Just like that, the Colorado Rockies have not only conceded the top spot in the NL West, but now sit in third place, it’s been a tough divisional stretch for Colorado who’s now lost back-to-back series against the Diamondback and Dodgers. The Rockies will stay in division for their next series, but will get to face the cellar dweller San Francisco Giants who they’ve swept in a four-game set a couple weeks ago.
This series will be contested from Monday, June 26, 2017 through Wednesday, June 28, 2017 at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Monday's clash is being shown live on ESPN.
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Pitching Matchups
Jeff Samardzija needs to deliver a better performance than he did against the Rockies the last time he faced them. He starts the series opener after allowing eight runs on 11-hits against them last time.
Overall, the lanky right-hander is 2-9 with a 4.74 ERA and 1.155 WHIP in 98.2 innings spread over 15 starts.
Those numbers leave plenty to be desired, but he’s been a lot better of late—save for the last outing against Colorado. His WHIP also paints a picture of a pitcher who deserves better than the numbers. His 3.49 FIP hammers that point home.
Samardzija is one that will make you earn your way on base. He’s walked only three batters since the start of May. The bad loss against Colorado at Coors Field aside, he’s allowed three runs or fewer in seven of his last eight starts.
While Samardzija’s control has been impeccable lately, the righty will matchup against one of the Rockies’ collection of rookies in German Marquez who has shown on-again-off-again command.
Overall, his 5-3 record and 3.92 ERA are encouraging and his 3.89 FIP show it isn’t a fluke. The talent isn’t the question, the consistency is, but then again, that’s the same situation with his Giants’ counterpart.
Moving on to the middle game, Jeff Hoffman will start against Matt Cain.
Hoffman is yet another Rockies’ arm representing the strong future of this franchise. He’s already pitched a great game against the Giants in his young career, going six innings and allowing just one run. His last start was a disaster. He imploded in the third inning against the Diamondbacks. Can he bounce back from that set back and get back to form? He won’t be the only starter looking for a bounce back on Tuesday. Matt Cain gets the start for San Francisco and he’s coming off a seven-run outing against the Braves.
Cain has been bad in June. He’s now pitching to an 8.84 ERA, but all of his wins have come at home and he’ll be pitching in a comfortable environment on Tuesday.
To wrap up the series, the Giants will turn to southpaw Ty Blach while the Antonio Senzatela lines up to make the start for Colorado.
Blach is 4-5 with a 4.86 ERA and 1.331 WHIP. He’s had moderate success, despite a very low strikeout rate, strkingout out a meager 35 batters in 79.2 innings. He’s walked 17.
Blach went 6.2 innings, allowing three runs and seven hits the last time he faced Colorado. He’s coming off a three innings, seven run outing in his last start.
As for Senzatela, he was a huge story for the Rockies early on. He was the headliner of this rookie class of arms, but he’s regressed considerably lately. He’s still 9-3 overall and the Rockies are still 10-5 in his starts. Despite that, he’s allowed 18 runs in his last 15 innings, spanning five starts. He’s also allowed six homers in that time. Included in those numbers is a six inning, five run start against the Giants in which he allowed three bombs.
Who's Hot?
The Giants have scored fewer runs than 26 Major League teams, the Rockies have only been outscored by four, yet, in June, the gap between these two teams offensively has been narrower with San Francisco playing better and the Rockies playing worse.
Among the Giants’ players that have been swinging the bat well this month are Joe Panik, Eduardo Nunez and Denard Span. That trio are slashers and are hitting .362, .361 and .337 in the month, respectively.
Power is still lacking for this team, but that was the case when they were winning World Series, too. With the rest of the lineup around Brandon Belt and Buster Posey swinging better, the Giants have more of a threat top-to-bottom rather than relying on a couple key players amidst futility.
For the Rockies, despite a bit of a decline in offense and some recent struggles, still have a few players swinging hot bats.
Ramiel Tapia, for one, has started his Major-League career strong. He’s now hitting .385 with a .429 OBP. Then you have D.J. LeMahieu heating up and setting the table ahead of Nolan Arenado who is perpetually hot.
Who's Not?
Carlos Gonzalez continues to stumble for the Rockies. We’re now nearly to the half way mark and he’s batting .221 with 6 homers in a season where home runs are happening at a record breaking pace. He’s hitting even worse in June, going 10-for-58 with only three extra base hits. That leaves him with a .172 average and .587 OPS.
He, Trevor Story and Ian Desmond have all been major disappointments this year, hitting well below league average. They’re all prone to the strikeout—as is Mark Reynolds—but at least he’s hitting the ball hard when he makes contact.
On the other side, Brandon Crawford is hitting below the Mendoza Line in June and Belt is barely above that. The two have combined for seven homers which isn’t all that great, though is higher than most Giants batters.
On the mound, Mark Melancon now has an ERA of 4.58 after his struggles have continued. He’s not been the stopper he’s paid to be and others in the pen are struggling around him. This pen is to the point where they’ve had to give Sam Dyson a shot and he’s picking up right where he left off during his time with Texas.
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