Colorado Rockies: 5 Things The Team Must Do Before All-Star Break

Starting Pitching Needs To Go Deep In Games

Last night Bettis had his longest outing since May 17, going 6 2/3 innings with 90 pitches thrown. As a result, only three relievers had to be used, with none of them having to throw more than one inning.

It is a huge benefit to have your starting pitcher go as far into the game as possible. The Rockies saw this first hand in their final game against the Giants, where Giants starter Johnny Cueto threw his NL-leading fourth complete game of the season. The Giants bullpen (with their 17 blown saves) were saved from being used, and the Rockies never were able to exploit this advantage.

If the Rockies starters are off, their pitch count adds up quickly which has resulted in early exits in the fourth or fifth inning of games. In turn, this has taxed the bullpen to throw more innings and nearly every member of the pen gets called in to contribute, which makes their availability and effectiveness in the next game brought into question.

Over these last three games, the Rockies starters must get into the game as far as they can. They should all be looking for a quality start type of performance (6 IP, 3 ER or fewer). If they can stay low in the strike zone, and throw consistent strikes, their opportunity to achieve this is greatly enhanced.

The Phillies are a young team. Younger players tend to hack more, and with a sound game plan to attack the zone, ground balls should be the order of the day and the chance to go deep into the game is there for the Rockies starter.

They must take advantage of it.

Next: Fielding Must Remain Strong