Big 4 hitters feeling big chill
MILWAUKEE» When the Rockies’ offense stinks worse than the smell of boiling wort emanating inside the various breweries in downtown Milwaukee, it’s hard not to point fingers at the usual suspects.
And those usual suspects — Colorado’s offensive core of Nolan Arenado, D.J. LeMahieu, Charlie Blackmon and Trevor Story — have been frustratingly lackluster in the playoffs so far. The foursome has largely scuffled offensively through three playoff games while looking like they, amid the October tension the club had worked so hard to feel, could use some of those Milwaukee suds to ease the nerves.
Through the Rockies’ 21, extrainnings wild card win over the Cubs, as well as the first two losses of the National League division series at Miller Park, the Rockies’ leading bats have gone cold, unable to match strong performances by the Colorado pitching staff.
It’s a nightmare scenario for Colorado, which has four starters and a handful of relievers peaking (or close to it) at the perfect time, only to see those efforts wasted by the unpredictably vaunted Rockies offense.
“It’s on us,” Arenado admitted after the Rockies did nothing to support Tyler Anderson’s strong outing in Game 2. “We have to be better than that.”
Arenado, despite a pair of singles Friday to record his first career multihit postseason game, is still searching for his second playoff home run after recording his first in Colorado’s wildcard loss to Arizona last season.
“It feels good to get a couple hits, but at the same time, it doesn’t really matter in the playoffs,” Arenado said. “It’s all about the bigtime moments, and you have to be able to do something in them. I wasn’t able to do it today.”
The third baseman is 3for12 with five strikeouts in the 2018 postseason, including a pair of Ks in Game 2.
Meanwhile, Story is hitting like a shell of the MVP candidate he emerged as throughout a torrid second half. The shortstop is 3for14 with six strikeouts and often seemed lost at the plate at Miller Park, consistently out of balance on his front foot and chasing breaking balls in the dirt. His three hits came in the wildcard game.
LeMahieu (2for12 with a couple walks) and Blackmon (1for15) haven’t fared better as the Colorado offense, stymied by the Brewers’ bullpen effort Thursday and former Rockies starter Jhoulys Chacin on Friday, have settled into a disturbing Rocktober routine of making the opposition’s one or tworun lead feel larger than the scoreboard shows.