Philadelphia Phillies Weekend Preview: Colorado Rockies

The Philadelphia Phillies’ series against the Colorado Rockies is set to be a an entertaining one.

All of a sudden, the Philadelphia Phillies are good again! A couple of weeks ago, it appeared as if the early season magic was long gone, and Phillies fans were doomed to suffer from another long, losing season. But the team has surprisingly undergone a recent resurgence and has found a way to regain their winning ways.

Colorado Rockies

Record: 38-45 (3rd in National League West)

Manager: Jeff Bridich

The last time they met

In May 2015, the Rockies came to Philadelphia for a three-game series and won all three games. The Rockies beat the Phillies two best starters (Cole Hamels and Aaron Harang) in the first two games of the series, and it was up to Jerome Williams to prevent a sweep. Unsurprisingly, he failed. The Phillies’ bats were silent for most of the series, scoring a total of four runs.

What’s the deal with the Rockies

It isn’t a huge surprise to see the Rockies among the National League leaders in runs scored. The thin Colorado air has always been a boon for offense. They are the NL’s best slugging team, and as a result, they are third in the league in runs scored.

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It is also customary to see the Rockies among the worst teams in run prevention, and sure enough, their team ERA is 14th in the NL. Their starters have been particularly bad, as Tyler Chatwood is the only member of the rotation with an ERA under 4.00.

Reason to hate the Rockies

Since the teams traded NLDS wins last decade, there hasn’t been much of a rivalry between the teams, but they do employ reliever Chad Qualls, and memories of his dreadful stint with the Phillies in 2012 is enough to spark some bad feelings.

Rockies player who isn’t entirely horrible

Third baseman Nolan Arenado led the National League with 42 home runs in 2015, and he is on pace to surpass that total this year. His 69 RBI and 186 total bases lead the league, and inflated Colorado statistics or not, that’s impressive.

Rockies player who is horrible

I could choose just about any of their starters for this “honor,” but I’ll go with Jorge De La Rosa. This is his ninth season with the Rockies, and through most of his career, he’s been a dependable mid-rotation starter. This season, his ERA stands at 5.98, thanks partly to walking 4.5 batters every nine innings.

Phillies player who has been awesome

A few weeks ago, it was tough to find a Phillie whose play was simply not embarrassing. These days, it seems like everyone is playing well, so I’ve had to rename this section of the preview.

I’m not sure what’s gotten into Cody Asche. After last season, most people wrote him off as a guy best suited as a multi-positional bench player. Those players have value, but it seemed foolish to consider him as a long-term building block.

Since returning from the disabled list at the beginning of June, Asche is making people reconsider. His .505 slugging percentage is tops on the team, and he’s been a big part of the Phillies’ recent offensive surge. It’s worth noting that he’s only 26 years old, so maybe there is hope that he could be a part of the Phillies’ long-term plans.

Reasons for optimism

1. Over the past two weeks, the Philadelphia Phillies are tied for third in the NL in runs scored. It’s nice going into games with hope that they’ll actually score more than one or two runs.
2. As mentioned above, the Rockies’ pitching staff is not good – especially at home – so the Phils will have opportunities to continue their hot hitting.
3. It might not be a coincidence, but the Phillies starters have been better lately as well. It’s probably nice for them to know that they can give up a couple of runs and still have hope for victory.

Reasons for pessimism

With Aaron Nola‘s turn in the rotation being skipped, the Phillies will have Adam Morgan start a dreaded “bullpen” game on Thursday. Morgan struggled as a starter earlier in the season, and I don’t think a spot start in Colorado is a good way for him to turn things around.

As a result of that bullpen game, the Phillies relievers might be a little worn out for the rest of the series. Considering that games in Colorado often require heavy use of the bullpen, that isn’t a good thing.

Tweet of importance

The Philadelphia Phillies have the top prospect in baseball. Hopefully, Crawford works out better than the last time that happened.

Next: Phillies Trade Deadline Rankings

Prediction

After falling in the opener, the Philadelphia Phillies will rebound to take Friday and Saturday’s game. Unfortunately, Eflin will falter in the series finale, and the Phils will head into the All-Star break with a loss.