Dugan Darnell finally made it after a long and winding journey to the big leagues.
The 28-year-old right-handed reliever made his MLB debut on August 1st against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and ended up getting the win in the crazy 17-16 comeback win.
“I was just trying to stay in the moment, honestly,” Darnell said on August 10th. “[I was] just trying to stay present, just embrace it and just try to be part of the moment. [My big takeaway was] don’t try to shy away from it and just execute the pitches that got me here.”
And how did he stay calm during that crazy first appearance?
“Honestly, just trying to control what I could to the best of my ability,” he said. “And I always said once I got out there, I’m just going to throw my best pitches and see what happens. And that’s the only thing you can do because you can’t really control anything else other than what you can control. So yeah, just trying to stay in my lane and stay locked in and just be ready to go.”
Darnell has stayed locked in since then. He has made five total appearances – four at Coors Field – and has allowed two runs on five hits with two walks, three strikeouts and one home run in 6.1 innings.
“[I’ve] just been trying to normalize the environment,” he said. “I know that it can be pretty chaotic and nobody prepares you to play in this environment. So experience is helping a lot to normalize the environment so I can just get back to putting my best product out there.”
And how does he stay grounded?
“I journal, and I just try to keep a tally on myself to push myself in the right direction and continue to improve,” he said. “I’m always trying to work on my craft and continually improve. There’s always going to be stuff that I can work on after each outing.”
On Saturday evening, Darnell made his first road start against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He pitched 1.1 innings and walked a batter in the eventual 6-5 walk-off loss.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – AUGUST 09: Dugan Darnell #52 of the Colorado Rockies pitches during the sixth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on August 09, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Mike Christy/Getty Images) Getty Images
“There’s not a whole lot different,” Darnell said of pitching on the road. “I mean, the environment is chaotic, but I guess we’re wearing different jerseys. It’s the same game, and I’m trying to put out the same product, so it’s just a matter of getting into tunnel vision, staying in my lane and doing what’s asked of me. And getting outs when they tell me to get outs.”
As he adjusts to the big leagues, Darnell has gotten some good advice from his teammates and manager, Warren Schaeffer.
“They just said, ‘Keep doing your best, and don’t change anything. Just be yourself because yourself is good enough,’” he said. “So it’s just a matter of not trying to overwork things, not trying to do too much, and just trusting what I trusted to get here. My goal is just to help these guys win.”
Looking forward to the end of the season, Darnell is looking forward to continually improving and helping the clubhouse however he can.
“When this season’s over, I’ll try to look back and say that I did help this team win,” he said. “That’s my goal and that’s what I’m hoping I can look back and see.”