Yes, the Colorado Rockies are pitching better at home than on the road

Drastic home and away splits are nothing new for the Colorado Rockies. But thus far, an underwhelming 2021 season has presented some truly head-scratching results for Rockies’ pitchers. They are pitching better at Coors Field than they are away from Coors. Much, much better, in fact.

There are some shocking numbers when it comes to the Colorado Rockies pitching at Coors Field.

As a team, their home ERA of 4.56 is more than a run lower than their road ERA of 5.58. That is unusual considering the Rockies play in what is widely recognized as one of — if not the —greatest hitters’ park in the game.

But those numbers include the bullpen. If you look at only the starters’ ERA, the gap grows considerably. At home, the Rockies actually have one of the better starting staffs in baseball. Their 3.40 home ERA is ninth in all of baseball. However, on the road, their starters drop to 29th with a 6.30 ERA. That is a difference of almost three runs.

Nearly every arm in the rotation has been affected by this unusual split. Staff ace Jon Gray has a 2.00 ERA at home but a 6.89 on the road. Chi Chi Gonzalez has a 2.12 ERA at home and a 6.20 on the road. Austin Gomber has a 1.88 ERA at home and a 6.39 on the road. Antonio Senzatela has a 4.46 ERA at home and an 8.59 ERA on the road. Only German Marquez has a better road ERA (4.60 versus 4.91).

The Rockies bullpen has been better on the road (4.50) than at home (6.35), but both splits are bad. In contrast, what’s so striking about the starters’ splits is that they are actually very good at home but somehow very bad on the road. The fact that those great home numbers are coming at Coors Field only adds to the peculiarity of this split.

More from Colorado Rockies News

• Colorado Rockies: Charlie Blackmon out for the season
• Colorado Rockies: Injuries shift look of roster ahead of Dodgers series
• Colorado Rockies: 3 things we appreciated from Tuesday in San Francisco
• What Bill Schmidt’s comments mean for the Colorado Rockies in 2023
• Colorado Rockies podcast: What to make of Bill Schmidt’s comments

It’s no secret that the Rockies can’t buy a win on the road this season. They only have two on the whole year, despite being over .500 at home. And the offense hasn’t helped, posting a 29th-ranked road batting average of .209 compared to a .268 home batting average. That is the best in the National League.

But as drastic and unfortunate as the offensive splits may be, at least they make sense. Coors is a notorious hitters’ park. The fact that four-fifths of Rockies starters have ERAs that are four runs lower at home is mind-boggling.

This team has spent a quarter-century trying to master pitching at home. In 2021, they finally figured it out … but seem to have forgotten how to pitch on the road along the way.