Rockies vs. Astros: Rox Drop Both Games in Mexico

The Positives

Another series where there aren’t many positives to draw from. Ryan McMahon hit his fourth home run of the year this series, providing half of the Rockies offense in game one. Brenton Doyle had a hit in each of the games, giving him a respectable seven game hitting streak. Jacob Stallings went 1-2 in his lone start. Stallings has been a solid addition off the bench thus far, hitting .320 in limited at bats.

Despite taking the loss, Austin Gomber was able to battle through seven innings, giving the Rockies some length despite not having his best stuff. After a couple rough outings, Nick Mears had a much-needed clean outing on Sunday. Jalen Beeks continues to be superb this season, lodging two more scoreless innings on Saturday and dropping his ERA to 1.93. Despite a lack of swing and miss in his arsenal, Beeks has found success in limiting hard hit balls and keep the ball on the ground. A veteran lefty, Beeks could be a trade candidate the Rockies could capitalize on later in the season. Finally, Anthony Molina was able to finish out the top of the ninth after Tyler Kinley exited in game one. After Molina’s nightmare start to his career, it’s nice to see him begin to get comfortable in the major leagues. 

The Negatives

Starting pitching was rough. 10 earned runs in 12 innings between Quantrill and Gomber is a big hole to climb out of. Tyler Kinley’s struggles continued as he allowed four runs, four hits and two walks in 0.1 innings in game one, raising his season ERA to 13.06. Not what the Rockies were hoping to get out of a presumed back end of the bullpen guy. Victor Vodnik gave up two runs in his single inning of work on Saturday. On a positive swing, Vodnik has given up runs in just two of his 12 appearances this year, so there isn’t necessarily a major concern after the outing.

Ezequiel Tovar had just one hit in the series including a four-strikeout game on Saturday. Tovar’s season stats still look great, but he has cooled off a bit, dropping his average to .284. Hunter Goodman had a tough game one of the series, going 0-3 with three strikeouts, something he needs to improve upon if he is going to stick at the major league level this season. The Rockies also sacrificed two home games to get shelled by the Astros in Mexico City, so that’s nice. 

Coors Crown: Nolan Jones

There weren’t many standouts from a two-game series where the Rockies were swept in fairly uncompetitive fashion. I’ll give the nod to Nolan Jones. It’s been a tough year for Jones thus far, hitting only .170 with a single home run. With sky high expectations coming into the year, it’s been disappointing for Jones and Rockies fans to say the least. However, Jones turned in a nice little series, hitting .500 (3-6) including going 2-4 with a walk on Saturday. The numbers are still going to take a while to recover, but hopefully a good couple of games can provide a moral victory and begin to turn Jones’ season around.

Rockiest Rocky: Jake Bird

The pitching was really rough in these two games. While Tyler Kinley had a very similar, if not worse, stat line as Bird, Kinley was pitching in a six-run game. Bird has been fairly solid thus far, so down by only two runs Bud Black called on the right hander to keep them in the game and give the Rox a chance to rally in their last two at bats. Instead, the wheels fell off for Bird, who gave up four runs in just 0.2 innings of work. By the time the book closed on Bird, it was an 8-2 ballgame, and any chances of a rally were seemingly lost. This Rockies bullpen has been incredibly inconsistent, likely contributing to their poor start. If this season is to turn around, Jake Bird and the bullpen will have to turn in better outings and keep things from spiraling in close games. 

Stat Pack

Offensive Highlights: 

Sean Bouchard: 1-3, 1 RBI, (series); .286 AVG, 1 RBI, .804 OPS(season totals)

Ryan McMahon: 2-6, 1 HR, 2 RBI; .308 AVG, 4 HR, .859 OPS

Brenton Doyle: 2-8, 2 R; .323 AVG, 18 R, .873 OPS

Pitching Highlights: 

Austin Gomber: 7 IP, 4 ER, 2 K (series); 4.50 ERA, 32 IP, 22 K (season totals)

Nick Mears: 1.1 IP, 0 ER; 4.50 ERA, 12 IP, 13 K

Cal Quantrill: 5 IP, 6 ER, 2 K; 5.34 ERA, 32 IP, 17 K

Jalen Beeks: 2 IP, 0 ER, 1 K; 1.93 ERA, 14 IP, 9 K

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