Wednesday 4x4: There's More to the Story
Nolan Arenado. 2-for-5 with two RBI on Tuesday, has reached base in 22 of 23 home games this season. The one game he failed to reach base was April 11 against the Padres when he struck out in the first inning, and was ejected from the game in the third inning for charging the mound in response to his feeling the Padres were throwing at him.
Arenado's .383 average at Coors Field is the highest home-field average in the Naitonal League. He, however, is not the only Rockies player among the leaders. Shortstop Trevor Story is hitting .300 at home, which is the 12th highest average among qualifying batters (1.55 plate apparances per home game).
What's more, Story leads the NL in home slugging percentage at .788, just ahead of the Giants Brand Belt (.722). Arenado is third at .679.
Home Bodies
| Player | Team | AVG | Player | Team | SLG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nolan Arenado | Col | 0.383 | Trevor Story | Col | 0.788 | |
| Odubel Herrera | Phi | 0.381 | Brandon Belt | SF | 0.722 | |
| Brandon Belt | SF | 0.354 | Nolan Arenado | Col | 0.679 | |
| Jordy Mercer | Pit | 0.326 | A.J. Pollock | Ari | 0.647 | |
| Christian Yelich | Mil | 0.325 | Odubel Herrera | Phi | 0.629 | |
| Freddie Freeman | Atl | 0.321 | Javier Baez | ChC | 0.596 | |
| Scooter Gennett | Cin | 0.319 | Scooter Gennett | Cin | 0.582 | |
| Starling Marte | Pit | 0.311 | Christian Villanueva | SD | 0.566 | |
| Maikel Franco | Phi | 0.308 | Bryce Harper | Was | 0.559 | |
| Nick Markakis | Atl | 0.308 | Travis Shaw | Mil | 0.556 | |
| A.J. Pollock | Ari | 0.306 | ||||
| Trevor Story | Col | 0.3 |
Source: Stats, Inc.
The Giants have battled injuries. With the top two starting pitchers, Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto, already on the disabled list, No. 3 starter Jeff Samardzija was lifted after the first inning on Tuesday night because of right shoulder tightness. The problems, however, extend past the mound.
The Giants committed a season-high four errors last night, the 13th game this season in which they have had multiple errors. They committed three errors four times, and two errors in eight games.
The bottom line: They lead the NL in errors committed, and unearned runs allowed. By contrast, the Rockies, who are in first place in the NL West, have the second best fielding percentage in the NL, and have allowed an NL-low nine earned runs.
On the Defensive
| Team | Fld Pct | Team | UER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giants | 0.978 | Rockies | 9 | |
| Phillies | 0.979 | Diamondbacks | 11 | |
| Cardinals | 0.982 | Brewers | 13 | |
| Cubs | 0.982 | Nationals | 13 | |
| Dodgers | 0.983 | Cardinals | 14 | |
| Reds | 0.983 | Dodgers | 15 | |
| Braves | 0.983 | Marlins | 15 | |
| Brewers | 0.984 | Pirates | 17 | |
| Marlins | 0.985 | Cubs | 18 | |
| Mets | 0.985 | Mets | 18 | |
| Padres | 0.985 | Reds | 19 | |
| Pirates | 0.985 | Phillies | 19 | |
| Nationals | 0.987 | Braves | 21 | |
| Rockies | 0.991 | Padres | 24 | |
| Diamondbacks | 0.992 | Giants | 25 |
Source: Stats, Inc.
The Rockies have back-to-back wins against the Giants, assuring them of winning only their third home series of the season, regardless of what happens in the final game of the three-game series Wednesday night. Having won four of five games on the home stand so far, and with the Dodgers coming to Coors Field for three games this weekend, the Rockies need one victory in the final four games of this home stand to have their first winning home stand of the season.
Looking For Home Cooking
| Start Date | Opp | W | L | Pct | Avg. | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 6-7 | Atl | 1 | 2 | 0.333 | 0.225 | 4.5 |
| Apr 9-11 | SD | 1 | 2 | 0.333 | 0.226 | 5 |
| Homestand | 2 | 4 | 0.333 | 0.226 | 4.75 | |
| Apr 20-22 | ChC | 1 | 2 | 0.333 | 0.277 | 8.67 |
| Apr 23-25 | SD | 2 | 1 | 0.667 | 0.281 | 5.99 |
| Homestand | 3 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.279 | 6.83 | |
| May 8-9 | LAA | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.238 | 5 |
| May 10-13 | Mil | 1 | 3 | 0.25 | 0.255 | 5.59 |
| Homestand | 2 | 4 | 0.333 | 0.25 | 5.4 | |
| May 25-27 | Cin | 2 | 1 | 0.667 | 0.333 | 4 |
| May 28-30 | x-SF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0.333 | 4.26 |
| June 1-3 | LAD | TBD | TBD | TBD | ||
| Homestand | TBD | 0.333 | 4.11 |
The Giants have lost the first two of what will be nine games at Coors Field this season. The Rockies are looking to win a home season series from the Giants for the sixth consecutive season.
Home Field Advantage
| Pitching | Offense | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | W | L | Pct | SvOP | ERA | RPG | BA | |
| 2018 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0-1 | 6.75 | 4.5 | 0.308 | |
| 2017 | 1 | 9 | 0.1 | 0-1 | 7.32 | 5.1 | 0.297 | |
| 2013 | 3 | 7 | 0.3 | 3-3 | 5.16 | 3.6 | 0.259 | |
| 2014 | 4 | 5 | 0.444 | 1-4 | 6.01 | 5.67 | 0.283 | |
| 2016 | 4 | 5 | 0.444 | 1-3 | 5.66 | 5.2 | 0.289 | |
| 2015 | 5 | 5 | 0.5 | 3-4 | 6.21 | 5.3 | 0.305 | |
| Totals | 17 | 33 | 0.34 | 8-16 | 6.11 | 4.92 | 0.288 |