Series Preview: Colorado Rockies vs San Francisco Giants

May 23, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies right fielder C. Gonzalez (5) singles in the ninth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field. The Giants defeated the Rockies 10-8. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

SERIES KEYS FOR THE ROCKIES

If You’re Going To San Francisco…

The Rockies swept the Giants in San Francisco from April 13-15, and since then… the club has gone 9-18 on the road. Obviously, the Rockies’ 6-0 road start to the year wasn’t going to continue on that pace, but losing two of every three road games is also pretty bad, too. Can the Rockies right the ship on the road when it comes to AT&T Park, a place they’ve played well at in small doses over the last few years?

Bring the offense on the road

The Rockies averaged 7.6 runs per game over the past eight games at Coors Field — can that offensive grind continue on the road?

Obviously, it’s against three big-time big league pitchers for the Giants, though the Rockies will at least miss out on Chris Heston in this series. But keeping the offense going — especially in pitcher’s parks like San Francisco and later Oakland — is going to help the Rockies, who already don’t have a big margin for error on the road.

How much more of the Kyle Kendrick Experience must we endure?

I wrote this before the Diamondbacks’ series, and I think it still holds true:

"I’m firmly in the ‘don’t call up Jon Gray yet’ camp, but I’m not averse to calling up John Lannan or Yohan Flande or somebody like that (I know, I know), or slotting Christian Bergman in the rotation and letting Flande relieve, because at 2-9 with an ERA near 6.00, how much more Kyle Kendrick must we endure? If he’s hit hard again this week, I can’t imagine the Rockies giving him more shots on the mound… right? Or maybe I’m just naive like that. But I really don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say he’s pitching for his spot in the rotation [Sunday[ — and if he does well, he’ll be pitching for his spot in the rotation for at least his next couple starts, too."

How’s CarGo?

I also wrote this before the Diamondbacks’ series, and considering we haven’t yet seen CarGo in any significant way since the injury, here:

"Carlos Gonzalez suffered what the team is calling a mild hand sprain with no bone damage the other day. Uh-oh. This is either just a day-to-day thing, like the team has thus far implied, or… holy crap here we go again. Time will tell, I suppose, but, just, please baseball gods. He was just starting to figure it out at the plate. No fatty masses with tentacles, ok?"

Next: Let's Meet The San Francisco Giants