Colorado Rockies: The best and worst at the season's midway point

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The Colorado Rockies completed their 81^st game of the 2017 season on Wednesday afternoon in San Francisco with a 5-3 loss to the Giants. The loss was Colorado’s eighth consecutive defeat.

Now officially at the halfway point of the season, it’s a good time to look back on the first half of the campaign and see what has gone right … and not-so-right for the Rockies.

Of course, there has been a lot more good than bad in the first half of the season, despite the tough-to-watch recent losing streak that has tumbled the Rockies out of the top two spots in the National League West. While recent games have been brutal to say the least, if you had a time machine and could go back to spring training and tell yourself the Rockies would have 47 wins at the halfway point and be in such a good position to make the postseason, you probably would have accepted those results.

And think about this … the impressive first half of the season was accomplished with Jon Gray making only three starts, David Dahl never even seeing the field and Trevor Story and Carlos Gonzalez each battling through season-long slumps. That’s an accomplishment in and of itself.

So what stands out about the first half of the season? Let’s take a look back at some of the hits and misses from the first 81 games.

Jun 18, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) celebrates after hitting a walk off three run home run to complete the cycle during the ninth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /

The amazing moments

We’re going to tip our caps to two moments that will forever be remembered by Rockies fans that happened in the first half of the season.

First, of course, were the heroics by Nolan Arenado in a span of two games, smacking game-winning hits against the San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks in mid-June.

Colorado Rockies

There will be few moments in Rockies history that will stand out more than Arenado’s ninth-inning home run against the Giants on June 18. Not only did it give Nolan his first-ever cycle, it also completed the first-ever four-game sweep of the Giants. It also completed a four-run final frame for the Rockies that gave Colorado the win after San Francisco had scored three in the top of the ninth to take the lead.

The emotion. The blood- and dirt-caked jersey. The crowd chanting MVP. There are few more magical moments than that in Colorado baseball lore.

Nolan capped off another comeback win the very next game against Arizona, smacking a two-run eighth-inning triple to push the Rockies to 47-26 on the season. Again, the feeling inside Coors Field that night was electric.

The second biggest moment of the season came when Chad Bettis made his return from chemotherapy to rejoin the Rockies. While Bettis has yet to see action, his ability to be a part of the team and take steps every day to get closer to a return to the mound has been an emotional boost to Colorado.

His “return to Coors Field” press conference provided tears and goose bumps. When he steps back on the mound in a regular season game later this year, the emotion surrounding it will make it a must-watch event.

#TogetherForBettis has been a rallying cry this season for the Rockies and every day, we’re one day closer to watching a cancer survivor return to the thing he loves to do, play baseball.

Jun 23, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Colorado Rockies first baseman Ian Desmond (20) in action against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports /

The disappointments

Certainly, Colorado’s recent play has been one of the biggest disappointments of the season. A team that has performed so well all season saw the wheels come off on the mound and at the plate during one of the worst possible times. With the Los Angeles Dodgers playing some of their best baseball of the season, Colorado’s slide has caused a big-time slide down the standings.

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As mentioned earlier, CarGo and Trevor Story have yet to find their rhythm at the plate. Both have had outstanding moments in the field but can’t seem to get over the hump on offense.

Ian Desmond has also struggled in his first season with the Rockies. A spring training injury kept him out of the lineup until April 30. His offensive WAR of -0.5 (heading into Wednesday) is the worst of his career and seemingly can’t get any air under the baseball as he leads Major League Baseball in hitting ground balls.

While the back end of the bullpen has been terrific (we’re looking at you, Greg Holland), getting to the ninth inning unscathed has been a challenge. The bridge between the starting pitcher and Holland has to be upgraded at the trade deadline. There are simply too many arms in the bullpen who can’t be trusted night in and night out for the Rockies to be a legitimate threat to make it all the way through October.

Jun 27, 2017; San Francisco, CA, USA; Colorado Rockies first baseman Mark Reynolds (12) hits a double against the San Francisco Giants during the eighth inning of the game at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports /

The surprises

OK, maybe you knew that Colorado had some pretty decent rookie pitching, but did you really foresee the impact that Kyle Freeland, Antonio Senzatela, Jeff Hoffman and German Marquez would have on the season?

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According to Elias, with Freeland’s eight wins and Antonio Senzatela’s nine wins, Colorado became the first team in 80 years to have two rookie pitchers with at least eight wins in the team’s first 75 games of a season. Hoffman is 4-1 in seven starts and gave the Rockies every chance to break free of their six-game losing streak on Tuesday night.

We tipped the cap to Holland earlier, but what a season he is putting together. Making a statement after returning from Tommy John surgery, Holland’s Major League-leading 25 saves in 26 chances and a 1.53 ERA is making a lot of teams wonder why they didn’t take a chance on him in the offseason like the Rockies did.

How about the season Mark Reynolds is having? Signed to a minor league contract by the Rockies after being released by the team in the offseason, Reynolds has played like an All-Star in the season’s first half. He got his chance to make the Opening Day roster when Desmond went down with his injury in spring training and Reynolds has made it virtually impossible to remove him out of the lineup. Heading into Wednesday’s matinee, Reynolds paced the Rockies in homers (19) and RBI (60) and was hitting at a .300 clip.

Next: Your complete Nolan Arenado gift guide

What’s been the best or worst moment of the first 81 games for you? Let us know below.

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Colorado Rockies: The best and worst at the season’s midway point

The Colorado Rockies completed their 81^st game of the 2017 season on Wednesday afternoon in San Francisco with a 5-3 loss to the Giants. The loss was Colorado’s eighth consecutive defeat.

The amazing moments

Colorado Rockies

The disappointments

More from Rox Pile

The surprises

Schedule

The Colorado Rockies completed their 81st game of the 2017 season on Wednesday afternoon in San Francisco with a 5-3 loss to the Giants. The loss was Colorado’s eighth consecutive defeat.

The amazing moments

Colorado Rockies

The disappointments

More from Rox Pile

The surprises

Schedule

The Colorado Rockies completed their 81^st game of the 2017 season on Wednesday afternoon in San Francisco with a 5-3 loss to the Giants. The loss was Colorado’s eighth consecutive defeat.