Colorado Rockies Get Swept in the Desert

The Colorado Rockies finished the season series with the Diamondbacks Wednesday in Arizona. Jeff Hoffman made his 5^th career major league start. While he showed more flashes of effectiveness today, it still was not enough. The Rockies offense could not capitalize on their chances and it was an ugly night to wrap up an ugly series, losing to the D-Backs again by a score of 11-6.

Here are a couple takeaways from tonight’s game for the Colorado Rockies.

1. Jeff Hoffman’s slight improvement: Hoffman once again finished the game with an unsightly line of:

4.2 IP 8 H 7 R 4 ER 2 BB 5 SO

After a first inning home run to Jean Segura and a Yasmany Tomas RBI double, Hoffman pitched as well as he has in the majors for three innings. His five strikeouts are the big improvement this game. He used his curveball a lot more tonight and it was effective for the

most part. In the fifth inning he unraveled a little bit, allowing five more runs, including another home run by Segura. In the end, it can be considered a positive outing for Hoffman highlighted by a career high five strikeouts. It also illustrated how far he still has to go before being the pitcher he hopefully will turn into in the future, preferably soon.

1. Charlie Blackmon’s career year: Blackmon led off the game with a home run down the line in right field. It was Chuck’s 27^th home run of the year, which is a career high (was previously 19 in 2016). Blackmon’s 27 home runs also propels him ahead of Detroit’s Ian Kinsler for most home runs by a lead-off hitter. Charlie also nearly completed the cycle on Wednesday falling only a double short. With three hits tonight Blackmon’s average now sits at .319 which is good for top-five in the National League.

Problems with the Diamondbacks:

The loss tonight means the Colorado Rockies will lose the season series to the snakes, 10-9. The two teams have met in slugfest after slugfest this year but this series has been considerably more one-sided. The Diamondbacks have scored 34 runs, a franchise record, this

series. They beat the Rockies by a combined 15 runs. Segura, who had five hits tonight, and Tomas have led the charge for the D’backs torching the Rockies through the entire series. The Rockies tried to mount a comeback tonight scoring three runs in the seventh but the rally came up short, as the bullpen continued to allow the Diamondbacks to extend their lead.

After the very rough series sweep in Arizona the Rockies will look to rebound at Coors Field in a three-game set versus the San Diego Padres. The two teams recently split a four-game series in Southern California.

Next: Colorado Rockies: The 5 Biggest Games on the 2017 Schedule

Tyler Chatwood will pitch Friday night for the Rockies facing off with Christian Friedrich who shut the Rockies down in his last start. It’s been a tough couple months for the Rockies, and ending the season in a strong way would make the offseason easier for all of us.