Bud Black’s gospel to Chad Bettis? Two words:

Consistency. Please.

“(With) Chad, especially, we’ve seen a lot of good from Chad, and there’s been some inconsistencies as well,” the Rockies manager said of the Colorado reliever before Sunday’s series finale with Cincinnati. “You know, (in the bullpen) we need them all.”

As the season’s dog days loom around the corner, Black needs arms he can count on in the middle and medium-leverage innings as a bridge to Scott Oberg and Wade Davis.

And with the right-handed Bettis, as of late, neither skipper nor Rockies fans are quite sure what they’re going to get: In 12 appearances since June 1, the 30-year-old reliever has given up no runs in six of them and two or more runs in four — including a stint late Saturday night that saw the native Texan take the loss after allowing six hits, a home run and four earned run in 1 2/3 innings against the Reds, shooting his season ERA to 5.94.

“I think that’s the biggest goal for every pitcher, for every player, to have that consistency of performance, where teammates, coaching staff know what you’re going to get on a given night,” Black said of Bettis, who met for a spell before Sunday’s game with bullpen coach Darren Holmes.

“If you start the year as a reliever and you’re throwing anywhere from 50-80 games, are you going to have 50-80 good ones? No. There are going to be some rough ones. But over the long haul of the season, you need the success rate to be pretty good if you’re going to have a good year.”

Blackmon, Arenado to return Monday: A throng of fans lined up early Sunday for the Charlie Blackmon Bobblehead Day promotion, and it looked as if it might be the only sustained glimpse they’d get all day of the Rockies’ All-Star outfielder. Chuck Nazty was extended an afternoon off, given that the contest was sandwiched between the late Saturday night finish and Monday’s scheduled double-header with the Giants.

Fellow All-Star Nolan Arenado also was held out of the lineup for a rest.

Black said the weather delay that caused the Saturday contest to end at 12:25 a.m. Sunday provided a good window to give two franchise icons a break that they didn’t get because of All-Star obligations.

“We’ve been looking for those guys to (rest), because they didn’t get the benefit of the four days (off),” Black explained.

The Rockies skipper said it was conceivable that Arenado and Blackmon could start both of Monday’s contests.

“It’s possible,” Black chuckled. “Somebody’s going to have to play.” Related Articles Rockies’ Daniel Bard finishing up improbable season on a high note

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Hampson hustle: The game crunch gave second baseman Garrett Hampson his first start since July 6 and a chance to snap out of an oh-for-July slump through his first five appearances this month.

“The more game reps you have over a stretch, you get more comfortable and you get in a rhythm a little bit.,” said Hampson, who went into the Reds finale with a .200 average, a .529 OPS and hitless over six July plate appearances. “You can’t really do that on the bench. You try to mimic whatever it is, standing out in the bullpen or pitches from the machine to see the velo, but you need game reps for sure.

“But that’s the way it is — a bunch of guys are in that position. We’re all trying to make it, so (you’ve) just got to be ready.”

Chi Chi time? The buzz around the clubhouse Sunday morning that didn’t involve strong coffee was that righty Chi Chi Gonzalez is expected to be called up from Albuquerque as the 26th man and start the second game of Monday’s doubleheader. Neither Black or Rockies officials confirmed it before the finale of the Reds series, although the club is allowed to play with an extra man in both contests. Gonzalez sported a 4-5 record with a 5.89 ERA over 15 appearances with the Isotopes, 14 of them starts.

On Deck

The Rockies play two against the Giants on Monday, making up a game that was postponed on May 8. Per MLB rules, each team is allowed to call up a 26th man for the doubleheader.

Game 1: Giants RHP Jeff Samardzija (6-7, 4.01) at Rockies RHP German Marquez (8-4, 4.45)

12:10 p.m. Monday, Coors Field

TV: AT&T SportsNet

Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM

Game 2: Giants RHP Dereck Rodriguez (3-5, 5.27 ERA) at Rockies TBA

6:10 p.m. Monday, Coors Field

TV: AT&T SportsNet

Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM

Marquez makes his first start of the second half as he looks to get on track at Coors Field, where he has a 5.73 ERA in 10 starts. He’ll pitch opposite Samardzija, who dominated Colorado with seven scoreless innings on April 11 but was blown up for five runs in five innings on June 26. For Game 2, San Francisco announced it plans to bring up Rodriguez from Triple-A Sacramento, a right-hander who made his MLB debut last May against Colorado. There hasn’t been any official word from Colorado, but the most likely candidate to get the ball is Triple-A Albuquerque right-hander Chi Chi Gonzalez (0-1, 6.00 ERA).

Trending: Daniel Murphy has been swinging a hot bat since the calendar turned to June, as the first baseman is hitting .356 in 32 games in that time frame with six of his nine homers and 22 RBIs.

At issue: Chad Bettis, like most of the Colorado bullpen, has been plagued by inconsistency. With a 5.94 overall ERA, since June 14 the converted right-handed reliever has surrendered multiple runs in four of his nine outings, including a four-run mess in 1⅔ frames against the Reds on Saturday.

— Kyle Newman, The Denver Post

Pitching probables

Tuesday: Giants TBA at Rockies RHP Peter Lambert (2-1, 6.67), 6:40 p.m., ATTRM

Giants TBA at Rockies RHP Peter Lambert (2-1, 6.67), 6:40 p.m., ATTRM Wednesday: Giants RHP Shaun Anderson (3-2, 4.48) at Rockies RHP Jon Gray (9-6, 3.83), 1:10 p.m., ATTRM

Giants RHP Shaun Anderson (3-2, 4.48) at Rockies RHP Jon Gray (9-6, 3.83), 1:10 p.m., ATTRM Thursday: Off