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Colorado Rockies: August numbers you should know

By Ryan Ladika |
DENVER, CO - AUGUST 25: Matt Holliday #7 of the Colorado Rockies points to the dugout to celebrate after hitting a seventh inning solo homerun against the St. Louis Cardinals at Coors Field on August 25, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. Players are wearing special jerseys with their nicknames on them during Players' Weekend. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - AUGUST 25: Matt Holliday #7 of the Colorado Rockies points to the dugout to celebrate after hitting a seventh inning solo homerun against the St. Louis Cardinals at Coors Field on August 25, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. Players are wearing special jerseys with their nicknames on them during Players' Weekend. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
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ANAHEIM, CA – AUGUST 27: Ian Desmond #20, David Dahl #26, and Chris Iannetta #22 congratulate DJ LeMahieu #9 of the Colorado Rockies after his grand slam homerun during the eighth inning of a game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Angel Stadium on August 27, 2018 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA – AUGUST 27: Ian Desmond #20, David Dahl #26, and Chris Iannetta #22 congratulate DJ LeMahieu #9 of the Colorado Rockies after his grand slam homerun during the eighth inning of a game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Angel Stadium on August 27, 2018 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

Colorado Rockies play-by-play broadcaster Drew Goodman made an interesting point during Colorado’s 9-8 Labor Day victory over the San Francisco Giants. He noted that the month of August could be broken up into three parts: Colorado’s slow 2-7 start to the month, followed by an 11-4 run, and then a disappointing 1-3 finish.

Overall, the Colorado Rockies completed the penultimate month of the 2018 regular season with a 14-14 record, good enough to keep them in the division race at 1.5 games back of first place.

August was a roller coaster ride for the Rockies, not unlike the rest of the regular season to this point. The Rockies’ .500 winning percentage was tied for sixth in the National League, and the club’s 14 wins were tied for the fifth. Ten of those 14 wins were in come-from-behind fashion, including three walk-offs. Would Rockies fans have liked to see a few more wins? Probably, but their .500 month kept them in the division race, which is crucial entering the final month of the regular season.

The story of the month, though, was the Rockies’ four-game road sweep of the first-place Atlanta Braves, which wrapped up a stretch of 46 straight games against teams north of .500. Colorado finished 30-16 during that span.

Let’s take a look at some pitching and hitting statistics that stood out from the month.

LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 30: Starting pitcher German Marquez #48 of the Colorado Rockies throws a pitch against Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Dodger Stadium on June 30, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 30: Starting pitcher German Marquez #48 of the Colorado Rockies throws a pitch against Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Dodger Stadium on June 30, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /

Pitchers of the Month

German Márquez was the Rockies’ best pitcher through the last 28 games, narrowly edging out Kyle Freeland’s 2.15 ERA with his own 2.14. In six starts, German pitched 42.0 innings and went 2-1, giving up just 10 runs (all earned) on 26 hits, good for a .176 batting against average. He struck out 53 hitters and walked just 10 (one intentional).

An honorable mention is deserved for Freeland, though. He continued his breakout campaign, going 3-1 in August and giving up just nine runs on 32 hits. He whiffed 42 hitters and walked 15.

Mr. Anderson

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Lefty Tyler Anderson had to fight tooth and nail through an extremely tough August, a month that saw him post an 11.39 ERA in 21.1 innings. He gave up 27 runs, all earned, on 35 hits, including nine homers. This is in stark contrast to his 2.16 ERA in 33.1 innings in July.

Again noted by the Rockies broadcast on Monday afternoon, when Anderson was missing his spots in his past handful of starts, he was missing in hittable locations up in the strike zone. Because he averages only 91.8 mph on his fastball this season according to baseballsavant.com, Anderson has to make up for his lack of velocity with pinpoint accuracy, something that simply eluded him.

He saw a step back in the right direction on Monday afternoon, as he threw 5.1 innings giving up just three runs on six hits and striking out seven, including two in the first inning, to beat the San Francisco Giants. He did not issue a walk.

Before Monday, his last victory came on July 4 when he threw eight shutout innings at home to beat the Giants.

Check Please

After a dismal road trip through the National League Central for Wade Davis to begin the month, he has since looked like the pitcher the Rockies were hoping he’d be when he cashed in on free agency last offseason.

Since giving up three earned runs in a third of an inning against the Dodgers on August 9, “Wader” has yielded just two hits and one walk against 13 strikeouts in nine innings. He’s also nailed down six saves during that span.

As the Rockies embark on these uncharted waters, they’re going to need Davis to continue to be rock-solid at the back of the bullpen.

MILWAUKEE, WI – AUGUST 04: Trevor Story #27 of the Colorado Rockies hits a two run home run during the fourth inning of a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on August 4, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI – AUGUST 04: Trevor Story #27 of the Colorado Rockies hits a two run home run during the fourth inning of a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on August 4, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

Gather ’round, kids! It’s Story time!

Trevor Story continued to rake in August, slashing .288/.328/.514 with an .841 OPS and a wRC+ of 109. He parked six homers and drove in 16 runs. He also swiped a historic 20th base.

Story is becoming one of the top shortstops in the National League, both offensively and defensively, and his development over the past two-plus seasons has been incredibly fun to watch.

Holliday Season

Perhaps the most exciting story of the season so far has been the return of Matt Holliday. Near the end of July, the Rockies brought Holliday back on a minor-league contract to see if the 38-year-old outfielder still had anything left in the tank.

He sure did.

After spending a couple of days with the Grand Junction Rockies to get back in the baseball rhythm, Holliday was promoted to Triple-A Albuquerque. In 15 games with the Isotopes, “Big Daddy” slashed .346/.452/.596 with a 1.048 OPS. He hit three homers and two doubles, and drove in 14 runs. He finally returned to the 20th and Blake on August 23, when the Rockies called him up for the last of a three-game series against the San Diego Padres. He went 0-for-3 in his first game back. However, two nights later, facing his former team, the St. Louis Cardinals, he made a pinch-hit appearance off the bench in the seventh inning of a scoreless game.

The result was right out of a Hollywood movie script. He crushed a hanging 0-1 breaking ball deep into the left field bleachers for his first Rockies homer in almost 10 years, not to mention giving his club a 1-0 lead.

Overall, Holliday is 8-for-21 with two RBI and two runs scored since being called up.

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Final Thoughts

As we reflect on August, it’s not a stretch to say the Rockies did exactly what they needed to do to stay in the playoff race. After a 9-8 Labor Day comeback win over the Giants, Colorado remained perfect at 3-0 in the month of September. The club is getting timely hitting to pick up their pitching staff in good and bad starts alike, and if this continues through a crucial homestand and one last killer road trip, look out. The Rockies are hungry, and they have their first division crown in their sights.

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