ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Colorado looks to shake woes
On May 23, 2019, the Washington Nationals were 19-31. In October, they swept St. Louis in the National League Championship Series before beating Houston in seven games to win the World Series.
“Often, bumpy roads lead to beautiful places,” manager Dave Martinez said.
The Rockies sure hope the Nats’ philosopher/manager was right, because their road has been bumpier than the one atop Colorado’s Blanca Peak.
As the Rockies open a sixgame road trip Tuesday night at Miami, their ineptitude away from Coors Field has been extraordinary:
• A 4-22 record, the worst in MLB. That’s a .154 winning percentage. A check of baseball history reveals that the worst road record in a 162-game season belongs to the 1963 Mets and the 2010 Pirates (both 1764, .210).
• The Rockies have been outscored 131-63. They are hitting .197. For the record, the lowest team batting average on the road since 1901 belongs to the 1908 Philadelphia Athletics, who hit .203.
• They have hit just 12 road home runs. The Pirates, who rank 29th in road homers, have
22. The Giants have launched 56 road homers, more than 4½ times as many as Colorado.
• Colorado is averaging 2.4 runs per game. Toss out its 14run extravaganza May 1 at Arizona and it has averaged 1.9.
• The Rockies have a .273 onbase percentage and .563 OPS, both the lowest in the majors, by far.
• They have been shut out 10 times already this season, all on the road. That’s a big-league record for road shutouts through the first 60 games of a season.
Rockies manager Bud Black has tried to stay positive, as has interim general manager Bill Schmidt.
“We’ve got to keep teaching and keep coaching,” Black said. “Try to coach all these young guys up and encourage them to keep fighting, and keep battling, and keep learning.”
Added Schmidt: “Yes, it’s about learning, but it’s also about learning how to execute.”
That’s particularly true when it comes to clutch hitting on the road. The Rockies will enter Tuesday night’s game hitting .178 with runners in scoring position.
“I don’t think there is a formula for (fixing) this,” said third baseman Joshua Fuentes, who is slashing .155/.211/.197 with just one RBI in 26 games away from LoDo. “Guys just have to play well. I just think that’s what it comes down to. You can do all the preparing you want, and use the (pitching) machine.
“But at the end of the day, it just comes down to if you’re playing well. And for some reason, it just seems that we never play well on the road.”
The Rockies’ road to ruin, however, is not just about bad offense. While Rockies starters have posted a 3.44 ERA in 34 home games this year, they have a 5.58 road ERA.
Celebrity softball game . Get ready to witness Larry Walker and Vinny Castilla relive their Colorado Rockies glory days at Coors Field.
The former Rockies were two of 19 participants announced by MLB Monday (see list) for its annual celebrity softball game as part of All-Star week festivities in Denver. The game is set for July 11 with final rosters announced at a later date.