MEDIA CLIPS – Aug. 20, 2018

Marquez sends Rockies to historic sweep Colorado posts .652 winning percentage while tying NL mark with 46 straight games vs. plus-.500 clubs By Thomas Harding MLB.com @harding_at_mlb Aug. 19th, 2018

ATLANTA -- Smelling a four-game sweep on Sunday, Rockies right-hander German Marquez never let go of the scent of the strike zone.

Pounding the zone for strikes on 64 of his 93 pitches over seven innings, Marquez minimized threats as the Rockies topped the Braves, 4-2, at SunTrust Park.

Marquez (11-9) switched things up on the Braves to lead the Rockies, who now return home trailing the first-place D- backs by just a half-game in the National League West standings.

The Rockies, who benefited from solo homers from in the second inning and DJ LeMahieuin the third off

Braves starter Anibal Sanchez (6-4), finished a record-matching stretch of schedule difficulty, with 46 straight against plus-.500 clubs.

The 30-16 record (.652 winning percentage) was far better than that of the 1926 Phillies (15-21, .417 winning percentage) and the 2012 Braves (22-24, .478), the other teams to play 46 straight against teams .500 or above, according to the Elias

Sports Bureau.

It also was the Rockies' first win of a four-game series in Atlanta.. 19th, 2018

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"Talking doesn't get it done, it's the way the guys are playing," said third baseman Nolan Arenado, who singled in the

Rockies' third run in the third, behind a David Dahl bloop double. "Everybody's contributing -- starting pitching, bullpen, defense, offense. I think the offense can probably do a little bit better job, but we're finding a way. And our pitchers are keeping us in games."

In his previous two starts, Marquez fanned a combined 19 using the curve for all but one of his strike-three pitches, with hitters often swinging as it the dirt. But on Sunday, he stayed in the zone and let the Braves make the outs for him. He fanned five, limited the Braves to two runs on five hits and a walk, and got on and off the mound as quickly as he could on a hot and humid day.

"It had nothing to do with the conditions ... that's an aggressive ballclub that swings early," Marquez said in Spanish, with first-base coach Tony Diaz interpreting. "They're looking to swing early. I was loyal to my plan."2018

Marquez yielded RBI singles to the Braves' Johan Camargo in the first and sixth innings, but he didn't face multiple baserunners at the same time beyond the first.

The Rockies' starting rotation has been among the best in a number of different categories during this difficult stretch on the schedule, but it does not have a complete game this season. Marquez seemed headed that way, but after hitting to open the seventh, he exhausted himself to end the threat, manager Bud Black said.18

Still, Marquez is 4-0 with a 2.70 ERA in his last six road starts and left Black impressed.

"A little bit lengthy first inning but, man, the ball-strike ratio was great," Black said. "Good use of the slider, fastball usage, good change -- he had his weapons today. He just continues to pitch steady for us."

Adam Ottavino threw a spotless eighth and, after Carlos Gonzalez's pinch-hit RBI single off Dan Winkler in the top of the ninth, Wade Davis secured his 35th . The Rockies' bullpen gave up five runs in 12 innings over the four games, but four of them occurred at the end of Friday's 11-5 victory.. 19th, 2018

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

LeMahieu struggled initially after returning Aug. 2 from a left oblique strain. His average for the month is .260 -- not what he is used to, considering he won the NL batting title in 2016. But the past two games provided signs that LeMahieu's bat is returning. 2

On Saturday, his 10th-inning leadoff shot to dead-center spearheaded a 5-3 victory, and Sunday marked just the second time LeMahieu has homered in consecutive games in his career. LeMahieu tied a career high with 11 homers (nine on the road), so he's not a fence-buster. But it sends a message that if pitchers want to bust him inside, they'd better not miss.

"I'm feeling good -- I guess it's just a byproduct," LeMahieu said. "I feel fairly locked in. I need to keep it going to help our team to win.", 2018

"When DJ hits a ball to straightaway center like he did last night, then pulls a ball to straightaway left, that's a good sign that the bat's getting through the zone," Black said. "He's going to get his base hits to right. He's going to get his base hits up the middle. But to elevate the ball with some power, that's a good sign."

SOUND SMART

Since June 28, Story is batting .350 with a 1.020 OPS, and he has reached base in 16 straight games. He also has a .378 batting average and .707 slugging percentage in his last 22 road contests.

Last season he struggled reading breaking balls and led the NL with 191 strikeouts. Sunday's homer, his 26th this year, was on an 0-1 breaking ball that Story pulled into the Rockies' bullpen in the left-field corner.

"Trevor has done a good job shortening his swing and recognizing pitches, and staying in the hitting area," Black said.

"This is development. This is growth from Trevor from a year ago."

UP NEXT

Lefty (6-5, 4.39 ERA) has struggled in the first inning of two of his past three starts -- losses at

Milwaukee and Houston. But on Tuesday (6:40 p.m. MT), he starts the opener of a three-game set against the Padres at

Coors Field, where he held the Dodgers to one run and four hits over six innings on Aug. 9. San Diego will counter with left-hander Robbie Erlin (2-3, 3.33).

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Rox roll during record stretch vs. winning clubs 46th straight game vs. better-than-.500 teams ties NL mark By Thomas Harding MLB.com @harding_at_mlb Aug. 19th, 2018

ATLANTA -- The Rockies tied a National League record Sunday by playing their 46th straight game against a team with a better-than-.500 record. But their performance over the stretch has been more about the quality of the Rockies than that of opponents.

