Colorado Rockies: 3 things we learned from the Diamondbacks series

After an unexpected postponement on Thursday afternoon as players protested social injustice, the four-game series between the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks was shortened by a game with the Rockies sweeping all three games of the series.

The Colorado Rockies swept their postponement-shortened three-game series over Arizona Diamondbacks raising their record to 16-15. It is the first series win in their last six chances after starting off the season winning a franchise-record five in a row.

Since the two teams did not play the final game, here are three things we learned from the three-game series against the Diamondbacks.

Nolan Arenado is heating up

After sitting out the final game of the Dodgers’ series on Sunday, Nolan Arenado is finally looking like the player we have come to expect. For the series, Arenado was 5-for-11 (including three doubles) with 4 RBI and three runs scored.

It was a rough first half of the season for Arenado. For the Rockies to stay in playoff contention, they will need their All-Star third baseman to play accordingly.

RISP is a work in progress

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The critical clutch hit with runners in scoring position continues to be elusive. The Rockies did get the big hit with Charlie Blackmon‘s grand slam in the eighth on Wednesday to give them a much needed cushion in what would become an 8-7 victory but those types of hits have been few and far between.

In the series with RISP, the Rockies were 9-for-37 (.243) and had left an unacceptable 28 runners on base. Had they gotten one extra hit per game in these situations, a ton of pressure would have been lifted from an already stressed out bullpen that got into some late trouble on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Starting pitching was excellent

From Ryan Castellani‘s first career victory on Monday to Jon Gray‘s best start of the season, the Rockies received three solid outings from their starting staff.

In the three games, the trio of Castellani, Germán Márquez, and Gray pitched a combined 17 innings, giving up six earned runs on 12 hits, striking out 13 and walking nine. The bullpen did make things interesting on Tuesday and Wednesday night, but the starting staff put them in prime position to come out with a win and that is all you can ask from the Rockies’ starters.

The Rockies head back to Coors Field for a six-game homestand Friday night, with a four-game series against the San Diego Padres followed by a two-game set against the San Francisco Giants. Game one against the Padres is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. (Mountain time). With the postponement on Thursday, the probable starters are unclear.