Colorado Rockies: 3 Things to Watch in San Francisco

The Colorado Rockies open their last road series of the season tonight in San Francisco. It’s a series that means much more to the Giants than the Rockies, but there is still plenty to watch from the Colorado perspective.

With the Giants starting the day with a one-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals for the final Wild Card spot, there is plenty at stake for San Francisco. The Giants are also just a half-game behind the New York Mets for the top Wild Card slot.

So all the Giants have to do is keep winning, right? Seems easy on the surface, right? However, with three games left against division rival Colorado and three games versus the hated Dodgers, it will be anything but that for the Giants.

For the Rockies, they’re stuck in a spoiler role … and they haven’t done a very good job of that as of late.

Here are three things to watch as the series opens…

The pitching matchup

Colorado has a chance to repeat history on Tuesday night.

San Francisco will send Matt Moore (4-5, 4.96) to the hill on Tuesday. The last time Moore faced the Rockies, Colorado sent him packing early thanks in part to a pair of third-inning homers. Those blasts, including a grand slam from Carlos Gonzalez, pushed the Rockies to a 6-0 win on September 5.

Colorado will get another taste of the talent within German Marquez as he opposes Moore on Tuesday. Marquez was solid in his first Major League start, stifling the Cardinals over five innings. He allowed one run on four hits to help the Rockies gain their only win in their last seven outings.

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DJ at the plate

DJ LeMahieu continues to lead Major League Baseball in hitting with a .350 average. He’s hitting .417 over his last 15 games and has just five strikeouts in 60 at-bats during that time.

To say it’s been a career year for LeMahieu is an understatement. He’s posted career highs in hits (191), doubles (32), triples (8), homers (11), RBI (66) and walks (66).

Will Nolan keep slaying the Giants?

Nolan Arenado has a career-long penchant for doing well against San Francisco. Will that streak continue during these three games at AT&T Park?

In 66 career games against San Francisco, Arenado has 19 homers (the most against any team) and 59 RBI (the most against any team). His .307 average against San Francisco is also the highest against any National League West division rival.

Next: How the Rockies Reacted to the Death of Jose Fernandez

He has continued to torment the Giants this year, including inside their own stadium. This season, he’s hitting .333 with a pair of homers and seven RBI with a 1.215 OPS at AT&T Park.