The series finale against the Braves tied the Rockies with the 1926 Phillies and the 2012 Braves for the most brutal NL stretch by won-loss record, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The difference, though, is the success rate. Those '26

Phils went 15-31, and the '12 Braves were 22-24. The Rockies went 30-16, following a 4-2 win on Sunday.

"We're playing good baseball against good teams, and we're finding a way to win against teams who also know how to win," center fielder said. "It's not like you're beating a team that can't win. Some teams, when they're not going good, they find a way to lose. But the teams that we've been playing find a way to win consistently."

The stat is a product of the Rockies' quirky schedule and a difficult Interleague opponent draw. The Rockies had a heavy stretch of early-season games against the Padres -- who will arrive at Coors Field on Tuesday well under .500. The NL

West was matched up with the West, which is the most competitive division in a Junior Circuit full of teams doing the rebuilding dance.

"The coaches and I looked at the schedule and were going through it and said in a way, believe it or not, it's a good thing to play teams that are over .500, that are in contention, because it will really show what we're all about," manager Bud

Black said.

The performance over the stretch and how it's being viewed highlights a slight disconnect between the Rockies' self- evaluation and expectations from those outside their circle.

Wherever they go, and even at home, the Rockies' success is often met with questions emphasizing how good the opponents are and are tinged with the thought that the wins have an "upset" quality. But the Rockies counter with the attitude that they win because they're supposed to win.. 19th, 2018

"We're a confident team," said shortstop Trevor Story, who hit his 26th on Sunday. "We feel like we can play and beat anybody. It's been a long stretch of playing really good teams. It kind of confirms what we all believed." 4

And it confirms the belief that pitching, especially starting pitching, wins. The starting rotation's .216 batting average against and 7.09 hits per nine innings led the Majors over the first 45 games of the stretch. Over that time, the offense produced a .762 team OPS -- ninth in the Majors.

The Rockies entered Sunday a half-game out of first place and holding the attention of those in the know.

"I do hear from the other managers, the coaches, the broadcasters, 'Hey, you guys got a good team,'" Black said. "I think we know that. I think the guys know it, and I think people in the game are watching, and give a lot of compliments to the

Rockies. It's good to hear."

No vacation

Games against the Padres have not been easy. The Rockies are 7-5 against San Diego this season but just 3-3 at Coors

Field, where the clubs will open a three-game series on Tuesday.

"They've got some good players," Black said. "Position player-wise, they've got some guys that can do some damage, even though statistically it might not bear out. On the mound, they've gone through a lot of changes. They've got some pitchers on that staff that we haven't seen. We'll try to get up to speed as quickly as possible Monday and Tuesday afternoon."

Dunn on schedule

Lefty Mike Dunn, on the disabled list since July 7 with left A/C joint inflammation, will make his first rehab appearance

Tuesday for Triple-A Albuquerque at El Paso. His next two appearances will come after two days off. Then he'll go with one day off before finishing his rehab assignment next Friday and Saturday. He plans to rejoin the club Sept. 3 at home against the Giants.

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Red-hot Rockies, worthy of rising national respect, earn first four-game sweep at Atlanta in franchise history Trevor Story and DJ LeMahieu both had solo home runs, while Nolan Arenado and Carlos Gonzalez each delivered RBI singles By KYLE NEWMAN | [email protected] | The Denver Post PUBLISHED: August 19, 2018 at 2:56 pm | UPDATED: August 19, 2018 at 4:53 pm

ATLANTA — As far as teams go, the Rockies don’t have a national profile by any means. Reliever

Adam Ottavino pointed out in July — while Colorado was turning in the hottest month by any team — that “for the most part, nobody watches our games in the Eastern time zone, and we barely exist outside the region.”

But America should start taking notice of what people inside the game have grasped leading up to, and since, the all-star break.

With a 5-1 road trip capped by the franchise’s first-ever four-game road sweep of the Braves on Sunday, the Rockies are

30-14 since June 28, a .682 winning percentage that is the best in the National League. The club also tied an NL record

Sunday by playing its 46th consecutive game against a team with a better-than-.500 record, and Colorado improved to

30-16 in that stretch.

“I hear from the other managers, the coaches, the broadcasters — it’s a theme of, ‘Hey, you guys have got a good team,’

” manager Bud Black said. “The guys know that, and I think people in the game are watching.”

After Friday’s runaway victory was bookended by dramatic comeback victories Thursday and Sunday, the Rockies outlasted Atlanta 4-2 in the series finale at SunTrust Park behind two solo home runs, a couple of timely RBI knocks and an efficient outing by German Marquez.

It was a win in which the still-imperfect Rockies, while clinching their fifth sweep, inched closer to playing up to high preseason expectations.

“Talking doesn’t get it done. It’s the way that me and the guys are playing right now that does,” Nolan Arenado said.

“We’re playing well right now. Everyone’s contributing — starting pitching, defense, offense, and with our offense we can even still do a better job. But we’re finding a way, and our pitchers are keeping us in games.

“We knew we could do this — what we’re doing right now.”

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The Braves struck first with two outs in the first, an inning that has plagued the Rockies’ staff this season. In addition to a major league-worst 7.62 staff ERA in the frame, Marquez’s season ERA in the first is 9.72 as compared to 3.30 in all other innings.

On this occasion, ’ double and Nick Markakis’ walk were followed by a Johan Camargo RBI single to give Atlanta a brief 1-0 lead until the first hitter of the second.

