It's Time, Rockies Need to Make Visitors Hate Coors Field -- Again

The Rockies have been troubled with inconsistency this season.

They, however, are still alive in the NL West. Arizona, which has seen it's lead over the Dodgers for the division lead shrink to a half game, is only 3 1/2 games ahead of the fourth-place Rockies.

Just think where the Rockies can be if they can reaffirm Coors Field as a house of horrors for visitors. The Rockies rank 11th in the NL with a .450 winning percentage at home, and that's a drastic improvement thanks to recent success. And the .450 winning percentage would rank below 21 of the previous 23 full seasons played at Coors Field. The Rockies, in fact, have had a winning record at Coors Field in 18 of those seasons.

The Coors Factor

2018 Rockies
Team W L Pct Season W L Pct
Phillies 30 16 0.652 1996 55 26 0.679
Cubs 28 15 0.651 2010 52 29 0.642
Giants 29 16 0.644 2009 51 30 0.63
Brewers 30 18 0.625 2007 51 31 0.622
Braves 23 17 0.575 1995 44 28 0.611
D-Backs 26 23 0.531 2003 49 32 0.605
Dodgers 26 23 0.531 2000 48 33 0.593
Cardinals 23 22 0.511 1997 47 34 0.58
Pirates 23 23 0.5 2002 47 34 0.58
Nationals 22 24 0.478 2017 46 35 0.568
Rockies 18 22 0.45 2014 45 36 0.556
Reds 21 26 0.447 2013 45 36 0.556
Marlins 20 26 0.435 2006 44 37 0.543
Padres 19 26 0.422 2008 43 38 0.531
1998 42 39 0.519
2016 42 39 0.519
2001 41 40 0.506
2005 40 41 0.494
1999 39 42 0.481
2004 38 43 0.469
2011 38 43 0.469
2018 18 22 0.45
2015 36 45 0.444
2012 35 46 0.432

The Diamondbacks have had success at Coors Field. They have won their last eight games in Denver, and they have outscored the Rockies 75-30 in those eight games -- more than 5 1/2 runs per game. Coors Field is one of four current NL ballparks in which Arizona has a winning record on the road.  And the Diamondbacks are looking for a sixth winning record at Coors Field in the last eight seasons.

Coors, It's the Altitude

Date W L Score at Stadium W L Pct. Season W L Pct
6/21/2017 1 0 16-5 Marlins Park 14 12 0.538 2018 3 0 1
6/22/2017 1 0 10-3 PNC Park 31 29 0.517 2017 6 3 0.667
9/1/2017 1 0 9-5 Great American 25 24 0.51 2016 6 4 0.6
9/2/2017 1 0 6-2 Coors Field 91 89 0.506 2015 5 4 0.556
9/3/2017 1 0 5-1 Citi Field 16 17 0.485 2014 4 6 0.4
6/8/2018 1 0 9-4 Miller Park 27 32 0.458 2013 4 5 0.444
6/9/2018 1 0 12-7 Wrigley Field 32 38 0.457 2012 5 4 0.556
6/10/2018 1 0 8-3 AT&T Park 74 96 0.435 2011 6 3 0.667
Total 8 0 75-30 Dodger Stadium 77 103 0.428 2010 2 7 0.222
Citizens Bank Park 20 27 0.408 2009 3 6 0.333
PETCO Park 53 77 0.408 2008 7 2 0.778
Nationals Park 15 22 0.405 2007 4 5 0.444
Busch Stadium II 10 18 0.357 2006 7 3 0.7
Sun Trust Stadium 0 3 0 2005 6 3 0.667
2004 1 8 0.111
2003 4 6 0.4
2002 5 4 0.556
2001 5 5 0.5
2000 2 4 0.333
1998 3 3 0.5
1999 3 4 0.429

It is not like the current Diamondbacks rotation has dominated at Coors Field. The staff has a composite  5.04 ERA at the Mile High altitude. Patrick Corbin, who starts Game 1, has a 6.95 Coors field ERA, and Shelby Miller, the scheduled starter on Wednesday, has a 10.50 ERA at Coors Field. Robbie Ray, who is moving into the Thursday start with Zack Godley pushed back a day after working in relief on Sunday, is 1-0 with a 4.35 ERA, but that win came in 2015. The last time he pitched at Coors Field was 2016 and he had two no decisions, allowing 11 runs, eight earned on 17 hits in nine innings.

Visiting Mound Matters

Player Season W L Pct SvOP G GS IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Andrew Chafin 2015-2018(4) 0 0 - 0 10 0 10 5 1 0 4 13 0
Jorge De La Rosa 2017-2017(1) 0 0 - 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0
Yoshihisa Hirano 2018-2018(1) 0 0 - 0 2 0 2 1 0 0 1 2 0
Archie Bradley 2016-2018(3) 2 0 1 0 9 3 22.2 22 8 8 12 19 3.18
T.J. McFarland 2017-2018(2) 0 0 - 0 5 0 5.2 10 3 2 0 2 3.18
Zack Godley 2016-2018(3) 3 0 1 0-1 5 3 21.1 17 9 9 11 24 3.8
Zack Greinke 2016-2018(3) 2 1 0.667 0 4 4 25.2 30 13 12 4 23 4.21
Randall Delgado 2013-2017(5) 0 2 0 0-1 14 2 22 31 18 17 10 15 6.95
Patrick Corbin 2012-2017(5) 3 2 0.6 0 9 8 44.1 58 36 35 14 33 7.11
Shelby Miller 2016-2016(1) 0 1 0 0 1 1 6 11 7 7 1 5 10.5
10 6 0.625 0-2 160.2 186 95 90 58 137 5.04

The current Rockies roster has not been able to solve the Arizona pitching staff. Charlie Blackmon (.335) and DJ LeMahieu (.300) are the only position players on the Rockies with career averages of .300 or better against the Diamondbacks.

Bitten by the Snakes

Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
Charlie Blackmon 370 70 124 20 5 18 51 26 67 0.335
DJ LeMahieu 363 53 109 17 4 9 41 26 63 0.3
Carlos Gonzalez 446 76 133 33 3 27 80 45 124 0.298
Gerardo Parra 136 13 40 12 1 3 10 2 22 0.294
Raimel Tapia 41 6 12 1 1 1 3 0 10 0.293
Nolan Arenado 325 49 93 25 4 16 58 25 46 0.286
Noel Cuevas 7 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 4 0.286
Trevor Story 144 22 40 11 1 12 33 10 48 0.278
Chris Iannetta 188 27 52 11 0 6 19 24 42 0.277
Tony Wolters 44 4 11 2 0 1 5 8 10 0.25
Ian Desmond 203 23 50 10 1 5 21 12 46 0.246
Tom Murphy 23 3 5 1 0 1 3 2 8 0.217
Pat Valaika 28 4 6 1 0 1 4 3 6 0.214

The Rockies do have a pitcher on a roll starting the opener. Tyler Anderson has a 2.18 ERA in his last six starts, allowing a .207 batting average, and striking out 8.93 batters per nine innings compared to 1.74 walks per nine innings. That comes after a five-start funk, in which he had a 6.67 ERA.

On the Upswing

Stat Last 6 GS Previous 5 Difference
ERA 2.18 6.67 -4.49
BA 0.207 0.302 -0.095
RISP 0.071 0.333 -0.158
OPS 0.572 0.928 -0.156
K/9 8.93 5.33 4.6
BB/9 1.74 3 -1.26
HR/9 0.87 2 -1.13

 

 

Scooter the BeerguyComment