Giants-Rockies Series Preview

The Colorado Rockies have the worst record in Major League baseball as they host the San Francisco Giants for the next three days at Coors Field. They are 39-98, somehow 10 games worse than the Chicago White Sox. If the Giants win this series, they’ll deliver the Rockies their 100th loss of the season within the first three days of September. If you think this is a problem for the Giants as they try to get back over .500, then hello there, fellow Giant fan: we are on the exact same wavelength. Any

series in Coors Field is a potential trap.

The Rockies fired Bud Black after a 7-33 start and they’re just 20-33 since July 1st. On the season, they have the absolute worst pitching (5.99 team ERA) and hitting (77 wRC+). By FanGraphs’ wins above replacement, the Rockies are a replacement level team, their +2.1 pitching fWAR wiped out by a -2.2 lineup. Even their defense is atrocious (-41 Defensive Runs Above Average). Doesn’t matter. Coors Field.

Folks… I don’t know what to tell you. The Rockies have been tremendously awful this season and the Giants are obviously better on paper, but given how Coors Field was a house of horrors for the Giants when it first opened, it’s hard to shake some deep-seeded history. The Rockies haven’t won a season series against the Giants since 2020, and the Giants are 23-12 at Coors since 2021, but the Giants really need to win this series if not outright sweep, and that’s why it feels like the psychic tonnage of Coors Field + Division Rivalry + September playoff spot chase will make this a surprisingly stressful series.

The Rockies are 12-11 at home since the All-Star break, so there you go. There’s the key stat. In their previous homestand, they took 3 out of 4 from Arizona and split a 4-game series with the Dodgers. Those 5 wins represent half of their win total against the NL West to this point (10-26). Maybe they caught both of those teams at tough times, maybe the Rockies are simply playing better right now — we’ll find out. The Giants will face one lefty in the series: Kyle Freeland tomorrow. That’s another potential speed bump. They’re still not solid enough against left-handed pitching to have a neutral stance when one pops up on the pitching probables.

Colorado’s 11-18 mark in August was their best month of the season. Their best hitters were Brenton Doyle (7 HR, 165 wRC+), subs Kyle Farmer (.910 OPS in 39 PA) & Yanquiel Fernandez (.893 OPS in 46 PA), Hunter Goodman (7 HR, 122 wRC+), and Atlanta in-season castoff Orlando Arcia (119 wRC+ in 37 PA). Two of their most valuable pitchers in August were, surprisingly, starters, one of whom (Chase Dollander) the Giants will face in this series (in today’s game). 25-year reliever Juan Mejia was also up there in value with a 1.96 FIP (2.25 ERA) in 12 IP. He struck out 16 and walked 5 and — get this — allowed 0 home runs. He features a 96+ mph four-seam fastball and a ridiculous 2,800+ rpm slider. In fact, the spin rates for both pitchers are in the top-12 of MLB. He is basically their Randy Rodriguez. Should be fun to see him late in the game.

Now, Kai-Wei Teng will start the first game of this series, which is tough because walks will really haunt in a place like Coors Field and it seems unwise to tax the bullpen at the start of a series in Colorado, but we always knew the Giants would need to score runs and if the Baltimore series proved anything, it’s that the lineup is clicking enough to beat up on bad pitching.

Rafael Devers has played just 5 games in Coors Field but is 8-for-19 with 4 doubles and a homer. Willy Adames is 19-for-69 in 17 games with 3 homers and 7 doubles. Matt Chapman has a homer and 3 doubles in 11 games there. After Teng, it’s Logan Webb and Robbie Ray, so this series is the Giants giving it their very best shot to secure a series win. They really need these games. Worry about the postseason thoughts later. I’m more concerned with the team avoiding a fourth consecutive losing season.

Series overview

Who: San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies
Where: Coors Field | Denver, Colorado
When: Monday at 1:10pm PT, Tuesday at 5:40pm PT, Wednesday at 5:40pm PT
National broadcasts: None

Projected starters
Monday: Kai-Wei Teng (RHP 1-3, 8.78 ERA) vs. Chase Dollander (RHP 2-11, 6.55 ERA)
Tuesday: Logan Webb (RHP 12-9, 3.16 ERA) vs. Kyle Freeland (LHP 3-13, 5.28 ERA)
Wednesday: Robbie Ray (LHP 10-6, 3.18 ERA) vs. German Marquez (RHP 3-12, 6.14 ERA)