At that time, Rockies shortstop Trevor Story, who came into the game with an NL-best .352 average (56-for-159) since June 28, continued his all-star season against Atlanta starter Aníbal Sánchez with home run No. 26 to lead off the frame.

The Rockies then took the lead in the third inning, when DJ LeMahieu clubbed his career high-tying 11th longball of the season (and ninth on the road) before a David Dahl hustle double and an Arenado RBI single extended Colorado’s advantage to 3-1.

And after yielding the typical first-inning damage, Marquez settled in, allowing only one Braves baserunner from the second through fifth innings while striking out four in that span.

“My mentality was to attack, and attack relentlessly, and put them away as quickly as possible,” said Marquez, who threw only 93 pitches and worked ahead against 21 of 28 batters faced. “That was the formula. That’s an aggressive ballclub that swings early in the count, and I was loyal to my plan.”

Atlanta got a run back in the sixth inning off another Camargo RBI, cutting the score to 3-2, but Marquez rebounded with a scoreless seventh before manager Bud Black handed the lead over to the bullpen.

“It was a bit lengthy first inning from German, but then the ball-strike ratio was great,” Black said. “He had good use of the slider, the fastball, the change — he had his weapons today, and he continues to pitch steady for us.”

From there, Ottavino locked down the eighth inning and Wade Davis earned his NL-leading 35th save in the ninth. In between, Carlos Gonzalez came on for a pinch-hit, RBI single to push the score to 4-2.

Entering Sunday, Colorado was half a game behind Arizona in the NL West and 1½ games ahead of Los Angeles, after both divisional foes lost Saturday. The Diamondbacks played at San Diego on Sunday, and the Dodgers were at Seattle.

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Looking ahead

Monday: Off

Tuesday: Padres LHP Robbie Erlin (2-3, 3.33 ERA) at Rockies LHP Tyler Anderson (6-5, 4.39), 6:40 p.m., ATTRM

Wednesday: Padres RHP Jacob Nix (1-1, 6.75) at Rockies RHP (9-7, 4.76), 6:40 p.m., ATTRM

Thursday: Padres LHP Joey Lucchesi (6-7, 3.79) at Rockies LHP (11-7, 2.96), 1:10 p.m., ATTRM

Friday: Cardinals RHP Miles Mikolas (13-3, 2.80) at Rockies RHP Antonio Senzatela (4-3, 4.47), 6:40 p.m., ATTRM

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Rockies’ reliever Mike Dunn heads to rehab assignment with Triple-A Albuquerque, eyes early September return The southpaw, currently on 60-day disabled list, has a 9.00 ERA and 2.35 WHIP in 25 appearances (17.0 innings) this season By KYLE NEWMAN | [email protected] | The Denver Post PUBLISHED: August 19, 2018 at 10:15 am | UPDATED: August 19, 2018 at 3:18 pm

ATLANTA — Rockies reliever Mike Dunn, nearing his return from left AC joint inflammation, is heading out on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Albuquerque on Monday and plans to rejoin Colorado for the team’s series against the San

Francisco Giants starting Sept. 3 at Coors Field.

The left-hander is on his third disabled-list stint this season, the first two coming because of a rhomboid strain and back spasms, as he plans to make his first appearance with the Isotopes on Tuesday at El Paso.

Dunn threw a simulated game Friday at SunTrust Park before the Rockies’ win and said he felt no pain from the session.

“I’m sore in general from facing hitters for the first time in a while, but it’s a good soreness — kind of like that feeling again,” Dunn said. “I’m getting more treatments today, and then I’m ready to get back out there in an actual game.”

After Tuesday’s outing, Dunn is scheduled for four additional August appearances in Triple-A. The southpaw has a 9.00

ERA and a 2.35 WHIP in 25 appearances (17 innings) for Colorado in 2018.

“He’s been out for a while, so there’s going to be a lengthy rehab assignment for Mike to get out on the mound, build his arm back and gain confidence in how he’s throwing,” manager Bud Black said.

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‘Talking doesn’t get it done,’ Nolan Arenado said, but the Rockies streaked through a historically difficult stretch By Nick Groke - Aug 19, 2018 | The Athletic

ATLANTA — The sting of a series loss to the Pirates 10 days ago was fresh on his mind when DJ LeMahieu glanced forward. There is a secret that most baseball players will not admit, hidden behind the bromides of “taking it one game at a time.”

They do, in fact, know the score. They can read a schedule as easily as fans do with their freebie refrigerator magnets.

And LeMahieu saw a slalom course. The Rockies were staring at a stretch of 10 games against three teams at the top of their divisions: the Dodgers, Astros and Braves.

“When you get Houston and Atlanta on the road, you know it’s gonna be some tough games,” LeMahieu said.

After he yanked a home run to left field in the third inning Sunday, as the Rockies clawed to a 4-2 victory over the Braves and a four-game series sweep, their first in 26 years at Atlanta, LeMahieu took a breath and put this stretch in context.

“I feel like we’ve been playing good teams for a while, all the way back to July,” he said after the Rockies went 8-2 over those three series. “And it’s not going to get any easier, either. So, we need to keep rolling out wins, keep playing with confidence.”

The Rockies on Sunday completed a span of 46 games against winning opponents, all of them, on every day, carried a record above .500. Only two other teams in National League history played a stretch as difficult. The 1926 Phillies finished

15-31 over their run. The 2012 Braves went 22-24.

