Of Colorado's starting pitchers, Juan Nicasio has been the only one to impress so far. That he is even pitching at all of course is a miracle, but to see him pitch so well against Houston was an inspirational sight. Today, he'll be taking the mound at Coors field for the first time since his injury -- and I'll be there cheering him and the Rockies on. That just increased Colorado's chances of winning considerably. For instance, during the terrible year that was 2011 Colorado was 7-1 when I was in attendance -- and I have similar records in prior years.
The Diamondbacks are in town, and that means the Rockies will be facing Daniel Hudson.
Hudson, who was acquired from the White Sox in 2009 in return for Edwin Jackson, was worth 2.6 rWAR last year on the mound, making himself a valuable pitching asset. In addition to that, Hudson was worth another 0.7 rWAR batting in 2011, hitting .277/.309/.369 with 14 RBI and winning the Silver Slugger for pitchers. Hudson's got a career 39.5% GB rate, so if the Rockies can turn a few more of those flyballs into extra base hits or homers they'll be set.
Meanwhile Juan Nicasio, in addition to being inspirational also happens to be a pretty good pitcher. Against Houston he went 7 innings, allowing 1 run on 5 hits with 4 punchouts. He was controlling his stuff well and throwing with easy velocity. I'm excited to see what he can do against a major league line-up tonight.
This has the look of a solid game and a fun series, weather permitting:
Go Rockies!