DENVER -- Move over, Baby Shark.\n\nRight-hander
Melville, 29, who had been working in a Phoenix-area barbecue restaurant, pitched in independent ball briefly and signed with Colorado on May 6, enjoyed that moment with the fans. As he headed to the dugout, he raised his arms to call for -- and bask in -- more noise.\n\n“I was fired up, and wanted everybody else to be fired up,” said Meville, who debuted with the Reds in 2016 and has pitched in eight Major League games for four clubs.
The outing was Melville’s second Major League start this season -- and second to be shown for free on MLB’s YouTube channel. On Wednesday, in his first, he held the D-backs to one run in seven innings of a 7-2 win at Chase Field.\n\n“It’s working out,” Melville said about going viral.\n\nOn Monday he showed that an old-fashioned reliance on guile and secondary pitches could work in a tight game against National League East-leading Atlanta.\n\nNever mind that Melville’s fastball averaged 90.1 mph and never reached 92, or that the leadoff batter reached over his final four innings, or that he pitched around five hits and three walks.\n\nMelville was a fourth-round pick of the Royals in 2008. Early in his pro career, he threw consistently in the upper 90s. As recently as last year, as a reliever at Triple-A Norfolk (Orioles), he could reach 98.\n\nBut after trying to pitch to the radar gun in his first few Major League stints, he figured he could beat hitters at lower speeds. He’s done it for two starts.
“Those first few times \\[in the Majors\\], you’re really uneasy,” Melville said. “You don’t really know who you are yet. You don’t want to come in and step on anybody’s toes. But I’ll just be who I am and make sure everybody else around me is having fun, also.”\n\nAfter meeting Melville before Wednesday’s game in Phoenix, manager Bud Black figured he had a guy who had been around enough to know what he was doing. So he went with him then, and again on Monday.\n\n“His experience and his path to get back to the big leagues, with that comes some calmness,” Black said. “He’s enjoying the moment.”\n\nDefense helped Melville twice, with McMahon starting a double play to end the second and
In the fifth, Melville walked Ronald Acuna Jr. and Ozzie Albies -- which rankled Melville because the count against Albies started 0-2 -- to load the bases with two out. Melville then surprised Freeman with an up-and-in fastball that produced a grounder to second baseman McMahon stationed in short right.\n\n“Any time you can get out of a jam like that against that team ... Because that team’s pretty good, man, there’s not a lot of people you want to pitch around,” said McMahon, whose winning hit was his 18th homer of the season and his second career walk-off.
\n\nRyMac will have none of your shower shenanigans \uD83D\uDE45♂️\uD83D\uDEBF#RoxWALKOFF \uD83D\uDD90 pic.twitter.com/OfJppgZaOw
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) August 26, 2019
Despite Melville's fun barbecue-to-riches backstory and the jokes that he is trying to avoid having to \"work the bathroom shift,” the fact is that he -- and others -- are pitching for their futures with the club.\n\nIt has been a rough year. Colorado made two straight postseason appearances on the strength of a young staff. But this year, even after Melville’s outing, Rockies starters have a Majors-worst 5.75 ERA. And with righty