Colorado finished far better than both. All that tough sledding left the Rockies with a 30-16 mark. They made up 6 1/2 games in the National League West and moved from fourth place to second, one-half game behind the Diamondbacks.

“Talking doesn’t get it done,” All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado said. “It’s the way we’re playing right now that does.

Everyone is contributing. I think the offense can do a better job, but we’re finding a way.”

The last time the Rockies swept a series in Atlanta came in 1998, when they won two of two here. This sweep came against a Braves team that had won five in a row and 14 of 18. They had won six of seven to start an 11-game homestand.

Then the Rockies arrived, and LeMahieu hit home runs on back-to-back days, including a game-busting shot to center field Saturday night in the 10th inning. Trevor Story homered, too, a leadoff liner to left in the second off Atlanta right- hander Aníbal Sánchez. David Dahl doubled in the third, and Arenado knocked him home with a drive to center. And

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Carlos Gonzalez, the club’s best hitter by average since the All-Star break (.302), hit a run-scoring single in the ninth to bring in Ryan McMahon.

“We knew we could do this,” Arenado said, “but we’re better than this as an offense. We have some guys who haven’t gotten going yet. And that’s scary, knowing we can be even better.”

German Márquez, one of two 23-year-old Venezuelan right-handers in the Rockies’ rotation, gave up just two runs on five hits over seven strike-heavy innings. More than two-thirds of his pitches found the zone. And he has a 2.70 ERA in his past six road starts, over 40 innings.

In the 10-game stretch that left them bolstered with confidence, the Rockies’ pitching, both starters and relievers, allowed a .242 batting average against. That’s fourth best in the NL, behind the Dodgers, Cardinals and Diamondbacks.

Colorado’s bullpen fell together like a kid’s puzzle. On back-to-back days, Adam Ottavino threw a hitless penultimate inning and Wade Davis followed him without a run allowed.

“I sensed that it was starting to come together,” Colorado manager Bud Black said of his bullpen, “and I mean all of them.”

Their schedule does not ease off — the Padres and Giants are the only sub-.500 teams remaining on the Rockies’ schedule, making it the third-most-difficult slate in the majors.

“These are tough teams, but we’re definitely not nervous or scared to face anybody,” LeMahieu said. “We all know we have a good team here, so it makes it easy to show up to the park.”

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Marquez, LeMahieu help Rockies complete sweep of Braves Associated Press

ATLANTA -- DJ LeMahieu and the are quite comfortable on the road. Even against baseball's best teams.

LeMahieu homered, German Marquez pitched seven solid innings and the Rockies closed out their first four-game sweep in Atlanta with a 4-2 victory over the Braves on Sunday.

Colorado improved to 30-16 since June 26, and each of those 46 games came against teams with winning records at the time. The Rockies are 8-2 in their last 10 games against the , Houston and Atlanta, facing the Astros and Braves on the road.

"Yeah, it's tough teams but we're definitely not nervous or scared to play anyone with our team," LeMahieu said. "We all know we have a really good team here. It makes it easy to show up at the park."

LeMahieu put Colorado in front with his third-inning drive to left field . He has hit nine of his 11 homers on the road, including a tiebreaking solo shot in the 10th inning of Saturday night's 5-3 win.

"No explanation," LeMahieu said when asked about his road success. "Just kind of random, I guess."

Rockies manager Bud Black said his team, battling Arizona for the NL West lead, is playing "good, all-around clean baseball," but still can hit better.

Atlanta's four straight losses, tied for its longest streak of the season, followed a five-game winning streak.

"In this business, every time you think you have something figured out, you get kicked right in the teeth," Braves manager

Brian Snitker said.

Marquez (11-9) won his fourth straight road decision. He allowed two runs and five hits, struck out five and walked one.

"Hopefully we can keep this rolling all the way to the World Series," Marquez said through a translator.

Marquez allowed a run in the first when Freddie Freeman doubled and scored on Johan Camargo's single. He then threw four straight scoreless innings before Camargo's single in the sixth drove in Freeman again.

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Trevor Story led off the second with a tying homer off Atlanta's Anibal Sanchez (6-4) into the Colorado bullpen behind the left-field wall.

Following LeMahieu's homer in the third, David Dahl doubled and scored on Nolan Arenado's single.

Sanchez struck out eight in 6 2/3 innings. He was charged with three runs and five hits. Wade Davis gave up a one-out single to Inciarte but had three strikeouts in the ninth for his NL-leading 35th save. Colorado's only previous sweep in

Atlanta was a three-game series from Sept. 12-14, 1997.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Rockies: LHP Mike Dunn (left shoulder inflammation) will begin a rehab assignment on Tuesday with Triple-A

Albuquerque. He has been out since July 7. "It's going to be a lengthy rehab assignment," Black said, adding Dunn will need "multiple outings." Braves: LHP Sam Freeman (left shoulder inflammation) was activated off the 10-day disabled list.

LHP was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett.

STREAKS END

Braves rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. was 0 for 4, ending his 11-game . His team-record streak of reaching safely in nine consecutive plate appearances leading off a game also ended with his fly ball to center in the first.

WEST WOES

The Braves fell to 9-18 against the NL West this season. They are 40-19 against NL East teams.

ROAD KINGS

The Rockies improved to 37-29 away from Coors Field. They have won their last four series in Atlanta; the Braves won two of three in Colorado from April 6-8.

