Confident Rockies go east for major road test, starting with St. Louis - The Denver Post
St. Louis is the first stop for the Colorado Rockies on a grueling nine-game road trip that sees them also travel to Pittsburgh and Boston in the next week and a half. Long road trips east have generally been bad news for the Rockies, especially against teams of the caliber of the Cardinals, Pirates and Red Sox. However, the Rockies say they are better-prepared for the trip this season, referencing their 11-8 road record in 2016, among other things in this article by Patrick Saunders.
One large factor to consider for the Rockies in the road in 2016 is their pitching. Rockies pitchers have a 3.45 ERA and 11 quality starts away from home, which means they are doing generally enough to keep the team in the game. Colorado has also improved offensively away from Coors Field, with their 4.9 runs per game on the road ranking fifth in the National League.
This road trip will cap a stretch of 19 of 25 games on the road for the Rockies, who have gone 10-6 in the first 16 in that run of games, so even a 3-6 road trip would leave them at 13-12 during arguably their toughest stretch of the 2016 season.
Pitcher Chad Bettis developing with Rockies | MLB.com
Getting the first start of the nine-game road trip for the Rockies is right-hander Chad Bettis, who has become a staple in the Colorado rotation. Bettis has a 4.56 ERA in eight starts this season. Bettis talked to Thomas Harding about consistently improving and becoming a leader for a young Rockies pitching staff.
Since his return to the starting rotation in 2015, Bettis has a 4.33 ERA in 164⅓ innings after posting a 6.88 ERA in 69⅓ innings and eight starts and 29 relief appearances in his first two big league seasons. He credits much of his improvement to good self-evaluation and adaptability, two thing that will benefit any pitcher at Coors Field.