Colorado Rockies morning after: 3 numbers to know from Tuesday

PITTSBURGH — The Colorado Rockies not only won their fifth game of their six-game road trip (so far) on Tuesday night with a 2-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at frigid PNC Park, but they also secured their second series win of the trip to the Eastern time zone.

The coldest start ever for a Rockies road game, Colorado’s Chad Bettis fought through intermittent snow and 34-degree temperatures to move to 3-0 on the season and lower his ERA to 1.44 with yet another solid performance.

Here are three numbers you need to know from the game:

4 – As in, through four starts, Bettis has the third-lowest ERA of any Rockies starter in franchise history. The 28-year-old right-hander scattered five hits over seven innings and didn’t allow an extra-base hit until Jordy Mercer led off the eighth inning with a double to give the Pirates their only real scoring threat of the night. However, Colorado called upon Bryan Shaw and Jake McGee to finish off the eighth and Wade Davis to pitch a scoreless ninth for his eighth save of the season.

So who’s ahead of Bettis in the franchise’s ERA all-time rankings through four starts? Only Ubaldo Jimenez (0.95, 2010) and Shawn Chacon (0.98, 2003).

1 – That’s how many hits Ryan McMahon had on the night, as well as how many RBI he collected and quick-thinking defensive plays he made in a solid performance filling in for the suspended Nolan Arenado.

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McMahon’s fourth-inning opposite-field single was just his third hit of the season and raised his average to .097 on the campaign. But plating Ian Desmond, who had walked to reach base before Trevor Story moved him to third with a double, gave the Rockies a little breathing room with a 2-0 lead.

The 23-year-old infielder also made a big defensive play in the eighth, fielding a Sean Rodriguez grounder down the third base line and firing a strike to Tony Wolters, who tagged Mercer out at the plate as he tried to get the Pirates on the board. There was no hesitation from McMahon on the throw, which easily beat Mercer to home.

"“I saw he wasn’t getting down the line very well so I was just like, ‘OK, we’ve got a play at home so let’s get the out,’” McMahon told Rox Pile and other reporters after the game."

.217 – That is the batting average for Trevor Story after a 2-for-4 night on Tuesday. He was the only Rockies player to have multiple hits on Tuesday night.

That number may not seem that impressive, but it’s the highest the average has been for Story since April 10. Since his four-strikeout outing in Washington on April 15 (his second of the series, by the way), Story has gone 4-for-11, with two of those hits going for extra bases. He has also struck out just twice during that stretch.

Is it a sign of good things to come for Story at the plate?

Next: The numbers that are haunting Jon Gray right now

Additionally, he stole his team-leading fourth base on Tuesday night. We talked to Story about his speed and how he is trying to use it this season in this article.

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