Friday 4x4: Rockies Rotation Rolling
The Rockies offense might be struggling, but they are just 1 1/2 games back of the Diamondbacks in the NL West. So what gives? Hard as it is for the many to grasp, the Rockies pitching staff is developing into an asset.
Since giving up 13 runs to San Diego on April 23, the Rockies have put together a 3.25 ERA in 20 games -- and that includes the 11 runs Milwaukee scored last Friday. They have the third lowest in the NL, and the lowest ERA in the NL West during that stretch. The Diamondbacks are next in the division with a 3.85 ERA with the Dodgers at 4.41, Padres 4.40 and Giants 5.29.
Pitching In
Team | W | L | Pct | IP | H | R | ER | ERA | AVG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Washington Nationals | 14 | 5 | 0.737 | 178 | 140 | 53 | 50 | 2.53 | 0.216 |
Chicago Cubs | 12 | 9 | 0.571 | 190.2 | 142 | 72 | 60 | 2.83 | 0.209 |
Colorado Rockies | 12 | 8 | 0.6 | 180 | 151 | 68 | 65 | 3.25 | 0.227 |
Atlanta Braves | 14 | 7 | 0.667 | 189 | 173 | 79 | 71 | 3.38 | 0.243 |
Milwaukee Brewers | 12 | 9 | 0.571 | 184 | 151 | 76 | 73 | 3.57 | 0.224 |
St. Louis Cardinals | 10 | 10 | 0.5 | 191.2 | 177 | 83 | 78 | 3.66 | 0.245 |
Philadelphia Phillies | 11 | 9 | 0.55 | 177.1 | 159 | 75 | 73 | 3.7 | 0.241 |
Pittsburgh Pirates | 14 | 7 | 0.667 | 186 | 184 | 88 | 78 | 3.77 | 0.255 |
Arizona Diamondbacks | 10 | 12 | 0.455 | 201 | 178 | 88 | 86 | 3.85 | 0.237 |
Cincinnati Reds | 11 | 11 | 0.5 | 199 | 206 | 101 | 93 | 4.21 | 0.264 |
Los Angeles Dodgers | 6 | 16 | 0.273 | 192 | 198 | 101 | 94 | 4.41 | 0.262 |
San Diego Padres | 8 | 13 | 0.381 | 188.2 | 190 | 98 | 93 | 4.44 | 0.262 |
Miami Marlins | 11 | 10 | 0.524 | 186 | 183 | 101 | 98 | 4.74 | 0.254 |
New York Mets | 6 | 13 | 0.316 | 171.1 | 185 | 101 | 96 | 5.04 | 0.276 |
San Francisco Giants | 12 | 11 | 0.522 | 204 | 221 | 133 | 120 | 5.29 | 0.277 |
Things are falling in place for the Rockies. Consider the three runs they scored in the second inning of Thursday's victory. Second baseman Daniel Castro, hitting eighth, doubled home two runs, and scored on a single by pitcher Chad Bettis, hitting ninth.
The eighth and ninth spots in the Rockies order have combined to drive in only 16 runs, the fewest for the two spots on any team in the NL, one less the Reds, and 33 fewer than the Cubs, the NL leader with 49 RBI from the bottom two spots in the lineup.
Bottoms Up
Team | No. 8 | No. 9 | Total |
Cubs | 29 | 20 | 49 |
D-Backs | 15 | 15 | 30 |
Pirates | 17 | 13 | 30 |
Dodgers | 16 | 12 | 28 |
Phillies | 17 | 11 | 28 |
Nationals | 14 | 12 | 26 |
Padres | 15 | 11 | 26 |
Braves | 13 | 10 | 23 |
Mets | 7 | 15 | 22 |
Cardinals | 11 | 11 | 22 |
Brewers | 12 | 10 | 22 |
Giants | 14 | 7 | 21 |
Marlins | 15 | 4 | 19 |
Reds | 6 | 11 | 17 |
Rockies | 12 | 4 | 16 |
The Rockies are one of 15 teams with a winning record (the AL Central does not have any), but what makes the Rockies different than others is they have been outscored by 20 runs.
The only other team with a winning record that has given up more runs than it has scored is the Mets, who have been outscored by 15. The Mariners have given up as many runs as they have scored.
At the other extreme, the Astros have outscored their opponents by 94 runs.
Margin of Victory
Team | W | L | Pct | RS | RA | Diff |
Astros | 28 | 17 | 0.622 | 210 | 116 | 94 |
Red Sox | 28 | 12 | 0.7 | 234 | 169 | 65 |
Yankees | 30 | 14 | 0.682 | 238 | 168 | 70 |
Braves | 26 | 16 | 0.619 | 225 | 166 | 59 |
Cubs | 22 | 18 | 0.55 | 209 | 158 | 51 |
Phillies | 25 | 16 | 0.61 | 194 | 148 | 46 |
Nationals | 24 | 18 | 0.571 | 192 | 157 | 35 |
Pirates | 26 | 17 | 0.605 | 216 | 184 | 32 |
Angels | 25 | 19 | 0.568 | 208 | 183 | 25 |
D-backs | 25 | 18 | 0.581 | 170 | 152 | 18 |
Cardinals | 23 | 18 | 0.561 | 173 | 157 | 16 |
Brewers | 26 | 18 | 0.591 | 176 | 165 | 11 |
Mariners | 24 | 19 | 0.558 | 196 | 196 | 0 |
Mets | 20 | 19 | 0.513 | 166 | 181 | -15 |
Rockies | 24 | 20 | 0.545 | 176 | 196 | -20 |
Source: Stats, Inc.
Final Word
With the Rockies game in San Francisco going into extra innings the sea gulls began descending upon AT&T Park. No surprise, said Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez.
"You always expect that when it gets late. It is time for them to take over the stadium. Anytime you play past the ninth inning they get (upset). You know they are going to show up. It's part of the show. I have been playing in this division for 10 years so I know they are going to come."