In 2018, the young Rockies' rotation was a big part of the team's success in finishing their 162nd game tied for the NL West title. In 2019, the faltering from that same group was a big reason the team pretty much fell apart. So far in 2020, the group collectively appears to be back on track and that's a great sign for the ballclub hoping to win back the good graces of disgruntled star third baseman Nolan Arenado.
The Rockies beat the A's for the second straight day in Oakland on Wednesday, 5-1. The starter was German Marquez and he again was great. He allowed just one run -- a solo Matt Chapman home run, which is understandable -- on four hits in six innings with eight strikeouts and one walk.
Through two starts, Marquez is now running a 1.54 ERA and 0.86 WHIP. Ace-like, huh?
It's just another excellent start in a string that should have the Rockies encouraged. Let's take a look at what happened between 2018 -- when Kyle Freeland finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting -- and 2019 with the four starters still in the rotation.
|
Pitcher |
Kyle Freeland |
German Marquez |
||
|
2018 ERA |
2.85 |
3.77 |
5.12 |
4.38 |
|
2019 ERA |
6.73 |
4.76 |
3.84 |
6.71 |
|
2018 WHIP |
1.25 |
1.20 |
1.35 |
1.37 |
|
2019 WHIP |
1.58 |
1.20 |
1.35 |
1.75 |
Gray obviously wasn't the problem last year, but Marquez took a step back while Freeland and Senzatela just completely blew up. The Freeland ERA jump is as extreme as you'll ever see from a full timer.
Again, it's one of the reasons the Rockies won fewer games in 2019 than the previous season. It's pretty obvious.
So far this season, the foursome listed above has pitched to a 2.30 ERA with a 1.17 WHIP and 25 strikeouts in 27 1/3 innings. Even better, the bullpen has been excellent as well.
Now the caveat.
The Rockies have played five games in Texas and Oakland. The Oakland Coliseum is well-entrenched as a know pitcher-friendly park. It's way too early to make a determination on Globe Life Field, but early speculation was it was going to be a pitcher-friendly yard as well. So far in their new park, here are the final scores of the Rangers' games:
- 1-0
- 3-2
- 5-2
- 4-1
- 7-4
Again, it's too early to make the determination, but those don't look like Coors Field scores, do they?
And therein lies the caveat.
The Rockies home ERA last season was 6.20 compared to 4.92 on the road. In 2018, they seemed to be a lot more comfortable in their thin air, because the home ERA was 4.63 and the road ERA was 4.03.
This is all to say the question moving forward will be how the Rockies' pitchers handle their business at home. They are dealing on the road. Starting Friday against the upstart Padres, who have a newfound offensive approach that has them booming, the Rockies and the rest of us will start to find out. So far, so good, though. They are heading home with a 4-1 record and likely a ton of confidence in the arms they so desperately need to bounce back.
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July 30, 2020 at 06:41AM
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Rockies' rotation off to encouraging start, but it comes with a caveat - CBS Sports
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