The Colorado Rockies started their 10-game road trip in fine fashion on Friday night, posting a 9-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. It was the second shutout of the season for the Rockies, joining the 2-0 decision on April 17 over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
Both of the Rockies shutouts came on the road and had Tyler Chatwood as the starter. It’s not a coincidence … and it’s one of the four things we think you should know about Friday night’s victory.
Chatwood is King of the Road
The 26-year-old right-hander, coming off his second Tommy John surgery, is 3-0 this season on the road with a 0.46 ERA. He’s allowed one earned run in 19.2 innings of work and last night was possibly one of the most important starts he’s ever made for the Colorado Rockies.
Colorado was looking for a spark after losing five straight and seven of its last eight contests. The Rockies were also looking for a solid performance on the mound after their starters had posted a 9.72 combined ERA over their last six games. Chatwood provided that last night, scattering five hits over 6.1 innings of work. Combine that with his last road start at the Cubs and Chatwood has surrendered just seven hits in 13.1 innings.
While Chatwood has excelled on the road, he’s 0-2 with a 7.20 ERA at Coors Field. But we won’t worry about that right now as Chatwood’s next start will more than likely be the opener of a four-game series in San Francisco.
Story continues to make history
Trevor Story is showing that he has bounced back from a recent slump in a historical way.
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Colorado’s rookie shortstop blasted a two-run homer off Arizona starter Robbie Ray in the fifth inning for his 10th home run of the season. He’s now tied with Jose Abreu (2014) for the most home runs by a rookie in the first month of the season. He’s also matched Boston’s George Scott (1966) by hitting his 10th homer in his first 21 games, the fastest that anyone has ever reached the mark in MLB history.
It was his fifth homer off Arizona pitching in just four games this season.
He’s still just hitting .217 with 27 strikeouts over his last 15 games, but Story is proving that if a pitcher makes a mistake, he’ll take advantage of it.
Don’t forget about Nolan
While Story may be grabbing the headlines, Colorado All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado is being somewhat overshadowed for his early-season power. However, he followed Story’s shot with a solo blast of his own, giving him 10 round-trippers on the season and trying him with Story for not only the team lead but also the MLB lead as well.
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Power surge
In all, Colorado hit four homers in the victory over Arizona on Friday, giving the team 37 homers in its first 22 games. That’s the most in MLB, one ahead of the Diamondbacks.