UP NEXT

Rockies: LHP Tyler Anderson (6-5, 4.39 ERA) tries to bounce from a rough outing at Houston when he gets the ball in the opener of a three-game series against visiting San Diego on Tuesday night. The Rockies are 16-5 at home since July 2.

Braves: RHP (7-9, 4.22 ERA) starts when Atlanta opens a seven-game road trip at Pittsburgh on Monday night. 13

It’s time to get excited about ’s return to the Rockies

Sooner or later, Holliday will be back in those sweet sleeveless black jerseys By Eric Garcia McKinley @garcia_mckinley - Aug 20, 2018, 8:00am MDT | Purple Row

It hasn’t happened yet, but it will happen. Matt Holliday is in the Rockiesorganization and annihilating Triple-A pitching.

The Rockies have room on their bench for an extra bat and some expendable occupants on the 40-man roster. Sooner or later, Holliday is going to play for the Rockies again.

Holliday is a unique player in Rockies history. He’s a top ten player among everyone who’s played for Colorado, and yet most of Holliday’s career production came elsewhere. He played eight seasons for the Cardinalscompared to the five he played for the Rockies, and he put up eight more rWAR in St. Louis. Holliday’s an iconic Rockies player who had more good seasons as a member of a different team than with the Rockies.

But those years in Colorado were special. The seventh round draft pick debuted in 2004. He had a pretty good rookie season — good enough for fifth place in the Rookie of the Year vote. In 2005 Holliday improved, but he really took things to another level starting in 2006. From that season until his final one in Denver in 2008, Holliday had a 142 OPS+ and averaged about five WAR per season. His Colorado masterpiece came in 2007, when he hit .340/.405/.607 and finished second in the NL MVP vote.

He also managed to touch home plate to win game 163 and hit a crucial three-run home run in the clinching game of the

National League Championship Series. So yeah, Matt has a special place in Rockies history.

It would be fun and exciting for Holliday to return to the Rockies at any point. But imagine a scenario other than what we have right now. Imagine if the Rockies signed Holliday to a minor-league deal in August as the team fought the Padres for fourth place in the NL West. Maybe he’d show up for junk time in September, possibly before. It would be cool to see

Holliday back with the Rockies, but it would feel like nothing more than a novelty.

2018 is turning out to be special too, though. The Rockies are playing great baseball, are poised to contend into

September, and have an excellent shot at their first division title. The idea of Holliday wearing a Rockies uniform in 2018 and helping the Rockies win important games in a playoff race should excite all Rockies fans. Even better, there’s the real possibility of seeing Holliday celebrating a clinching victory alongside Nolan Arenado and Carlos González. The

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commingling of Rockies eras may be too much to take. All that would be needed is for or Andres Galarraga to show up and enter the scrum.

If the Rockies have any sense of the needs of their fans, they will make sure Holliday dons a sleeveless black vest sooner rather than later. And if the universe has any sense of a good story, Holliday will be a part of the Rockies successful run to the 2018 postseason.

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Arenado Spoke Out in June; Rockies Have Answered Concerns Since TRACY RINGOLSBY - AUGUST 20, 2018 | InsideTheSeams.com

In the final days of June, and with the seasons seemingly slipping away, there was an uneasy feeling in the

Rockies clubhouse. A ballclub that broke spring training with ideas of building off last year's wild-card qualifcation for the post-season not only had fallen a season-worst four games below .500, and found itself closer to last place in the NL West than first, but it couldn't even win at home, having opened the season losing

22 of its first 37 games at Coors Field.

Nolan Arenado couldn't bite his tongue any longer.

"I'm tired of coming to the ballpark and losing," he told The Athletic, speaking not for himself, but for his teammates. “We work too hard as a group to experience that. I’m not saying I go home questioning, like, ‘I don’t like this place.’ I love it here. But yeah, I want to win. And the more we lose, the more I — if you lose all the time, nobody wants to be there.”

Fifty-three days later, the concerns have been eased.

The Rockies, on Sunday, completed a four-game sweep, something they have done on the road only seven times in franchise history, and the first time ever in Atlanta.

4-FOR-4 ON THE ROAD

Start Date Opp Sv SvOP IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA AVG 8/16/2018 Atl 3 3 37 30 13 13 1 12 36 3.16 0.227 9/7/2017 LAD 2 2 36 29 11 8 4 13 37 2 0.212 8/20/2012 NYM 3 3 36 27 5 5 0 16 28 1.25 0.213 4/11/2011 NYM 3 3 36 34 19 17 3 14 23 4.25 0.252 6/5/2009 StL 1 1 36 25 9 9 4 6 28 2.25 0.195 6/12/2006 Was 1 1 36 32 14 10 1 16 31 2.5 0.234 8/9/1993 LA 2 2 38 30 7 7 2 8 16 1.66 0.219 And they also completed that 46-game challenge of facing nothing but teams with a winning record by going 30-

16, markedly better than the two teams who dealt with that situation in the past -- the 1926 Phillies who went 15-

21, and 2012 Braves, who were 22-24.

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In the process, the Rockies also turned what was an eight-game deficit in the NL West to just a half-game back of the division-leading Diamondbacks.

Arenado quickly dismisses the notion that his statement of disappointment during that late June day in San

Francisco had anything to do with the success the Rockies have enjoyed since.

"Talk doesn't get it done," Arenado said after Sunday's victory. "It is the way you play. We are playing well now.

