The Colorado Rockies (24-39) are back at Coors Field tonight to open a weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers (37-23), coming off a Thursday off-day, just like they did last week.
That off-day started one of the stranger six-game stretches a team can have.
The Rockies played three at home against the reeling San Francisco Giants, then three on the road against the last-place Los Angeles Angels. They finished that stretch with a -6 run differential, lost the third game of each series by a combined
30-10, and still went 4-2 while winning both series.
I’m not sure what all of that means, but Renee Dechert’s line from the Angels series feels about right: “When two very bad baseball teams play a series, the stage is set for weirdness.”
The Brewers, however, are not the Giants or Angels. They are a decidedly good baseball team.
Milwaukee comes to Coors Field leading the National League Central. They are not a power-heavy offense — they rank 30th in home runs — but they create pressure, ranking third in on-base percentage, second in stolen bases, and sixth in runs scored.
They also pitch. Milwaukee’s starters rank third in ERA, fourth in WHIP, and first in K/9, while the bullpen ranks sixth in ERA and 10th in K/9.
For Colorado, Ryan Feltner makes his seventh start of the season and his second since returning from the injured list.
His first start back was excellent: 6.0 IP, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K on 63 pitches, 41 for strikes against San Francisco. It was an efficient return, but the overall profile is still finding its footing.
For the season, Feltner is 2-1 with a 4.85 ERA and 19 strikeouts over 26 innings. The home split has been better: 3.79 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in four starts at Coors Field.
Feltner has a deep six-pitch mix and solid velocity, with the four-seamer and sinker sitting around 95 mph. The concern is the contact on those two pitches, with opponents slugging .724 against the four-seamer and .571 against the sinker. The changeup has been the standout by expected results, with a .136 xBA, .194 xwOBA, and 55.9% whiff rate, but he does not throw it often to right-handed hitters.
Milwaukee will counter with Brandon Sproat, who enters at 1-4 with a 6.24 ERA and 52 strikeouts over 49 innings. The velocity is real, but Sproat has walked 27, allowed 10 home runs, and is still sorting through a mix that now includes a cutter.
Houston tagged him for five runs on six hits over 4 1/3 innings in his last start, when Sproat threw his four-seamer, sinker, and cutter for 78% of his 95 pitches. The four-seamer and sinker both averaged 96.1 mph, while the cutter averaged 92.2.
There is not much head-to-head history between the Rockies and Sproat, so the Friday splits are worth noting: Hunter Goodman is hitting .412 with three home runs and a 1.194 OPS in nine Friday games, while Ezequiel Tovar is hitting .333 with two homers and a .924 OPS in 10 Friday games. Both of Tovar’s Friday homers came in last Friday’s walk-off.
So, for this Friday, can the Rockies be patient, cash in, and keep it close long enough for a little Coors Field weirdness to matter?
And now to the details.
First Pitch: 6:40 pm MDT
TV: Rockies.TV
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)
Brewers SB Nation Site: Brew Crew Ball
Lineups:
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