With the Colorado Rockies coming to town this weekend to face the Atlanta Braves, we were able to ask the expert from Rox Pile a couple of questions.
Even though the Atlanta Braves just played the Rockies a few weeks ago, they will be facing a much different team this time around. The Rockies are 8-2 in their last 10 games.
Kevin Henry, a site expert from Rox Pile, was kind enough to answer a couple of questions for us again to prepare our readers for this weekend’s series.
Q: The Rockies are playing better lately, what has changed?
A: Colorado finally has been getting some of the injured players back, including David Dahl, Ryan McMahon and Daniel Murphy. The lineup the Rockies rolled out on Wednesday against Washington was arguably their most stacked of the season. Colorado’s lineup is now stretched and there aren’t as many weak spots as there were when the Atlanta Braves visited Coors Field.
Q: What can we expect from the starting pitchers in this series?
A: That’s a great question. Will Antonio Senzatela replicate his first start when he had a strong outing or his second when he was shaky? Tyler Anderson has yet to put much together this season at all as evidenced by his 12.00 ERA. He has so much potential but has yet to show it this season. Jon Gray has turned around a tough 2018 and is the strongest of the three pitchers taking the mound for the Rockies this series. Will “the Gray Wolf” howl against the Braves? He has been able to stay away from innings getting away from him, something he wasn’t able to do in 2018.
Q: Which player(s) has been getting hot?
A: Charlie Blackmon is hitting .444 over his last seven games and is solidifying the top of the order again, a good sign for the Rockies offense. David Dahl and Trevor Story are each hitting .391, Nolan Arenado is hitting .333 and Raimel Tapia has flashed his power and speed over the last few games. Bottom line, the Rockies offense is actually clicking at the moment for the first time all season.
Q: Can the Rockies win the NL West?
A: They can, but they won’t. It is LA’s division to win or lose and it’s a deeper than expected division early in the season.
Q: How do you see this series playing out?
A: I think Colorado takes one of three games and that will likely be the night Gray pitches. Can the Colorado offense offset some potentially shaky starting pitching? That may be the biggest question of the series.
Thanks again to Kevin for answering some questions for us as the Atlanta Braves get set to take on the Colorado Rockies at home this weekend.