Series Preview: San Diego Padres vs Colorado Rockies

Sep 9, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres catcher D. Norris (right) tags out Colorado Rockies center fielder C. Blackmon (19) on a play at the plate in the first inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

SERIES KEYS FOR THE ROCKIES

Home on a high note

The Colorado Rockies went 5-5 on their ten-game road trip, which as we discussed up top, is the best they’ve done on the road in many years.

That doesn’t mean they’re good (they’re not!), but it does mean they might be getting kinda better as the season wears on. A club that looked like it was going to flirt with 100 losses a little over a month ago is now going to flirt with… like, what, 94 losses? Hey, we’ll take it!

Let’s see if they can finish the home schedule on a high note.

Can Kendrick continue his good work?

Kyle Kendrick has been much better since he came back from his shoulder injury. This is his redemption from earlier this season, of course — and while it won’t absolve the terrible numbers he’s put up across the first few months, it has been good to see that he gave the Rockies at least a couple good starts at the end of the season.

Let’s just hope that he can continue doing that about three more times this year before the summer ends. And then, hey, best of luck on the free agent market, Mr. Kendrick.

Chad Bettis, underrated ace

Jorge De La Rosa is undoubtedly the Rockies’ ace, but how about that good work Chad Bettis has put together over this season? Coming in to the year, he was absolutely on the fence as to whether he had a future with the Colorado Rockies. Now, he’s one of the biggest bright spots as the Rockies try to figure out how to create a starting rotation next summer.

If he can end the season on a relative high note, he ought to have Colorado Rockies’ fans extremely excited for next season, because he’s a legit fourth or fifth starter. Now, if the club can just find one or two front-end starters to help De La Rosa and bridge the gap to Bettis…

Is CarGo healthy?

Carlos Gonzalez fouled a ball off his leg in the marathon Tuesday night game, and then wasn’t in the lineup on Wednesday night. He did pinch hit late in the game (he struck out to end the 2-0 loss), but other than that, he hasn’t played for two days. Let’s see how he does this weekend against at least two Padres’ righties.

Home cookin’ on offense

Speaking of the Dodgers’ series, how about that 2-0 loss to Alex Wood? One hit against Wood in eight innings, and then another hit off Kenley Jansen in the ninth. Um, can we get a lot of offense this weekend?

Next: Let's Meet The San Diego Padres