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.

How a rested bullpen fares

It seems like forever since Father’s Day weekend when the Rockies and Padres put up historic numbers at Coors Field. However, that series was not only eye-popping in terms of offensive numbers but also what those numbers did to the Rockies bullpen.

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Flash back to the Friday game of that series when Colorado was seemingly cruising to a win over the Padres with an 11-5 lead heading into the ninth inning. Mike Dunn enters the game in what looks like mop-up duty and proceeds to give up four runs while recording just one out as San Diego rallied with six runs in the top of the frame to tie the game. Three other pitchers would have to be used after that (including Scott Oberg throwing two innings) as the Rockies lost 16-12 in 12 innings.

Colorado’s bullpen would seemingly never recover after that, which would be Dunn’s last outing before being designated for assignment.. Colorado’s bullpen struggled to find its rhythm as different pitchers were unavailable for Bud Black to use throughout the rest of the first half.

That series would also signify a downward trend for Bryan Shaw, who would give up at least one run in five of his last seven outings before the All-Star break.

How tough has it been for the Rockies bullpen at home lately? On July 3, Chad Bettis, Jairo Díaz and Wade Davis combined to log four scoreless innings against Houston. That marked the first time the Colorado bullpen had tossed at least three scoreless innings at home since June 2 against Toronto.

Can Colorado’s now-rested bullpen shut down the Reds in the late innings? The answer to that question could provide a big clue to how the Rockies fare in the three-game set.

Antonio Senzatela’s Sunday start

All eyes will be on Kyle Freeland as he reportedly will be back for Saturday’s start. However, we’re going to be watching what happens on the mound for the Rockies in Sunday’s matinee series finale.

Antonio Senzatela has yet to find consistency this season since returning to the Rockies rotation on April 15. As an example, he went 4-1 with a 3.44 ERA in six June starts yet was shelled for seven runs in 4.1 innings in Colorado’s series opener in Arizona on July 5.

At home this season, Senzatela’s ERA is nearly a run higher (5.87) than what he is logging away from Coors Field (4.88).

I recently asked Senzatela about his mentality regarding pitching at Coors Field.

“We’re here a lot and it’s hard to pitch here,” the 24-year-old right-hander told me. “We know it’s hard. The ball can fly. But it’s our park. We need to be able to make our pitches here and get out of jams. I have that in my mind, knowing I have to make good pitches when I pitch here.”

The Rockies need for Senzatela to make good pitches (on Sunday and the rest of the season) if the back end of the rotation is going to become a strength rather than a question mark for Colorado.