Game 5: What We Know About The Colorado Rockies

Apr 11, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Kendrick (38) reacts after walking a batter during the second inning against the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

After the Colorado Rockies letdown at Coors Field against the Cubs on Saturday night, here’s what we learned about the now-not-undefeated club.

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Some musings and thoughts from today’s Colorado Rockies game, which proved – if nothing else – that the Rockies will not, in fact, go 162-0.

The club lost 9-5 to Chicago, due to three Cubs’ solo home runs and two triples from old friend Dexter Fowler.

After a 4-0 start to the season, the Rockies have dropped their first game.

Kyle Kendrick was disappointing, Christian Friedrich failed to stem the bleeding, and meh. Rubber game tomorrow. Rox can still win their second-straight series and begin the year 5-1.

The BCS National Championship is now probably out of reach, though. Bull crap.

Kendrick bent… and broke.

Kyle Kendrick’s final line saw him allow eight hits (including three solo home runs), five walks and a hit batter – and eight runs – across 5+ innings. He only tossed 57 strikes in 102 pitches.

I’ve said “bend but don’t break” is the key for Rockies pitchers this summer, so you’ll hear it a lot from me, but Kendrick flat out broke tonight. His command was suspect, he fell behind hitters and failed to get first pitch strikes, and he didn’t come anywhere close to keeping the club in the game, Coors Field nonwithstanding.

If he allows four runs, give or take, in every outing? Asking the Rockies lineup to put up a five-spot is realistic.

But when you allow six, seven, or eight runs in an outing, it’s too much to ask any offense in baseball to put up a nine-spot to stay in the game.

Kendrick’s no ace, but he has to pitch better than how he threw tonight.

Friedrich showed why we need good Rex Brothers back.

I know, Christian Friedrich right now is better than Rex Brothers right now, and Friedrich deserves the roster spot.

Plus, one bad outing does not a reliever make (don’t I say that a lot?). So Friedrich’s outing shouldn’t raise too many flags in and of itself.

But when you come in to a 6-3 game, and leave the same inning losing 9-3, there’s a problem. Friedrich’s sixth: RBI single, RBI groundout, strikeout, RBI single, strikeout.

Did he get ripped? Of course not. But again, he allowed both inherited runners to score and another one of his own, and took a 6-3 game (where maaaaaybe the Rockies could mount a rally), and turned it into a 9-3 game that was, for all intents and purposes, over with at that point.

The Rockies probably don’t rally, anyways, (after all, they only scored 5 runs) even if Friedrich does strand both runners. But keep an eye out for his effectiveness in the middle innings moving forward. Tonight wasn’t a good sign.

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Tulo is still on a tear.

He’s now on pace for 162 doubles!

He’s seeing the ball well, playing good defense, and doing exactly what we all hoped he would at the start of the year.

Let’s hope this is his year, putting together those 150+ games we know he’s capable of and proving to the league why he should be the MVP when it’s all said and done.

But until then, well, no sense in getting ahead of ourselves (but damn, he’s good).

CLAP, CLAP, CLAP CLAP CLAP, CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP…. TULO!

Arenado and LeMahieu continue their good work.

Both Nolan Arenado and DJ LeMahieu are coming into their own, as well.

LeMahieu’s proving he can hit line drive singles and keep getting on base, and when you hit eighth (and sometimes ninth), hey, that’s all you really need to do.

No sense in over-complicating things, and DJ’s keeping it simple and has a refreshing approach at the plate.

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He went 3-for-4 again Saturday night and is hitting a whopping .524 after five games.

Arenado hit a two-run home run early off Jason Hammel and and finished 2-for-4. He’s now hitting .450 and leads the team in RBIs.

Both of these guys are critical to the Rockies’ success, and it’s important for them each to lock down their respective spots around Tulo all summer. Keep it up, fellas!