Rockies vs. D-Backs: Rox drop 2 close games in an entertaining series loss

The Positives

The starting pitching was really good this series. After an incredibly rough start to the season, Rockies starters went 17 innings and only seven earned runs this series for a collective ERA of 3.70. For Kyle Freeland and Cal Quantrill who have endured two tough starts each to start their respective season as the assumed top pitchers in the rotation, putting together solid outings must be a relief, especially at home.

Victor Vodnik had another clean inning, raising his scoreless inning streak to 8.2 to start the season. Along with Peter Lambert’s two scoreless innings in the Monday win, Vodnik and Lambert have provided quality appearances with multi-inning length if needed.

Ryan McMahon continues to rake, with three hits in game one of the series and three walks in the finale. Brenton Doyle had three hits in the series and has looked like more than just a defensive specialist to start the season. Having a solid offensive catcher is a rare blessing in today’s MLB, and Elias Diaz just so happens to be one of those guys. With three more hits in the series, he raised his batting average to .324 on the year.

The Negatives

Nolan Jones, where are you? A 1-12 performance and rough start to the season has the Rockies brightest bright spot dropping in the batting order and to a .157 average to begin the season. Kris Bryant had only one hit on the series, bringing his average to an .100 with a .409 OPS.

Jake Bird gave up the lead in the seventh inning of Wednesday’s game that ultimately ended up costing the Rockies the game and series win. Bird has been up and down so far this season with a 5.83 ERA in eight innings pitched.  The bullpen continues to struggle at finishing the job.