockies stayed during a road trip as the issue.

There is no indication the cause is similar this time.

“We texted this morning a little bit about his back, a little tight,” Black said. “When we got to the ballpark, I brought him into my office and we talked about how his back was feeling.

“It was my decision to play [Michael Toglia] and sit Kris.”

This will be Bryant’s second missed game this year; Black made him a healthy lineup scratch for the final game of the four-game, season-opening series at Arizona. In his first two seasons with the Rockies, Bryant played in 122 of a possible 324 games.

Since Bryant joined the Rockies, they are 57-72 (.442) when he plays — which prorates to a 72-90 record over 162 games. They are 72-131 when he doesn’t play — a .355 clip that translates to a 57-105 rate over 162 games.

KRIS BRYANT HAD A WILD FRIDAY

During Friday’s Rockies home opener, Kris Bryant exprienced the extremes — separated by just one inning. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Bryant clobbered a 422-foot, 2-RBI blast that nearly reached the concourse, increasing the Rockies’ lead to 6-2. But an inning later, with the bases loaded and the Rockies trailing by one run, he struck out on three pitches, eliciting perhaps the loudest boos heard for a Rockies player in ages.

Bryant received boos during his first three plate appearances Friday — all of which were fruitless. That came on the heels of an 0-for-18 start to the season that finally ended with a pair of hits in Wednesday night’s 9-8 loss to the Chicago Cubs.

The veteran, who is in the third year of a seven-year, $182-million contract, was philosophical when discussing the vitriol towards him.

Rockies 1B Kris Bryant, on dealing with the fan reaction: “You just keep on keepin’ on. I’ve been through it all. Death threats, kill yourself, all the craziness that this game will dish out. …” pic.twitter.com/xTH6vKAqvG

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) April 6, 2024

“You just keep on keepin’ on,” Bryant said Friday. “I’ve been through it all. Death threats, kill yourself, all the craziness that this game will dish out. It’s just — it’s just what I’ve been trying to talk with these young guys (about). Nolan (Jones) was going through it early on, and I just told him, ‘It takes courage to keep showing up.’

“It’s gonna make you a better person at the end of your career and it’s something that I’ll be able to teach my kids through adversity how you respond to it. You’ve just gotta keep going, you know?”

The plan is for Bryant to keep going Sunday — after he takes Saturday night to rest.