As the Denver area receives punishing hail from a brutal storm (caused by the collision of a cold front from the north and a blast of hot air from Mike Krukow's blathering maw), Rockies players and fans can only wait and see if tonight's game will be playable. But if conditions improve, it should be an interesting one.
Jhoulys Chacin does not look like the stud he was in 2013, not yet. His velocity is way down. He isn't inducing ground balls, his usual calling card (35% so far). He is walking more hitters than he is striking out. We are very concerned Dude.
But Chacin never had a Spring Training after getting shut down with shoulder issues, so hopefully his struggles have been mechanical or mental in nature. It's possible he just needs a little time before he gets back to firing those sinkers over the outside corner. Today would be a good day to start.
Matt Cain's descent into mediocrity has continued this year, as his ERA sits at a dumpy 4.33. The Rockies will look to get after him by trotting out their Opening Day lineup (with a few lineup positions switched). They haven't been able to do that for a long, long time. Cain owns a career 4.60 ERA at Coors Field, and in his last start at Denver he gave up seven earned runs.
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<h3>Today's Lineups</h3>
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<th align="left">SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS</th>
<th align="left">COLORADO ROCKIES</th>
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<tr><td class="td-last td-name">Angel Pagan - CF</td><td class="td-first td-name">C. Blackmon - CF</td></tr><tr><td class="td-last td-name">Hunter Pence - RF</td><td class="td-first td-name">Michael Cuddyer - RF</td></tr><tr><td class="td-last td-name">Pablo Sandoval - 3B</td><td class="td-first td-name">Troy Tulowitzki - SS</td></tr><tr><td class="td-last td-name">Mike Morse - 1B</td><td class="td-first td-name">Carlos Gonzalez - LF</td></tr><tr><td class="td-last td-name">Hector Sanchez - C</td><td class="td-first td-name">Nolan Arenado - 3B</td></tr><tr><td class="td-last td-name">Tyler Colvin - LF</td><td class="td-first td-name">Justin Morneau - 1B</td></tr><tr><td class="td-last td-name">Brandon Hicks - 2B</td><td class="td-first td-name">Wilin Rosario - C</td></tr><tr><td class="td-last td-name">B. Crawford - SS</td><td class="td-first td-name">DJ LeMahieu - 2B</td></tr><tr><td class="td-last td-name">Matt Cain - RHP</td><td class="td-first td-name">Jhoulys Chacin - RHP</td></tr></tbody>
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Buster Posey will miss his second straight game due to nerve issues. Can't complain about that. However, Angel Pagan is back in the Giants lineup and he has arguably been their best player so far.
Carlos Gonzalez is a horrendous 4 for 44 against Cain in his career (all singles). One might consider this a good night to give him an day off and rest his balky knee, yet Walt Weiss has him slotted right back in the cleanup spot. Personally, I love the vote of confidence. 52 plate appearances is starting to push the bounds of small sample size, but if Cargo has a good day against Cain today it could provide a wonderful psychological boost for everyone involved. Sometimes you just have to let your horses run.
Of course, this is all predicated on the game actually happening, which it probably won't if a tornado rips through 20th and Blake. Giants fans would probably blame the Rockies for summoning the storm to blow their fly balls over the fence anyway.