ROCKIES’ OFFENSE STILL ICY IN LOSS AT MIAMI
The question was straightforward: Was the Rockies’ awful offensive performance in the three-game series here an aberration, or is it chronic problem that must be fixed going forward?
“We just didn’t swing the bats here, this series,” manager Bud Black said Sunday, deftly sidestepping the bigger issue after the Rockies were blanked 3-0 by a Marlins team with a 9-18 record. “There is not much more you can say about it. We just didn’t swing the bats well.”
Then Black praised the work of Miami’s bullpen throughout the series and tipped his cap to left-handed starter Caleb Smith, who on Sunday limited the Rockies to two hits and struck out nine over seven innings. Smith, by the way, entered the game 0-3 with a 5.82 ERA.
Marlins pitchers have held opponents to two or fewer runs in seven consecutive games, and one or fewer runs in six straight. That includes the three games vs. the punchless Rockies.
Colorado won the first game 1-0 on Friday night, with relief pitcher Antonio Senzatela driving in the only run. Miami won Saturday’s game 4-1 with Charlie
Blackmon’s homer accounting for Colorado’s lone run. Then came Sunday’s affair in which the Rockies managed just four hits and struck out 14 times.
“I don’t think it’s time to panic, by any means,” said starter Chad Bettis, whose seven-inning, tworun performance went to waste Sunday. “We can bang it out with the best of them.”
But not at Marlins Park, where the Rockies almost always struggle. Over the course of the weekend’s three-game series, the Rockies scored just two runs. It was their worst-ever offensive performance at the South Florida ballpark, but not the only time their bats were silenced here. On June 11-13, 2015, Miami held the Rockies to one or zero runs in all three games.
So maybe it really is funky blueand-green Marlins Park that does a number on the Rockies. After all, following a 1-for-4 outing Sunday, all-star third baseman Nolan Arenado is batting .192 in 20 games at the Fish Bowl.
Then again, Colorado’s offensive woes have been a season-long affliction. The club is batting .224, ahead of only the Marlins in the National League, and its .300 on-base percentage ranks 12th in the NL.
“It’s tough to say what’s going on right now, but we are definitely a better hitting team than we have been playing (like) lately,” said shortstop Trevor Story, who saw his seven-game hitting streak halted Sunday. “We have to get some runs on the board, especially the way Bettis pitched today.”
The good news for the Rockies, as they head to Chicago for a three-game series against the Cubs beginning Monday, is that despite their minus-24 run differential, they still sit a game above .500 (15-14).
“I think that’s a mark of a good team,” Story said. “If you are not playing your best on both sides of the ball and still finding ways to win, I think that says a lot about our team.”
Footnotes. Left-hander Chris Rusin threw a bullpen session prior to Sunday’s game and got two thumbs up from head trainer Keith Dugger. It was the first time Rusin pitched off a mound since going on the 10-day disabled list last Monday with a right intercostal muscle strain. Rusin is eligible to come off the disabled list on Wednesday. “We’re really optimistic about his return when his DL stint is up,” Black said. … Second baseman DJ LeMahieu was out of the starting lineup for the second consecutive game after leaving Friday’s win with right hamstring tightness. He’s getting better, but he’s not yet ready to play. The Rockies hope he can avoid a stint on the DL. … Right fielder Carlos Gonzalez (right hamstring) will likely come off the DL on Monday or Tuesday.