Colorado Rockies: 3 things to watch against the Cincinnati Reds

The Colorado Rockies open their first series of the second half on Friday night when they take on the Cincinnati Reds at Coors Field.

Coming into the series 44-45 on the season, the Colorado Rockies will be looking for a spark to start what they hope will be a run at a third consecutive postseason appearance. However, Cincinnati comes into Denver hoping to hop into the thick of the National League Wild Card race as well. The Reds (41-46) are just two games behind the Rockies in the Wild Card standings, 4.5 games out of the second Wild Card spot.

One of the strengths of the Reds? An overall 3.77 ERA, the third-lowest total in all of Major League Baseball. Of course, we know what can happen to ERAs when a team comes to Coors Field. Just ask Hyun-Jin Ryu and Walker Buehler what happened when the Los Angeles Dodgers last visited Denver.

Pitching matchups for the series are as follows…

Friday: Cincinnati RHP Sonny Gray vs. Colorado RHP Jon Gray

Saturday: Cincinnati RHP Tanner Roark vs. Colorado TBA (although it’s expected to be Kyle Freeland according to a report from Kyle Newman of The Denver Post)

Sunday: Cincinnati RHP Tyler Mahle vs. Colorado RHP Antonio Senzatela

Both teams will be rested and ready. Both teams think they still have a shot at reaching the postseason. With those things in mind, here are three things we will be watching as the Reds and Rockies slug it out for three days in LoDo.