Everyone is contributing, the starting pitching, the bullpen, the defense, the offense.

"The offense can do a better job, but we are finding a way, and the pitching is keeping us in games. It is kind of scary to know we can be better. That is going to help us out."

The Pitching Staff has made it's presence felt. During the Rockies 46-game run. In compiling the best record in the NL, the Rockies also have a 3.65 ERA, which ranks as the third lowest.

AN ERA TO REMEMBER

Team W L Pct Team ERA Rockies 30 16 0.652 Dodgers 3.35 Cubs 29 18 0.617 Phillies 3.62 Phillies 27 21 0.563 Rockies 3.65 Cardinals 27 21 0.563 D-backs 3.79 Pirates 26 21 0.553 Cardinals 3.84 D-backs 25 22 0.532 Giants 3.88 Dodgers 25 23 0.521 Pirates 3.94 Braves 23 23 0.5 Braves 4.17 Reds 23 23 0.5 Mets 4.29 Brewers 24 25 0.49 Nationals 4.33 Mets 23 24 0.489 Cubs 4.4 Giants 21 25 0.457 Reds 4.53 Nationals 21 27 0.438 Brewers 4.59 Marlins 18 29 0.383 Marlins 4.82 Padres 14 32 0.304 Padres 4.99 And while the Rockies offense may have only the ninth best average in the NL during their 46-game run, shortstop Trevor Story has taken that next step in establishing himself as a premiere offensive player, in addition to being skilled defensively. He leads the NL since June 26 with a .345 average, and is even hitting .367 on the road second in the NL to only Paul Goldschmidt. 17

THE HITS KEEP COMING

Player Team AVG Player Team Road Trevor Story Col .345 Paul Goldschmidt Ari .388 Mil .341 Trevor Story Col .367 Paul Goldschmidt Ari .339 Daniel Murphy Was .363 Cin .337 Starlin Castro Mia .347 Jose Peraza Was .335 Yadier Molina StL .344 Daniel Murphy Ari .329 Javier Baez ChC .338 Mil .324 Lorenzo Cain Mil .338 Javier Baez ChC .321 Pit .337 Freddie Freeman Atl .32 Jose Peraza Cin .333 Starlin Castro Mia .316 Josh Bell Pitt .333 Now, however, comes the challenge. The Rockies have have 38 games remaining on their regular-season schedule, and while they play seven of those games against the Padres, the other 31 are against teams with winning records, including six with the Dodgers (three home and three road) and seven with the Diamondbacks

(four home and three road).

"We're baseball against good teams, and we're finding a way to win against teams who also know how to win," said center fielder Charlie Blackmon. "It's not like we're beating a team that can't win. Some teams, when they are not going good, find a way to lose. But the teams we've been playing find a way to win, consistently."

And the Rockies like to feel that in the just-completed 46-game stretch they have moved into that group that can find a way to win, even when it isn't playing well.

The next six weeks will serve as the proving ground for the Rockies to establish that.

WHAT'S AHEAD

Dates Opponent W-L Tuesday-Thursday vs. San Diego Padres 49-78 Friday-Sunday vs. St. Louis Cardinals 68-57 Aug 27 - 28 @ Los Angeles Angels 63-63 Aug 30 - Sept 2 @ San Diego Padres 49-78 Sept. 3 - 5 vs. San Francisco Giants 61-64 Sept. 7 - 9 vs. Los Angeles Dodgers 67-58 Sept. 10 - 13 vs. Arizona Diamondbacks 69-56 Sept. 14 - 16 @ San Francisco Giants 61-64 18

Dates Opponent W-L Sept. 17 - 19 @ Los Angeles Dodgers 67-58 Sept. 21 - 23 @ Arizona Diamondbacks 69-56 Sept. 24 - 27 vs. 68-56 Sept. 28 - 30 vs. 62-63

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Rockies sweep Braves to cap one of the most impressive stretches in franchise history By Drew Creasman - Posted on August 19, 2018 | BSN Denver

On Sunday, the Colorado Rockies wrapped up a stretch of 46 consecutive games played against teams with winning records.

That hasn’t happened since the 1926 Philadelphia Phillies found themselves in the same kind of schedule gauntlet.

Understandably, those ’26 Phils only managed a record of 15-32 over that span.

With a gutsy 4-2 victory over the , capping off a four-game sweep of the NL East leaders, the Rockies improved their record over this insane stretch to an eye-popping 30-16. That even includes some highly-improbable, late losses in St. Louis and Milwaukee.

This has arguably been the single most impressive collection of games played in the history of the franchise, though I suppose September of 2007 may have something to say about that.

German Marquez was fantastic with only a pair of stumbles in an otherwise remarkably efficient and effective outing.

He pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on five hits, but felt in control for almost the entire game, especially in the middle innings when the Atlanta offense simply could not square up the baseball.

The Braves got on the board first, as they have done throughout the series, mounting a rally after Marquez recorded two very quick outs in the top of the first. But after Freddie Freeman barely got a piece of a pitch it looked for a moment he had struck out on, he smashed a double off the wall in center field, nearly going yard.

Marquez then worked around Nick Markakis, issuing a free pass but Johan Camargo jumped on the first pitch he saw in the next at-bat, hitting a grounder back up the middle for an RBI single.

That lead only lasted as long as it took for Colorado to get a chance to answer. Trevor Story, in the first at-bat of the top of the second, went down and got a low-and-away fastball, somehow pulling it over the wall in left for his 26th home run of the season.

