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Rockies pitchers ranked 27th in the majors in strikeouts entering Thursday’s play, averaging just 6.04 per game.
They got just two Ks during their 9-7 win over the Nationals on Thursday afternoon. What’s been saving the Rockies’ bacon in the early going are double plays. It’s their bread and butter. Colorado has turned 40 of them, including 36 groundball double plays, both the most in the majors.
Rockies pitchers induced two key double plays Thursday, one by reliever Jhouyls Chacin to diffuse the Nationals’ rally in the fifth and another by reliever Robert Stephenson to limit the damage in a two-run seventh.
“It’s a function of us having groundball pitchers, especially in the rotation,” manager Bud Black said. “We know that we have to keep the ball down in this park. Here, it’s a little dangerous to pitch up, unless you have a guy who consistently throws it in the right spot, where (opponents) will swing at it.
“So we stress keeping the ball down in the zone, and defensively we have always stressed, even prior to me, the importance of defense in this ballpark.”
Homer time. The Rockies mashed a season-high three home runs Thursday, getting a pair of three-run blasts from Garrett Hampson and Brendan Rodgers, and a solo shot from Randal Grichuk.
It marked Colorado’s first game with three or more home runs since Sept. 17 of last season at Nationals Park. The Rockies improved to 419-146 all-time in games where they hit at least three home runs.
Hampson and Rodgers’ home runs marked the first time two Rockies players hit three-run homers in the same game since Daniel Murphy and Tony Wolters did it on May 22, 2019, at Pittsburgh.
Footnotes. Left fielder Kris Bryant (back strain) is eligible to come off the injured list Friday when the Rockies play at Arizona, but he won’t be ready. Bryant is playing catch but is not swinging a bat yet. … Right-hander Antonio Senzatela recorded the 400th strikeout of his career with a strikeout of Alcides Escobar in the second inning, becoming the 15th pitcher in franchise history to record 400 strikeouts. Senzatela is the fourth active Rockie to reach the milestone, joining German Marquez (835), Jhoulys Chacín (570) and Kyle Freeland (531). … The Rockies have now scored two or more runs at home in 78 straight games, dating back to May 12, 2021. The streak is the longest in National League history and the fifth-longest in the majors since 1900. The longest was an 88-game streak by the 1949 Red Sox. Colorado is 49-29 during the streak.
On Deck
Rockies RHP Chad Kuhl (3-0, 1.90 ERA) at Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (2-1, 1.27)
7:40 p.m. Friday, Chase Field
TV: ATTRM
Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM
Kuhl, who signed a one-year, $3 million deal to join the Rockies, will make his fifth start. His 1.90 ERA is the 11th-lowest in the National League and his 0.85 WHIP is the seventh-lowest. The Diamondbacks have roughed up the right-hander. In three career games (two starts) vs. Arizona, he’s 0-1 with an 11.25 ERA, having given up 11 hits and 10 earned runs over eight innings.
Kelly is pitching exceptionally well. He pitched seven scoreless innings in Arizona’s 2-0 win at St. Louis last Saturday, allowing just two hits and no walks while striking out four. He has held the opposition scoreless in three of his last five starts. The D-backs awarded the right-hander a two-year, $18 million contract extension covering the 2023 and ’24 seasons and that deal looks like a bargain right now. Kelly, however, has not fared well against Colorado, going 1-3 with a 6.49 ERA (including six home runs surrendered) in six starts.
Trending: Closer Daniel Bard recorded his eighth save of the season Thursday, the most saves by a Rockies pitcher through his first 10 games since Wade Davis in 2018.
At issue: The Rockies open a three-game series at Arizona on Friday. The Rockies are 4-5 on the road this season but were swept in four games at Philadelphia to finish off their last road trip.
Pitching probables
Saturday: Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (1-3, 4.85) at Diamondbacks RHP Zach Davies (1-1, 4.24), 6:10 p.m., ATTRM
Sunday: Rockies RHP German Marquez (0-2, 6.92) at Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (1-0, 1.27), 2:10 p.m., ATTRM
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