Series Preview #46, vs. Colorado Rockies

What's New?

As expected, the Diamondbacks struggled at home in their series against the Dodgers and were swept in consecutive games. On Tuesday night, right hander Trevor Cahill reverted back to his previous poor form in surrendering six runs in the fourth inning, powering the Dodgers to a painless 9-5 win. Wade Miley was great (save for the three-run third inning) on Wednesday night, but was completely undone by Clayton Kershaw giving up just an unearned run over eight innings in the 3-1 Dodgers win. Arizona has won just two of their last ten games, and saw their home record drop to 27-42 on the season. They are 55-78 overall on the season, 20.5 games behind Los Angeles for first place in the NL West. They are 7.5 games behind the Padres for third place.

Facing Clayton Kershaw typically doesn't help your team's offense, as was the case for Arizona this past series. They are 26th in the league in wRC+ (87) and 25th in offensive WAR (10.6), while batting .251/.305/.384 with a .304 wOBA. They don't draw a lot of walks (especially without Paul Goldschmidt), doing so at the third-lowest rate in Major League Baseball (6.6%). Their pitching staff took a bit of a hit as well, as they rank 25th in team ERA (4.25), 20th in FIP (3.90), and 25th in pitching WAR (8.4). They struggle in getting out of jams, allowing runners on base to score at the sixth-highest rate in baseball (29.7%).

Colorado has had one of baseball's best offenses in 2014, despite their park-adjusted numbers revealing that they're an average club without star Troy Tulowitzki. They rank 13th in wRC+ (98), and are 14th in the majors in offensive WAR (16.2) while batting .277/.328/.444 with a .337 wOBA. They also fare extremely well when just putting the ball in play, with the majors' highest BABIP (.324). They also are host to the majors' worst pitching staff, yielding the worst team ERA (4.97), FIP (4.56), and third-worst pitching WAR (6.1). They also give up a stunning 1.15 home runs per nine innings, by far the worst mark in baseball.

The Rockies are currently in the midst of a four game set in San Francisco against the Giants, having taken just one of the first three games as they kick off a seven-game NL West road trip. They've played well of late, having won six of their last ten overall and have moved their road record to 19-46 (still by FAR the worst in baseball). They are 53-79 overall, 22 games behind the Dodgers for first place in the NL West. They are just 1.5 games behind the Diamondbacks for fourth place in the NL West.

On The Mend

Rockies left hander Boone Logan was placed on the 15-day disabled list with elbow inflammation on Wednesday, marking the fourth time he has hit the DL this season.

Colorado catcher Willin Rosario was placed on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday with left wrist inflammation, opening the door for Mike McKenry to be the no. 1 option behind the place.

Roster Moves

After placing left hander Boone Logan and catcher Willin Rosario on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday, the Rockies recalled catcher Jackson Williams and left hander Christian Friedrich from Triple-A Colorado Springs.

Not Bad (For Last Place)

Despite being in dead last in the NL West, the Colorado Rockies did something pretty cool during their broadcast on Wednesday night against the Giants to honor the anniversary of Major League Baseball being on television:

The @Rockies broadcast showed an AB in black & white to honor the anniversary of @MLB on TV: http://t.co/gmfdAsToJc pic.twitter.com/jzEwAh63CJ

— MLB Fan Cave (@MLBFanCave) August 27, 2014

Much respect to ROOT Sports and their Rockies broadcast team for honoring one of the great innovations that led to the growth of the game of baseball.

Pitching Matchups

Game 1, Friday 6:40 PT: RHP Christian Bergman (1-2, 6.75 ERA, 5.71 FIP) vs. RHP Josh Collmenter (9-7, 4.05 ERA, 4.12 FIP)

After making his first start in over two months after suffering a fractured glove hand, Bergman picked up his first major league win in giving up four runs on nine hits over 6.1 innings against the Marlins. Collmenter is coming off of one of his best outings of the season, giving up just a run over 8.1 innings while picking up the win against the putrid Padres offense. He is 7-3 with a 2.90 ERA at home in 2014.

Game 2, Saturday 5:10 PT: LHP Tyler Matzek (3-9, 5.14 ERA, 4.35 FIP) vs. LHP Vidal Nuno (2-8, 4.66 ERA, 4.62 FIP)

Despite his well-documented struggles as a rookie, Matzek is coming off of perhaps his best career start against the Giants, winning after giving up two runs on eight hits over seven innings. It was his first win on the road, where he has a 5.67 ERA this season. Nuno has been stellar for Arizona lately, giving up just six earned runs over his last three starts (including just two earned runs over 7.1 innings against San Diego). He has struggled to get run support, as he has yet to pick up a win in a Diamondbacks uniform.

Game 3, Sunday 1:10 PT: LHP Jorge De La Rosa (13-9, 4.19 ERA, 4.37 FIP) vs. RHP Chase Anderson (7-6, 3.90 ERA, 4.41 FIP)

De La Rosa pitched well but didn't last long in his last start, picking up the loss after giving up two runs on four hits over five innings against the Giants. There are some injury concerns that have him listed as day-to-day, but he is fully expected to make his next scheduled start on Sunday. Anderson has struggled with command for consecutive starts, and picked up the loss after giving up four earned runs over five innings, walking four batters against the Padres. He's 5-3 with a 3.61 ERA at home this season.

Series Pick'em

I think Arizona seriously has a shot at a sweep here, but will manage to drop just one of three. I believe Arizona has a pitching advantage in each game, but this team just doesn't have the offensive firepower to take advantage of this poor pitching staff for three consecutive days.