Rockies Stat of the Day: May 2021

May 30th, 2021

MLB.com is keeping track of a Stat of the Day for the Rockies this season, highlighting a unique, interesting or fun nugget from each game.

May 30: Rockies 4, Pirates 3 -- Bard whittles ERA down
Since seeing his ERA balloon to 9.00 on May 2, Daniel Bard has been excellent, posting a 0.82 ERA with 16 strikeouts over nine appearances. That includes two scoreless innings in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Pirates at PNC Park.

May 29: Pirates 4, Rockies 0 -- Historic drought
With their two losses to the Pirates at PNC Park, the Rockies became the first team in MLB history to score three or fewer runs on six or fewer hits in 10 consecutive road games. The 2012 Marlins, the 1978 Blue Jays and the 1906-07 Brooklyn Superbas (later Dodgers) had streaks of nine.

May 27: Mets 1, Rockies 0 (G1); Mets 4, Rockies 2 (G2) -- Not crisp with RISP
The Rockies went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position while being swept by the Mets in a doubleheader. That actually is better than their season rate with RISP -- 28-for-144, a .194 batting average. That rate is a big reason for the team's 3-20 road record.

May 25: Mets 3, Rockies 1 -- Home run specialist
Over the last five games, four of Ryan McMahon's five hits were home runs. His latest blast came off Mets ace Jacob deGrom.

"Obviously, you respect him, but you don't just roll up and play dead for him," said McMahon, who leads the Rockies with 13 dingers. "We're competitors, too. And we're gonna play him as hard as we can."

May 24: Rockies 3, Mets 2 -- Road trip starts off on right foot
The Rockies had scored just one run in their previous four road-trip openers combined, losing them all. Home runs by Ryan McMahon (12th of the season) and Elias Díaz (first) in the second, and an RBI triple from Garrett Hampson in the fourth were enough to begin this trip with a victory over the Mets. Additionally, after striking out 37 times in the first four road-trip openers, they fanned just five times Monday.

May 23: Rockies 4, Padres 3 -- Fuentes matches Vlad Jr.
Another game at Coors Field meant another two doubles for Josh Fuentes (the public address announcer and the scoreboard has taken to calling him "Joshua," something he smilingly asked for early in his recent turnaround). Fuentes has recorded at least one extra-base hit in seven consecutive home games. He and the Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. are tied for the longest such streak in the Majors this season.

May 22: Rockies 7, D-backs 6 -- Rockies starters continue to shine
The Rockies' starting pitching has been effective, even when not exactly sharp. Antonio Senzatela allowed seven hits and walked one, but he didn't yield a run until he left after allowing three hits to open the sixth. Senzatela's outing continued a roll by Colorado's starters. Since May 9, they have a 2.74 ERA and have held opposing hitters to a .244 average over 13 games.

May 21: Rockies 7, D-backs 1 -- Another Márquez gem at home
Rockies right-hander Germán Márquez struck out eight over seven scoreless innings to continue the Colorado rotation's home success. Rockies starters have a 3.39 ERA at Coors Field this season. Of the team's 19 quality starts, 13 have occurred at home.

May 19: Padres 3, Rockies 0 -- No joy in Petco
The Rockies' loss in the series finale was their eighth straight loss at Petco Park. That's their longest losing streak ever at Petco Park. Their last win in San Diego came on Sept. 6, 2019, when Tim Melville earned the decision in a 3-2 victory.

May 18: Padres 2, Rox 1 (F/10) -- Growing pains in close games
Daniel Bard's wild pitch that allowed the winning run to score in the 10th dropped the Rockies to 5-17 in games decided by one or two runs. There were situational hitting foibles, and bullpen issues at other times -- although rookie Jordan Sheffield turned in a gold-star performance. The common theme for much of the roster is inexperience. Manager Bud Black said it's a case of "maybe teaching, coaching a little bit, and just the experience of guys going through it -- how to win those games and how to gain the experience to win those games."

May 17: Padres 7, Rockies 0 -- Slow starts on the road
Padres starter Yu Darvish fanned 10 in seven innings on Monday night, the opener of a three-game trip for the Rockies. In four opening games of road trips, the Rockies have been outscored, 27-1. They've gone 15-for-125 (.120) with 37 strikeouts. Openers of trips have accounted for three of the six times the Rockies have been shut out away from Coors Field, and their road record is now 2-15.

May 16: Reds 7, Rockies 6 -- Fuentes en fuego at Coors
Josh Fuentes entered the club record book with his two-run double in the fourth inning. Fuentes tied Charlie Blackmon (April 21-25, 2017) and Dante Bichette (July 23-28, 1995) for the longest streak of games with multiple RBIs in club history -- five. Additionally, in his last five games, Fuentes is 11-for-22 (.500) with three doubles, two home runs and 13 RBIs.

