SAN FRANCISCO — After a disappointing 9-5 loss to the Giants on Sunday afternoon, the Rockies are 25-22 and sit just a half-game behind Arizona for first place in the National League West.
But Colorado is clearly missing some essential ingredients that could transform it from a team hovering around .500 into a team that just might be ready to take charge of the division.
Too often this season, the Rockies have lacked a big hit in a big moment, as their .238 batting average with runners in scoring position illustrates. And in several other big moments, right-hander Bryan Shaw and left-hander Jake McGee, two of Colorado’s high-priced relievers, have failed to get the job done. Sunday, Shaw gave up two runs on two hits in his inning of work, inflating his ERA to 5.01. McGee was charged with two runs on four hits in his one-third inning, bumping is ERA to 5.82.
The common thread here is that several key free agents acquired over the last two seasons are not getting the job done. Consider the offensive woes and consequences:
- First baseman Ian Desmond, signed last year to a five-year, $70 million contract, who went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts Sunday, is batting .175, with an .594 OPS.
- Catcher Chris Iannetta, who signed a two-year, $8.5 million contract in the offseason, went 0-for-4 Sunday and is batting .212 with a .682 OPS.
- Right fielder Carlos Gonzalez, who re-signed with the Rockies for one year and $8 million, has become a part-time player. He’s batting .219 with a .644 OPS after going 1-for-4 Sunday. More disconcerting, Gonzalez struck out looking at a 3-2 pitch in the fifth inning with two outs and the bases full.
Lack of production from those three is contributing to a lack of power production from Nolan Arenado. The star third baseman had three singles Sunday, and drove in a run. What’s more, Arenado is hitting .331 with a team-high .985 OPS. Yet teams are pitching around him because many of his teammates are not producing at this juncture of the season.
“Nolan’s taking what they are giving him, for sure,” manager Bud Black said. “You can tell that they are pitching him really tough, down and away. It’s a steady diet of down and away, and breaking balls away. He’s doing a good job taking balls the other way. So until we get some guys around him hitting, they’ll keep pitching him stingy, and he knows that.”
General manager Jeff Bridich signed closer Wade Davis (three years, $52 million), as well as Shaw and McGee (three years, $27 million each) for a combined $106 million this offseason. Davis has been excellent, posting a 2.29 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched) while saving 16 games in 18 chances. Shaw and McGee have been hit and miss.
McGee gave up a three-run homer to San Francisco’s red-hot Brandon Belt on Sunday on a fastball that was only 91 mph. McGee is not concerned, however, by lack of velocity.
“It’s more me just being able to locate really well,” he said. “When I come into the game, sometimes it’s 91, sometimes it’s 94, depending on the day. Today I just didn’t locate my fastball that well in situations I needed to.”
As for the bad day both he and Shaw endured Sunday, McGee said: “At the end of the day, it’s going to happen here and there. Bullpens falter here and there. We can’t be perfect. But as long as we’re better than we are bad, it’s a good thing.”
True enough, but if the Rockies want to get on a run, all of the elements have to starting coming together. The next test begins Monday at Los Angeles when they begin a three-game series against the Dodgers.
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