Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Rock Solid Recrap: Offense Cools Further, So-Called Starting Pitching Remains Awful

Diamondbacks 6, Rockies 1 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: Dreadfully boring game. That's the first problem.

Also, the Rockies offense is no longer scorching hot... or even simmering. We can thank Ian Kennedy and now Wade Miley (8 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 5 K) for that. For an illustration of how outstanding Arizona's top two pitchers were, the Rockies only had four baserunners tonight after managing seven in their shutout loss on Tuesday.

This is bad news if it's a trend, because as I said several times during the recent hot streak, the Rockies will not be able to overcome rough offensive nights very often. It's sad and it's true. They'll need to come out swinging against the Angels this weekend or it could look an awful lot like the Atlanta series a few weeks back.

Turning Point: Arizona scored five runs in the first three innings against Josh Outman. Three of those runs came on two-out base hits. It's a problem that has plagued this pitching staff all season long, and I can tell you each and every one has stung just as bad as the one before. They're daggers.

Josh Outman's Line: 3 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 1 K, 69 pitches (40 strikes)

I'm not sure how to analyze or evaluate these spring training type Outman outings.

Well, actually, this one I can. He wasn't fooling anybody in Arizona's weakened lineup (no Upton or Kubel), and he couldn't make the pitches he needed to limit the damage. In other words, it was Jeremy Guthrie's last two road outings all over again... without the tape measure homers.

Lineup Card: Rockies @ D-Backs 6-6-12


Lineups

Colorado Rockies (24-31)
  1. Dexter Fowler (CF)
  2. Marco Scutaro (2B)
  3. Carlos Gonzalez (LF)
  4. Michael Cuddyer (RF)
  5. Jason Giambi (1B)
  6. Jordan Pacheco (3B)
  7. Wilin Rosario (C)
  8. D.J. LeMahieu (2B)
  9. Josh Outman (P)
Arizona Diamondbacks (26-30)
  1. A.J. Pollack (LF)
  2. Ryan Roberts (3B)
  3. Chris Young (CF)
  4. Paul Goldschmidt (1B)
  5. Miguel Montero (C)
  6. Aaron Hill (2B)
  7. Gerardo Parra (RF)
  8. John McDonald (SS)
  9. Wade Miley (P)
I've lost track of how many different lineups Kirk Gibson has used this season, but I'm pretty sure we haven't seen the same one twice in our eight games against them. Of course injuries — a couple serious, most nagging — have played a big role in the constant shifting, but it's also a strategy that worked for Gibson in 2011. 

More Rockies thoughts await you if you follow me on Twitter: @Townie813 & @HeavenHelton