Colorado Rockies: 5 April Numbers Every Rockies Fan Should Know

Yes, the month of April was magical for the Colorado Rockies. Despite losing in Arizona on a walkoff homer in the 13th inning by former Rockies player Daniel Descalso on Sunday, Colorado owns a 16-10 record and leads the National League West.

There have been a lot of things that have gone into Colorado’s successful first month of the season. Let’s take a look at five numbers that stand out from the first month of the 2017 Major League Baseball season.

8

What’s one of the biggest reasons for Colorado’s early success? Their ability to win close games. The Rockies are 8-0 in one-run games so far this season, making them the only team in Major League Baseball to be undefeated in one-run games

How much of an improvement is this year over last year? The Rockies went 12-20 in one-run games in 2016.

How good is Colorado’s one-run start? The last team in Major League Baseball to start 8-0 in one-run games was the 2004 Los Angeles Dodgers, who ran their streak of one-run wins to 10-0.

14

That’s how many consecutive games that saw Colorado’s Charlie Blackmon have at least one hit in the month. The streak ended on Sunday with an 0-for-6 day at the plate.

Blackmon’s 14-game streak was the longest in Major League Baseball of the month. Only Justin Turner of the Dodgers had a longer one (16 games). Blackmon’s streak was also tied for the longest hitting streak of his career, matching his run from July 5-22, 2016.

During his streak, Blackmon hit .362 (21-for-58) with four doubles, two triples, five home runs and 18 RBI.

2.81

That is the ERA that’s been posted by Antonio Senzatela in his first month of Major League action. It’s also the lowest ERA by any rookie pitcher in Major League Baseball this season.

Why has the 22-year-old right-hander been so productive so far? Part of the reason is consistency. Senzatela has pitched at least six innings in four of his five starts, including his last four outings.

Of course, fellow rookie pitcher and Rockies starter Kyle Freeland has had a pretty solid first month as well. The duo have been pretty darn dynamic. Take a look at how the two of them have been dominant in the early going.

Colorado Rockies

Senzatela ranks first with 32.0 innings pitched while Freeland ranks second with 27.0 innings pitched.

Senzatela ranks first with a 2.81 ERA while Freeland ranks second with a 2.93 ERA.

Senzatela’s .223 batting average against ranks lowest among MLB rookie pitchers, while Freeland’s .269 is the third-lowest in the Majors.

Here’s another note to know. According to Elias, Freeland and Senzatela are the only two pitchers in Rockies history to earn three or more wins while maintaining a sub-3.00 ERA within their first five career starts.

Say what you will about pitching at Coors Field, but Senzatela has shown that he’s not worried about it. Three of his starts have come at home and he’s posted a 3.15 ERA in 20 innings.

11

Is it possible to underscore the importance of the Rockies signing Greg Holland in the offseason? It was described as a high-risk, high-reward move after the former All-Star closer was an unknown after coming back from Tommy John surgery. However, any question marks have quickly turned to exclamation points with Holland as the closer.

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On Saturday night, Holland converted his 11th save of the season. That is the most saves in the month of April for a Rockies closer in franchise history. It’s also solid for any month in Colorado franchise history. The 11 saves tie the record for the most saves in a single calendar month in Rockies history. Holland joins Brian Fuentes (11 in May of 2007) and Huston Street (11 in June of 2009) at the top of the Colorado leaderboard in this category.

He’s also set some other Rockies records in a very short time in purple pinstripes. Holland converted the save in each of his first nine appearances for the Rockies prior to pitching in a non-save situation Monday night against the Washington Nationals. He tied Darren Holmes for the franchise record for saves in consecutive appearances.

How much of an impact has Holland made with his new team? According to Elias, the only other pitcher to save as many games by the end of April in his first season with a team was Lee Smith, who had 12 saves for the Baltimore Orioles in 1994.