May 15: Reds 6, Rockies 5 (12 innings) -- Chacín' the dream
Right-hander Jhoulys Chacín was a Rockies mainstay once upon a time, having spent six seasons with the club before being released on March 22, 2015. He returned to the team this year as a long reliever.

But with a rotation opening having been created, Chacín made his first Rockies start since June 28, 2014 -- a 7-4 loss to the Brewers. Chacín pitched credibly for four innings vs. the Reds, whom he held to four hits and two runs, while striking out three and walking one. Chacín's most recent prior start in the Majors was Sept. 28, 2019, for the Red Sox against the Orioles.

May 14: Rockies 9, Reds 6 -- Back-to-back barrages
The Rockies' bats came out firing in the first two games of the series against the Reds. After putting up eight runs against Reds ace Luis Castillo on Thursday night, the Rockies followed that up by putting up eight runs against Wade Miley. That made it the first time since June 15-16, 2017, that Colorado scored eight-plus runs off of an opposing team's starting pitchers in back-to-back games.

May 13: Rockies 13, Reds 8 -- Scoreless starts at Coors back
Chi Chi González threw seven shutout innings in his start against the Reds, making it just the second time this season that the Rockies have had a starter go seven or more innings without giving up a run at home. The last time that Rockies starters had multiple scoreless outings of seven-plus innings at Coors Field was in 2018, when they had eight such starts.

May 12: Rockies 3, Padres 2 (eight innings) -- Rox find HR stroke
Josh Fuentes' two-run homer in the second inning of the doubleheader nightcap ended the Rockies' streak of homerless games at six, one shy of the club mark. The Rockies have gone seven games without a homer just twice -- most recently in 2014, and famously during the 2007 season that ended in the team's only World Series berth.

May 11: Padres 8, Rockies 1 -- The magic is gone
It used to be that the Rockies had the Padres' number. But Tuesday marked the Rockies' sixth straight loss to the Padres, who have surpassed a Colorado team they once envied as a challenger to the Dodgers' perennial National League West throne. Over that stretch, the Rockies -- who managed just three hits Tuesday -- have seen the Padres outscore them 47-11. Three of the games were at Coors, three at Petco Park.

May 9: Cardinals 2, Rockies 0 -- A starting-pitching reversal
Coors Field has traditionally been unkind to pitchers, even those with the Rockies. But Colorado's starting rotation is 7-4 with a 3.94 ERA at home this season. Even after Germán Márquez held the Cardinals to two runs (one earned) over six innings on Sunday, Rockies starters have a 6.81 ERA on the road, one of the reasons the team is 2-14 away from home.

May 8: Cardinals 9, Rockies 8 -- Chi Chi's slow start
Rockies right-hander Chi Chi González has faced the leadoff man in 30 innings this year, and 16 of them have reached. In the loss to the Cardinals, three of five leadoff batters reached base against González, and all three scored.

May 7: Cardinals 5, Rockies 0 -- Blackmon passes CarGo
Charlie Blackmon's first-inning single moved him past Carlos González for third place on the Rockies' all-time hits list. Blackman, who now has 1,331 hits, trails only Todd Helton (2,519) and Larry Walker (1,361) in club history.

May 5: Rockies 6, Giants 5 -- No need to do anything extra
The six-run fourth inning that gave the Rockies all their runs was a festival of patience. Colorado did it with five singles and three walks. It marked the first time the club scored as many as six runs in an inning without benefit of an extra-base hit since a six-run frame on Aug. 29, 2012, at Dodger Stadium.

May 4: Rockies 8, Giants 6 -- Final at-bat heroics in 7th inning
The last time the Rockies won a game when trailing by four or more runs in their final at-bat was on Aug. 17, 2014. They beat the Reds, 10-9, after trailing, 9-5, entering the bottom of the ninth. Tuesday night, the Rockies trailed the Giants, 6-2, going into the bottom of the seventh until a six-run frame gave them a walk-off victory in the second game of a doubleheader.

May 2: D-backs 8, Rockies 4 -- Bard's slump
Rockies closer Daniel Bard gave up four runs on four hits and one walk in one-third of an inning. He has now allowed runs in five of his past six appearances, posting a 15.19 ERA and a .467 batting average against during that span, despite days like Sunday, when his fastball sat around 98-99 mph.

May 1: Rockies 14, D-backs 6 -- Rox post a seven-spot
The Rockies' blowout win at Chase Field included a seven-run eighth inning. It was the second time this season they have scored seven or more runs in a single inning. They did not score more than six runs in an inning throughout the entire 2020 season.