Category: Colorado Rockies

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Series preview: Colorado Rockies (4-12) at Philadelphia Phillies (8-8)

After winning the first game of their road trip in explosive fashion, the Colorado Rockies scuffled at the plate in their final two against the Toronto Blue Jays and now head to Philadelphia to face a tough customer in the Phillies.

It hasn’t been pretty for the Rockies as their offense has mostly been one of the weakest in the league due to a number of struggling players and the pitching is still trying to find its footing. They have lost all five of their series this year and are now 4-12 to begin the year. The Phillies on the other hand, spent the offseason aiming to improve and bolster their roster and while their offense has been scuffling out of the gate they have been carried by their pitching staff to an 8-8 record.

Here are some storylines to watch in Philly.

Pitching Probables 

4/15: Cal Quantrill (0-2, 7.20 ERA) vs. Aaron Nola (2-1, 4.50 ERA)

4/16: Austin Gomber (0-0, 4.91 ERA) vs. Ranger Suárez (2-0, 2.65 ERA)

4/17: Ryan Feltner (1-1, 3.38 ERA), Cristopher Sánchez (0-2, 3.52 ERA)

When will the hits come?

The Rockies set or tied multiple franchise records on the first game of the road trip when they pounded out 11 extra-base hits and had 20 hits. It looked to be a promising sign that some of the team’s most important hitters Nolan Jones, Kris Bryant, and Brendan Rodgers but the team scored just three runs on Saturday before being shut out on Sunday in Toronto. Jones and Rodgers have shown slow improvement, but the offensive has yet to put together enough consistency at the plate to make any real difference in the games. While the team has the ninth-best batting average in the league (.252) it means very little when the team has little power and struggles to score runs. The Rockies average 0.9 home runs per game to rank 19th in MLB play with 15 total home runs and are averaging 4.3 runs per game (69 total) making them the 16th-highest scoring team in the majors. It was once said that “you just know they’re going to hit” when it came to the Rockies, but not so much anymore.

Striking out

Between Saturday and Sunday, the Rockies struck out 25 times compared to just seven during a series victory. The Rockies are at their best when they are limiting strikeouts and putting the ball in play by making quality contact. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been quite the case, especially when they go up against some of the game’s best pitching staffs. The Phillies feature a rotation full of effective starters capable of getting strikeouts and missing bats. The three probable starters set for the series have a combined 44 strikeouts, compared to a Rockies staff that struggles in that department, it’s going to be a likely problem.

Philly star power

The offense has been a struggle for the Phillies as Brandon Marsh and Trea Turner are the only regulars off to a strong start to the season. Bryce Harper is batting just .190/.277/.397 with three home runs, all of which came in a single game. Nick Castellanos is slashing just .190/.266/.190 with no home runs, representing a problem for the Phillies offense where some of their biggest bats aren’t performing.  The offense for Philadelphia has a slugging percentage of .353 this season, 24th in MLB, and a .234 batting average which ranks 21st in the league. They have scored 58 total runs and Philadelphia has the 22nd-ranked on-base percentage in MLB this season (.310). A struggling Rockies pitching staff could be enough to jumpstart some of the offensive players for the Phillies.

 

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