Colorado Rockies: Takeaways from the series with the Cubs

I am back home from Chicago and we have some takes from the Colorado Rockies 3 game series against the Chicago Cubs.

The pitching

The pitching is looking as good as it has all year. Six games into the nine game road trip, the Rockies have limited the opponent to a total of 13 runs. The starting staff was excellent at Wrigley. Jon Gray looks as if he has figured things out, Tyler Anderson was practically untouchable for 7 innings except for one pitch to Anthony Rizzo, and the offense ruined a Chad Bettis‘ chance of improving his record to 4-0.

The offensive outlook

Rockies have to find a way to manufacture runs. 10 of the 16 runs scored in the series came via home runs. As we all know, this team is relying heavily on the long ball and that is not a good blueprint for success.

Nolan Arenado is happy he doesn’t have to play in Miami again this season. After going 1 for 10 in three games against the Marlins, Nolan broke out going 5-for-14 with 3 home runs and 7 RBIs. His 2 homers on Wednesday were big blasts, including his majestic 3-run shot onto Wayland Ave.

Daniel Castro may only gone 1 for 8 in his 2 starts at second base but I was very impressed by his hustle and defense. He was just called up when the Rockies optioned Ryan McMahon back to Triple-A Albuquerque just before Tuesday’s game.

In Wednesday’s 11-2 win, he manufactured one of those rare non home run runs to stretch an early lead for his first MLB RBI since his tenure with the Atlanta Braves in 2018. Later in the game, he hustled out a reviewed ground ball to first base for his first hit with the Rockies.

Some questions, though

I don’t know what Rockies manager Bud Black was thinking by batting Ian Desmond lead off Monday night. I am just going to leave it at that because those who have read my past articles know my disdain for Desmond, like in this article.

Two final takeaways

Cubs fans are still super annoying and entitled, and even more so now that they have won a World Series. When you pack 30,000 or more of them into one place, it can be almost unbearable. Luckily, taking 2 of 3 from them kept them fairly subdued.

And finally, do not drop and break your phone on the first day of a trip. It made my time in Chicago much more expensive and frustrating than it ever should have been.

Next: Was Wednesday an offensive fluke or a good sign?

That said, it was great to get out of Chicago with a series win and it was even better to watch the offense bust out for 11 runs on Wednesday. Time to carry it over to New York.

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