Colorado took the lead in the third on DJ LeMahieu’s second home run in three at-bats. Delivering the big blast in extras last night on a deep drive to center, LeMahieu went down and golfed one out to left against Sanchez, scorching a no-

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doubter into the bleachers. That was followed by a blooping double off the bat of David Dahl who was able to score easily on a sinking single to center from Nolan Arenado who extended out of the zone on a 3-1 pitch in order to drive in the run, giving the Rockies a 3-1 lead.

The Braves got one back in the sixth, again Freeman and Camargo doing the damage. The former led off the inning a single and moved up on a pitch in the dirt that Tony Wolters wasn’t able to smother. He advanced to third on a groundball out by Nick Markakis and scored once again on a Camargo single back up the middle, though this time Marquez was ahead in the count 0-2.

Adam Ottavino came on for the eighth and worked a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout, getting Ozzie Albies, Freeman, and

Markakis in order.

The Rockies got some insurance in the top of the ninth. produced a one-out single to left in front of a Ryan

McMahon single up the middle but Parra was thrown out trying to reach third on the play. McMahon was able to move up to second when reliever Brad Brach balked. That ended up being big when Carlos Gonzalez lined a two-out single to left, scoring McMahon to give the Rockies a 4-2 lead.

Wade Davis came on in the ninth and struck out Camargo but gave up a single to to bring the tying run to the plate. He got Charlie Culberson to pop up to first but McMahon dropped it, resulting in an . It was no matter for

Davis, though, who bounced back to strike out the former Rockie.

Inciarte stole second with catcher Tyler Flowers at the plate but again it wouldn’t matter to the Rockies closer who made it a strikeout of the side, getting Flowers on a curveball in the dirt to end it.

FINAL STATS:

German Marquez: 7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

Adam Ottavino: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Wade Davis: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K (S: 35)

David Dahl: 2-for-3, 1 R

Trevor Story: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI (HR: 26) 21

DJ LeMahieu: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI (HR: 11)

Ryan McMahon: 1-for-4, 1 R

Carlos Gonzalez: 1-for-1, 1 RBI

WHAT’S NEXT:

After an off day, the Rockies return home to finally face a team under .500 but it is still a divisional battle with the San

Diego Padres. Tuesday evening’s matchup features Tyler Anderson against Robbie Erlin, first pitch at 6:40 Mountain

Time.

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Colorado Rockies: Chad Bettis talks about his new bullpen role by Kevin Henry - 4 hours ago | RoxPile

On Saturday, Antonio Senzatela made a start for the Colorado Rockies, taking the place of Chad Bettis in the rotation against the Atlanta Braves. With the move, Bettis was officially ushered into a bullpen role, a position he hasn’t been in since 2014.

Bettis has posted a 5-2 record for the Colorado Rockies this season with a 5.42 ERA in 19 starts. However, in his last seven starts, the ERA has ballooned to 8.31. Despite allowing just one earned run and three hits in 6.1 innings against the

Los Angeles Dodgers on August 12, when Senzatela was eligible to come off the disabled list after suffering shoulder soreness, he was slotted into the spot in the rotation occupied by Bettis.

The 29-year-old Bettis hasn’t been in the bullpen since 2014, a season where he posted a 9.12 ERA in 24.2 innings covering 21 games. As our Jake Shapiro wrote about in this article, the right-hander’s time in the bullpen that season was anything but successful. Bettis gave up four hits and three runs in his first outing of the season on March 31 and never had a monthly ERA below 5.23 the rest of the campaign as he bounced between Triple-A Colorado Springs and the

Rockies.

Bettis knows 2014 wasn’t successful and remembers it well, talking about it with Shapiro during Colorado’s recent road trip to Milwaukee.

“It didn’t (go well). Anybody would be lying if they told you it went well,” Bettis told Shapiro when asked about 2014. “That being said, I learned a lot from that experience. Whether it’s that or whatever the case might be, I’m here to win and help the team win. Big picture, we’re in the playoff race and we’re trying to win. If that’s what will help the team the best, that’s what I will do.”

Flash forward four seasons and Bettis once again finds himself as a reliever, but also with a different mindset. The veteran of the Rockies rotation when the season began, Bettis has not only learned how to serve as a mentor but also perform in the national spotlight after his much-publicized return from testicular cancer.

An ability to learn from previous experiences (and a change in Colorado’s fortunes) make Bettis willing to work with manager Bud Black, pitching coach Steve Foster and bullpen coach Darren Holmes on the change.

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“It’ll be fine. I’ve done it before,” Bettis told Shapiro. “I think I’m a little better prepared this year opposed to when everything happened in 2014. I think I’m better for it. I’m definitely more prepared. There are some experiences I can definitely learn from and take advantage of.”

It is certainly possible that Bettis returns to the rotation by season’s end. Injuries are always a possibility. However, for now, Bettis will look to impact Colorado’s chances at a playoff in a relief role. Can he adapt to the mindset for the first time in four seasons? It’s one of the things Rockies fans will be watching as the end of August grows ever closer.

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Colorado Rockies: That Kyle Freeland guy is a legit Cy Young contender by Aaron Hurt - 1 day ago | RoxPile

There is a guy playing for the Colorado Rockies that has become a fan favorite but is a relatively unknown by the national media. This guy leads the team in wins and has a sub-3.00 ERA and has quietly become a dark horse in

National League Cy Young race. That’s right, I am talking about that Kyle Freeland guy.

