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Colorado Rockies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers: 3 things to watch this week

By Kevin Henry

LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 01: DJ LeMahieu #9 of the Colorado Rockies catches Austin Barnes #15 of the Los Angeles Dodgers in a double play at second base in the seventh inning at Dodger Stadium on July 1, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 01: DJ LeMahieu #9 of the Colorado Rockies catches Austin Barnes #15 of the Los Angeles Dodgers in a double play at second base in the seventh inning at Dodger Stadium on July 1, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images) /
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Charlie Blackmon of the Colorado Rockies
DENVER, CO – JUNE 24: Charlie Blackmon #19 of the Colorado Rockies reacts to a play against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Coors Field on June 24, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. The Diamondbacks defeat the Rockies 10-9.(Photo by Bart Young/Getty Images) /

Speaking of slumps, Colorado’s Charlie Blackmon has been mired in one as of late. He did show signs of breaking out of it on Tuesday night, snapping an 0-for-12 streak with a sixth-inning single that was the 1,000thhit of his Major League (and Rockies) career. Colorado’s All-Star center fielder went 2-for-4 against the Pirates, two of just three hits he had collected in the month of August to that point.

Blackmon’s return to the hit column was promising for the Rockies and came one day after Colorado manager Bud Black had given the bearded leadoff man a day off. He followed that with another two-hit outing on Wednesday, a very good sign after going 1-for-22 over his previous five games before Tuesday night’s outburst.

What is Black seeing from Blackmon during his skid?

"“With Charlie, I think the bat speed is there. He’s just a touch late on the fastball and a little bit ahead on the breaking ball. It’s timing,” Black said. “He’s just a touch off but you can find it real quick.”"

The Rockies are hoping that Blackmon continues to find his timing this weekend. As the leadoff hitter, Blackmon sets the tone for the Colorado offense and, as Blackmon has struggled lately, so have the Rockies to score runs. Rockies fans haven’t seen taco’s for a while, meaning seven runs haven’t been scored in that span. That’s an issue.

Also an issue is Colorado’s inability to plate runners when opportunities arise. Since July 22, the Rockies are hitting .168 with runners in scoring position. In those 119 at-bats, they have struck out 36 times.

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