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Colorado Rockies: Three things we have noticed on this road trip

By Kevin Henry |
BOSTON, MA - MAY 14: Seventeen "K" signs are hung up in the eighth inning for Chris Sale's (not pictured) #41 of the Boston Red Sox career high strikeouts against the Colorado Rockies at Fenway Park on May 14, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Kathryn Riley /Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - MAY 14: Seventeen "K" signs are hung up in the eighth inning for Chris Sale's (not pictured) #41 of the Boston Red Sox career high strikeouts against the Colorado Rockies at Fenway Park on May 14, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Kathryn Riley /Getty Images)
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BOSTON, MA – MAY 14: Charle Blackmon #19 and Raimel Tapia #15 celebrate with teammate Ryan McMahon #24 of the Colorado Rockies after beating the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on May 14, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Kathryn Riley /Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – MAY 14: Charle Blackmon #19 and Raimel Tapia #15 celebrate with teammate Ryan McMahon #24 of the Colorado Rockies after beating the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on May 14, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Kathryn Riley /Getty Images) /

For the Colorado Rockies, this road trip has been odd from a scheduling standpoint. It’s also had a few other anomalies mixed in there as well, both good and bad for the team.

The Colorado Rockies got an off day in Boston before splitting a two-game series against the Red Sox. They then had an off day in Philadelphia before suffering a sweep at the hands of the Phillies. On Monday, the Rockies will have a day off in Pittsburgh before starting a three-game series against the Pirates.

Colorado has a 1-4 record on this road trip, winning the first game in Boston in extra innings before dropping their next four to fall to 20-25 on the season. That elusive .500 mark, that the Rockies haven’t seen since the fourth game of the campaign when leaving Miami after a four-game series with the Marlins, is becoming further and further away.

There have been a few things stand out on this road trip so far. Here are three that are making a big impact in our eyes.

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Entering Sunday’s game in Philadelphia, the Colorado Rockies were fourth in Major League Baseball with 435 strikeouts on the season. In 44 games, that’s very close to averaging 10 strikeouts per game. It’s no coincidence with the high strikeout rate that the Rockies are also in MLB’s bottom third in on-base percentage (.308).

The Ks have hit a high gear since the Rockies left Denver and headed on this current road trip. They overcame 24 strikeouts to win in extra innings in Boston and but couldn’t overcome 13 Ks in  Saturday’s loss in Philadelphia. In all, the Rockies have now struck out 66 times over 49 innings on the current road trip.

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When we talked to Rockies hitting coach Dave Magadan (article link) during spring training and asked him how he was going to help boost Colorado’s offense this season, one of his answers was that the Rockies had to get better offensively on the road. Well, we’re seeing in this series that that hasn’t happened just yet … and the strikeout is a big part of that.

By the way, heading into Sunday, each of Colorado’s last four losses had been by one run (over a six-game span). That matched their longest such streak since September of 2012. On Sunday, they lost by two runs. Maybe putting the ball in play more would help with those close losses. Just a thought.

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We have talked a few times, including this article, about Kyle Freeland‘s struggles this season. Those have once again been on display during his two starts on this road trip.

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In Tuesday’s start in Boston, Freeland gave up three home runs, the second time this month he has surrendered three homers in a start. He did complete six innings and recorded a Game Score of 54, tied for his third-highest Game Score of the season … so there’s the positive side of it.

But the positives dried up quickly after that.

On Sunday in Philadelphia, Freeland had the shortest non-injury outing of his career, lasting just 1.2 innings as he gave up four hits and three earned runs and threw just 65 pitches. The outing saw his ERA grow to 6.02 on the season, one year after finishing fourth in the National League Cy Young voting.

This season, 28 of the 35 runs (and 10 of the 12 home runs) Freeland has allowed have come in the first three innings of the game. That means the Rockies are often battling from behind with Freeland on the mound this season, and that’s not a good sign on any level.

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With Brendan Rodgers being called up on Friday night, the Rockies gave their fans a taste of the future. But Ryan McMahon was quick to remind fans on Sunday that he’s a big part of the future as well.

McMahon hit a pair of home runs in Sunday’s loss to boost his average to .260 on the season. We talked in this article about how Rodgers may take up some of McMahon’s time on the field but we also believe that the Rockies are a potentially better team when McMahon and Rodgers share the field. Hopefully we’ll get to see that in Pittsburgh.

In the spring, McMahon nudged out Garrett Hampson, Pat Valaika and, yes, even Rodgers to win the second base job. Now it seems that McMahon is right back in that same position, battling for his spot at second base with Rodgers getting the call-up.

Next. Which prospect could be the next one to be called up?. dark

McMahon had a pinch-hit double on Saturday before hitting the two homers on Sunday. Don’t be surprised if RyMac plays with a bit of a chip on his shoulder after being thrust back into a battle for playing time. That chip could help not only McMahon gain more playing time but also help Colorado’s lineup overall.

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