Mound Matters: Rockies Pitching Staff, No In-Between

The Rockies are an enigma.

They are in first place in the NL West, one of 16 teams in Major League Baseball with a winning record. They are, however, the only one of the 16 that has been outscored by the opposition. Even the Dodgers, who after Friday night's victory over the Rockies at Coors Field are still three games below .500, have outscored the opposition.

What gives? Well it's apparent that the success of the Rockies is built off the mound. When the pitchers are good, the Rockies are good. When the pitchers stumble, the Rockies stumble. The list of teams with a winning record ranges from the Astros, who have outscored the opposition by 129 runs, to the Rockies, who have been outscored by 20 runs.

Holding the Edge on the Scoreboard

Team	W	L	Pct	RS	RA	Diff
Astros	37	22	0.627	294	165	129
Cubs	31	23	0.574	284	199	85
Red Sox	39	19	0.672	306	223	83
Yankees	36	17	0.679	303	228	75
Braves	34	23	0.596	286	224	62
Nationals	32	24	0.571	243	197	46
Phillies	31	24	0.564	238	205	33
Indians	30	26	0.536	285	256	29
Angels	31	27	0.534	269	240	29
Brewers	36	22	0.621	248	219	29
Dodgers	27	30	0.474	251	225	26
Cardinals	30	25	0.545	237	216	21
Diamondbacks	29	27	0.518	218	199	19
Pirates	30	27	0.526	269	254	15
Mariners	35	22	0.614	250	236	14
Athletics	30	28	0.517	260	251	9
Rockies	30	27	0.526	243	263	-20

Source: Stats, Inc.

The bullpen gets singled out more often than not. And it has had its struggles. Two relievers actually have a higher ERA in victories than losses. Adam Ottavino, who has a 1.24 ERA in games in which he pitches and the Rockies win. He has not given up a run in games he has pitched in that the Rockies loss. Scott Oberg also is unscored upon in wins and has a 5.68 ERA in games the Rockies lost. Oberg, however, has appeared in only two wins out of his 13 big-league appearances.

The Bullpen Differential

Relievers	Wins	Losses	Difference
Wade Davis	2.65	18	15.35
Mike Dunn	0	7.96	7.96
Jake McGee	2.92	9.39	6.47
Harrison Musgrave	0	3.52	3.52
Scott Oberg	0	5.68	5.68
Ottavino	1.24	0	-1.24
Brooks Pounders	3.91	9	5.09
Chris Rusin	6.34	7.8	1.66
Antonio Senzatela	2.57	8.74	6.17
Bryan Shaw	1.59	11.91	10.32
Bullpen	1.94	7.56	5.62
Source: Stats, Inc.

What gets overlooked, however, is the rotation is every bit a part of the issue as the bullpen. The rotation, in fact, has a 7.68 ERA in the Rockies losses compared to 1.91 in victories. The bullpen, meanwhile, has a 7.56 ERA in losses and 1.94 in wins.

For Starters

Starters	Wins	Losses	Difference
Tyler Anderson	2.35	7.89	5.54
Chad Bettis	2.45	6.14	3.69
Kyle Freeland	1.7	5.65	3.95
Jon Gray	1.36	10.13	8.77
German Marquez	1.59	7.98	6.39
Rotation	1.91	7.68	5.77