Coors Field is no one’s friend. Coors Field is a monument to human arrogance. Baseball should not be played a mile high. It’s Caligula. The rot and excess of unchecked power. There’s nothing to be gained from games played there, but the Giants will be bound by league rulings to have their heads bashed in and souls lit aflame over the next 72 hours.
It doesn’t matter how well the Giants have been playing: Coors Field will ruin them. There’s nothing that can be done. It’s about to be 36 innings of abject suffering. The Giants have won just three games in Coors Field since the start of 2017 and are just 7-23 since the start of 2016. They’ve been outscored 195-155 over that same stretch.
There is nothing good about playing in Colorado. It’s like the DH rule is in effect and there are two extra lineup spots. The Rockies are 26-20 at home, but they’ve also been outscored 317-325. Those 325 are the most runs allowed at home by any team in baseball. It breaks down to 7.07 runs per game. Yes, they’re allowing 7 runs per game at home and they still have a winning record there.
The Rockies have lost seven of their last nine and their playoff aspirations are dimming by the day... but we know that doesn’t matter when the Giants come to town. A rescheduled game turns Monday into a doubleheader day and gives the Rockies four games in which to absolutely embarrass the Giants instead of the three. Although, maybe the revamped lineup might not actually embarrass itself against the Rockies. The Giants’ pitching, on the other hand is a whole other story.
Hitters to watch
Nobody seems to care much about the looming threat presented by Trevor Story. His 3 fWAR makes him the 22nd-best player in baseball, which is good, but he’s also been a bit of a Giants killer in his young career. In 57 games against the Giants, he’s hit 14 home runs and amassed a line of .284/.327/.533.
He’s been a consistent problem outside of Nolan Arenado. Last September, he had a 2-homer game against Madison Bumgarner and a 3-homer game two days later.
Meanwhile, Daniel Murphy, whom Dodgers fan and statboy extraordinaire Mike Petriello over at Baseball Savant has ruled to be a bad signing for the Rockies —
I loved the Daniel Murphy signing for Colorado, but it's not working out super well so far. I wonder if he's still bothered by his hand injury. No team is getting less offense out of 1B+2B: https://t.co/yUMJwXiBuj pic.twitter.com/qC7rNqZ1ig
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) July 10, 2019
— has been on a tear over the last two weeks, slugging nearly .900. Beware the Bad Signing.
Pitcher to watch
Jon Gray has really turned his season around after a... rocky... opening couple of months. Through May, he was 4-4 with a 4.52 ERA, including 11 home runs allowed and a .796 OPS from opposing hitters in 65.2 IP. Since June 1st, he’s 6-3 with a 2.92 ERA and batters have a .717 OPS and just 4 home runs off of him in 49.1 IP.
Prediction
We will feel a mixture of mild relief and extreme regret after the Giants are shot out of town on a catapult, their roster chewed up and spit out by the altitude, home runs, and surprise shutout(s).