Colorado Rockies: 4 Stories From Friday’s Win over New York

The Colorado Rockies continued their hot road trip tonight, beating the New York Mets 6-1. Here are four takeaways from a successful night in Queens.

1) Creeping up in the standings

Nine days ago, the Rockies were coming off their second straight blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, and their fans were calling for them to start selling. Since then, Colorado has won eight of their nine games and all of a sudden, a playoff spot looks a lot less far-fetched.

The Rockies are just five games out of the second wild card slot, and no team in MLB has been better over their last 10 games. Even the NL West, which seemed destined to be a two-horse race between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers, is back on the table.

2) Tyler Chatwood, the road warrior

Extreme home/road splits are nothing new for Colorado, but Chatwood is taking it to ridiculous levels this season. He gave up just one run over seven innings and it actually raised his ERA on the road this year to 1.31. That’s a totally different pitcher from the guy who has a 5.69 ERA at Coors Field.

The biggest difference has been home runs. Chatwood has allowed seven homers at Coors Field in 2016, but Friday night he gave up his first home run in a road start this year. When Chatwood gets to pitch in a larger ballpark like Citi Field, he’s often tough to beat.

3) Nolan Arenado in a slump

Ironically, the Rockies best stretch of the season has come at a time where their best overall player is struggling. Arenado is hitless in his last 14 at-bats and, lately, has been slightly less than his usual superhuman self at third base as well. His batting average is now down to .280, the lowest it’s been at the end of the day since April.

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It’s no secret that Arenado plays with more intensity than the average player. This is part of what makes him great, but it’s hard being a perfectionist in a game that simply does not allow for perfection. Nolan is too talented for this slump to be anything other than a temporary setback. He’ll probably start playing better when he remembers that.

4) Scott Oberg shuts the door

The record will show that there was no save in Friday’s game, but make no mistake about it … Oberg saved this game for Colorado.

Oberg came in to a 3-1 game with no outs and two runners on in the eighth inning. According to Fangraphs, the Rockies had a 66.8% chance of winning the game. In just three pitches, Oberg ended the Mets rally, and Colorado’s win expectancy jumped all the way up to 93.9%.

Next: Is Boone Logan Heading to Toronto?

The Rockies bullpen has taken a lot of heat this season, and they’ve deserved most of it. But the performances of Oberg and other members of the bullpen have been crucial in this hot streak Colorado currently finds themselves on.