Colorado Rockies: This is the most important series of the season so far

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DENVER, CO – APRIL 22: The Colorado Rockies play the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field on April 22, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

If you told me before the season started that on June 1 the Colorado Rockies would be in first in the National League West and would sit four games ahead of the five-time reigning division champion Los Angeles Dodgers, I would take it in a heartbeat.

But despite this, it seems Colorado still hasn’t played its best baseball yet. The starting pitching has been great at times and puzzlingly bad at others.

Jon Gray (5-6, 5.68 ERA) is supposed to be the team’s ace but he has been unreliable through the first two months of the season, putting up some head-scratching splits. He has either been absolutely dominant (1.36 ERA, 0.79 WHIP in victories) or been absolutely dominated (10.05 ERA, 2.13 WHIP in losses). We detailed some of the issues in this article.

The only constant is he keeps striking out batters, putting together a 10.5 K/9 to this point.

Luckily, guys like Chad Bettis (4-1, 3.68 ERA) and Kyle Freeland (5-5, 3.43 ERA) have helped carry the team to the top spot in the west.

The offense has been the same story.

Last year’s batting champion, Charlie Blackmon is hitting .276, but he’s clubbed a team-high 12 home runs.

Nolan Arenado is clipping a career-high .319 and his NL-leading .996 OPS is also a career best, but his 11 homers and 34 RBI are behind the 40 homer/130 RBI pace we’re used to expecting from one of the game’s best players.

Part of the issue for the Rockies could be that they’ve played the most road games in baseball this season (tied with the San Francisco Giants). This anomaly has affected Carlos Gonzalez more than anyone else on the team.

CarGo’s season numbers are pretty mediocre –.256 average with 5 home runs and 19 RBI. What’s interesting about CarGo is that his home-road splits are about as drastic as you’ll ever see.

He’s hitting .188 with only one home run in 25 road games (87 plate appearances). To put that in perspective, Giants ace Madison Bumgarner hit .206 with three home runs over 36 plate appearances last season.

But in Denver, CarGo looks like his old superstar self. In only 15 home games, he is hitting .367 with four home runs, nine RBI, and a 1.129 OPS.

I know he calls Coors Field home, but no amount of altitude can explain those bizarre splits.

LOS ANGELES, CA – MAY 09: Justin Turner #10 of the Los Angeles Dodgers before the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium on May 9, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Despite all these frustrating inconsistencies, the Rockies are still in first place, with a chance to make a statement this weekend against the Dodgers in what is shaping out to be the most important series of the season so far.

Maybe it’s a good sign that Colorado has managed to compile 30 wins when so much seems to be going wrong. It feels like the team is just waiting for something to click, and when it does, they will go on a torrid stretch and finally put some distance between them and the teams behind them.

They will have their work cut out for them against Los Angeles.

Colorado Rockies

Although the Dodgers are four games below .500 (26-30), they’ve played better since the return of star third baseman Justin Turner.

If the Rockies sweep the series, they will wake up Monday seven games up on the division favorite Dodgers. If the Dodgers sweep, they’ll sit just 1 game behind Colorado.

Yeah, this is an important series … for both teams.

The Rockies will send out Tyler Anderson on Friday, German Marquez on Saturday, and Bettis on Sunday.

Anderson has not faced the Dodgers yet this season, but he struggled against them in four starts last season.

On May 21, Marquez faced the Dodgers in Los Angeles and gave up one run on two hits over seven outstanding innings in a 2-1 Rockies victory that catapulted them past the Arizona Diamondbacks and into first in the division.

Bettis also pitched well the last time these two teams met, surrendering two runs on three hits over five innings. He left with the lead but a three-run sixth from reliever Bryan Shaw led to a 5-3 loss for the Rockies.

Colorado will need all three pitchers to step up as they seek their first winning homestand of the season.

All eyes will be on Coors Field this weekend as the baseball world attempts to gauge the NL West. Is this the Dodgers’ chance to get hot and capture a sixth-consecutive division title? Or will the Rockies take advantage of their opportunity and begin paving the road to their first division championship in their 25-year history?

Next: Let's look at the positives under Colorado GM Jeff Bridich

I know its only June 1, but it kinda feels like September, doesn’t it?

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If you told me before the season started that on June 1 the Colorado Rockies would be in first in the National League West and would sit four games ahead of the five-time reigning division champion Los Angeles Dodgers, I would take it in a heartbeat.

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