Colorado Rockies: Recapping the last 10 games before the homestand

It all started with a 2-run blast by DJ LeMahieu off San Francisco Giants pitcher Sam Dyson and ended with a solid series victory at the AL West leading Seattle Mariners.  The last week and a half has been what most people were expecting when the Colorado Rockies began the season.  So before the Rockies head home for their final homestand before the All-Star break, let’s take a look back at the last 10 games of good baseball.

The recent 8-2 run has obviously cut into the deficit in the standings.  On June 27th, the Rockies were four games under .500 and 8 games back of the Diamondbacks in the West and 5.5 games back in the Wildcard.  Now, they are sitting in a much more manageable 3.5 games out in the West and 4.5 in the Wildcard.

So how did they get there? Lets start with how good the pitching has been.  In the 10 games, the Rockies’ starters pitched a total of 62 innings and only gave up a total of 18 earned runs for an outstanding ERA of 2.61.  The starting staff also tied a franchise record at 8 consecutive games giving up 2 runs or less.

By going deeper into games, pressure on the bullpen has been cut down immensely. This has led to the bullpen becoming much more effective as they have only given up 7 earned runs in 26 innings for a 2.42 ERA in the last 10 games.

Offensively, the Rockies stayed pretty much on par with what they have done for most of the season.  Led by their trio of All-Stars (Arenado, Story, and Blackmon), the Rockies averaged 4.9 runs in the last 10 games which is a tick above their season average of 4.7.  The most importantly they haven’t had to rely on these three for all of the production. Take Saturday for example.

In Saturday’s 5-1 victory over the Mariners, the 1 through 3 hitters for the Rockies were 0 for 14 with 7 strikeouts.  What won the game was that the 6 through 9 hitters went 9 for 14 with 4 runs and 5 RBI, including Noel Cuevas‘ game deciding 3-run bomb in the 7th inning.

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Now, the Rockies head back to Coors Field for an all important six-game homestand against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners before the break.  The Diamondbacks are coming off a split in a four game series against the Padres, including a loss a 16 inning marathon on Sunday where the D-Backs had to use Zach Godley who is scheduled to start on Thursday.  Hopefully the Rockies can continue their home field advantage and take both series before heading into the break.