At the end of the 2020 season I took a look at how the various rule changes the league implemented for the year impacted the Rockies. While almost none of the new rules helped the Rockies, the fact that they only played one double-header all year meant it was mostly irrelevant (although they did lose both games to the Diamondbacks giving up 15 runs across two 7-inning games.)
This year we’ve got a larger sample size, but the Rockies are going to be happy that Rob Manfred is getting rid of the 7-inning double header after this season. Following yesterday’s split with the Chicago Cubs, the Rockies own a 4-8 record in the shortened affairs. The .333 winning percentage on days they play 14 innings is well behind their .452 clip on the year.
In those games the Rockies have given up 62 runs while only scoring 40. They hit rock bottom at the end of May when they played in back-to-back doubleheaders. First, they dropped a pair to the New York Mets scoring just two runs total. Two days later, they posted a pair of zeroes against the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates who beat them 7-0 in the afternoon matchup and 4-0 later on that evening. It won’t come as a surprise to you that all four of those games came on the road during a seven game trip to the east coast.
The Rockies have had three doubleheaders at Coors Field this season and came away with a slightly better 3-3 record. On all three occasions, the Rockies won a game and lost another. The two-gamer against the San Francisco Giants on May 4 did a number on their run-differential as they got torched for a 12-4 loss in game one. Game two gave the Rockies the opportunity to redeem themselves with a nice 8-6 victory.
The 71-91 Rockies of 2019 played their way to a relatively similar winning percentage as this year’s edition so I decided to take a look at how the team did then when doubleheaders meant eighteen innings of baseball in a single day–at a minimum. While we’re victims of a small sample size once again, the results from 2019 were uglier than anything I touched on above.
The 2019 Rockies went 0-4 in their two days of doubleheader baseball that year dropping two games to the Washington Nationals by a combined score of 5-2 and another pair to the Giants. A day you might remember as a result of just how bad it was. San Francisco clobbered the Rockies for a 19-2 victory in game one making the 2-1 loss in the evening seem like a moral victory of sorts. Not a great sign that the Rockies only scored five runs in 36 innings of baseball. The Giants wouldn’t have needed to score 19 to win handily that day.
It’s possible that the Rockies are destined to struggle in doubleheaders whether they’re 7-innings or 9-innings, but it’s a lot more likely that all of this is just a matter of chance. At least I’ll assume that until I get my hands on a bit more data and the Rockies grab a few more wins to even this out.
★ ★ ★
2021 MLB Playoffs: Wild Card, World Series, Full Postseason Dates Announced | Bleacher Report
The Rockies are all but certain to miss out on the playoffs this year–barring a September miracle–but the playoffs always make their way onto my television no matter who’s taking the field. After MLB’s announcement yesterday with the full postseason schedule, we’re now able to mark our calendars to make sure we don’t miss a minute.
Here are some key dates:
AL wild card game: October 5
NL wild card game: October 6
World Series game 1: October 26
Projecting the 5 Worst MLB Teams Next Season | Bleacher Report
To be a supporter of the Rockies, one is required to develop a masochistic tendency for their baseball fandom. That streak of mine led me to this article, knowing that the only thing I could find on the other end of the link was something that would make me sad about the franchise.
Boy did it do that...and then some.
I’ll leave you with this quote from the article and then let you find out where they landed in this “top” 5:
“The Rockies are the only team on this list that can’t really be considered a rebuilding team because that would mean the club was making moves with an eye toward improvement.”
On the farm
Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats 3, Harrisburg Senators 2
Things got a little hairy for the boys from Hartford last night as a ninth inning rally by the Senators brought them within a run before reliever Nate Grip came in to get the final out. The Yard Goats were flying with three runs in the first two innings before thing settled down the rest of the way while Hartford’s starter Matt Dennis dominated for seven innings of one hit, no run baseball. With the win, the Yard Goats improved to 32-64 on the season.
High-A: Spokane Indians 1, Everett AquaSox 8
One tough inning was all it took to sink the Spokane Indians on Thursday night–after falling behind 1-0 in the second, the third inning was where things really went downhill for Spokane. Starter Mitchell Kilkenny only managed one out in the frame while giving up six runs to end his night early. The bullpen held things down surrendering just one run across 5.2 innings the rest of the way, but the offense couldn’t get enough going to piece together a comeback.
Low-A: Modesto Nuts 6, Fresno Grizzlies 3
Despite falling behind 2-0 in the first, the Fresno Grizzlies quickly bounced back with two first inning runs of their own before a four-run third inning by the Modesto Nuts tilted this one in their favor permanently. Grizzlies starter Anderson Amarista struggled through 2.2 innings giving up seven hits, four walks, and six runs before getting the hook. The bullpen was a bright spot in the following innings tossing 6.1 frames of shutout ball. Unfortunately, the bats went relatively quietly squeaking across just one run the rest of the way.
★ ★ ★
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