Colorado Rockies: Starters doing the bullpen no favors

Tax season may be over, but the Colorado Rockies bullpen is still getting taxed.

It’s been a prevailing concern among Rockies fans on Twitter, especially after the 16-5 and 13-5 meltdowns against the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres. Even removing these special disasters from the equation (you’re welcome), the bullpen is still being overworked after an excellent start.

This is a dangerous position to be in for a team hovering precariously around .500.

The main culprits are the Rockies starters. They have been wildly inconsistent, leading to some long nights at the office for Rockies relievers. Jon Gray is in a serious funk (Wednesday’s excellent outing aside), getting bounced before the sixth inning in four out of six appearances. German Marquez has only once gone beyond five innings, and he forced six Rockies relievers into six innings of work in a 9-7 loss to the Cubs on April 22.

When they don’t get knocked out early, the starters are keeping the Rockies in games. But they’ve pitched into the seventh inning just four times (two of these outings from Chad Bettis, one from Kyle Freeland and one from Gray).

In spite of the troubles, we’ve still seen some sensational performances out of the bullpen.