To be realistic, Kyle Freeland has little to no chance of winning the NL Cy Young Award. The Washington Nationals’ Max

Scherzer and his 16-5 record and 2.11 ERA is on the verge of locking up that race against Aaron Nola and Jacob deGrom.

But by no means, considering Freeland’s numbers and the fact that he pitches so well at Coors Field, should he not garner some consideration for the award.

He doesn’t have the shutdown stuff that Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, or others have but after Friday night’s 11-5 victory over the Atlanta Braves, Freeland is now 11-7 with a 2.96 ERA and 129 strikeouts. If you throw out his month of April, his stats become downright nasty. Since the start of May, Freeland is 10-3 with a minuscule 2.39 ERA.

To put his stats up against starters the NL, he is 4th overall in WAR, behind Scherzer, Nola, and deGrom, 6th in ERA, and

8th in wins.

Freeland has been so good that he is on pace to have the best season by a Rockies’ starter since Ubaldo Jimenez‘s in

2010. That season, Ubaldo went 19-8 with a 2.88 ERA and 214 strikeouts.

The biggest case for Cy Young that Freeland has is how well he has pitched at Coors. In 11 starts at home, he is 7-2 with a 2.22 ERA and 61 strikeouts, with a 1.14 WHIP and a .213 batting average against.

If Rockies’ hitters get downgraded by the national media for playing half of their games at home, then the Rockies pitchers should get even more credit for having to pitch in altitude.

Kyle Freeland won’t win a Cy Young this season but he has definitely solidified himself as the “ace” of the Rockies’ rotation and should be considered one of the top five pitchers in the National League. People outside of Colorado might not know about that Kyle Freeland Guy but he sure is trying to make them take notice.

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The Rockies have stormed back into the MLB playoff picture, and they're doing it with pitching and defense The Rockies have suddenly become a very good run prevention team despite Coors Field by Mike Axisa @mikeaxisa - 1h ago • 3 min read | CBS Sports

Understandably, the Oakland Athletics are the talk of baseball right now. They erased a 10-game deficit in the AL West in about a month and had a chance to move into sole possession of first place Sunday afternoon, but their loss to the Astros (HOU 9, OAK 4) knocked them one-game back. Still, the A's are scorching hot and in position to steal the division from the defending World Series champions.

With Oakland hogging all the attention -- again, understandably so -- it's been easy to overlook the fact there is an A's caliber race up the standings going on in the National League as well. The Colorado Rockies, who were eight games back as recently as June 28, have won 30 of their last 44 games and now sit only a half-game behind the Diamondbacks in the

NL West. The best records in baseball since June 28:

1. Red Sox: 34-10 (.773)

2. Athletics: 31-12 (.721)

3. Rockies: 30-14 (.682)

4. Cubs: 28-17 (.622)

5. Indians: 27-17 (.614)

"To me, anybody who makes the postseason has a chance to be a legitimate World Series contender, and the Rockies have a chance to make the postseason," Jonah Keri said on CBS Sports HQ. "Does that mean they are one of the three or four best teams in baseball? I don't think so. They've put themselves in position to make the postseason either as a wild card or maybe win the west."

Making Colorado's rise up the standings even more impressive is who they've beaten. All 44 games during his 30-14 stretch have been played against teams over .500 -- the Rockies have played 46 straight games against winning teams overall -- which ties the 1926 Phillies for the longest such streak in National League history. The 30-14 stretch has included:

• A four-game sweep of the Braves in Atlanta over the weekend.

• Three-game sweep of the Dodgers last week.

• Three-game sweeps of the A's and Mariners last month.

• Four wins in six games over the D-Backs.

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We're so used to the Rockies being a dynamite offensive team because of Coors Field, but during this 30-14 stretch, they're averaging only 4.75 runs scored per game, which is above the NL average (4.46) but not substantially so.

Colorado is averaged 4.69 runs scored per game on the season, which ranks tenth among all teams and fourth among NL teams. A good offensive team? Yes. A powerhouse offensive team like most Rockies teams historically? Nah.

The 2018 Rockies are built on run prevention, and aside from a midseason blip in which the bullpen seemed to blow a lead every night, the Rockies have been better than average at keeping runs off the board. That is not easy to do in Coors

Field.

The Rockies have been an above-average run prevention team most of the season. The Baseball Gauge

The expensive new-look bullpen has not worked out as hoped -- Wade Davis, Bryan Shaw, and Jake McGee have a combined 5.83 ERA in 142 innings -- but Adam Ottavino has been dominant all year and new addition Seung-hwan

Oh has helped picked up the slack. Kyle Freeland might be having the best pitching season in franchise history, Jon

Gray has been very good since returning from Triple-A last month, and German Marquez and Tyler Anderson give the club two more quality starters.

"It's a team that has pitching and defense, and pitching and defense can play in the postseason," Keri added. "This is a team with a minus-12 run differential. They are ahead of the Dodgers, who are in third place in that division -- Dodgers are plus-113 -- but guess what? Those wins are in the bank. Colorado's got a chance now as the season winds down to beat out teams that might have more of a profile of a playoff team, including a team like the Dodgers."

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The Rockies have won 30 of their last 44 games despite facing good competition, and now the schedule will let up a bit.

Twelve of their next 15 games are against the Padres, Angels, and Giants. Any team can beat any other team on any given night in this game, those bad teams won't beat themselves, but it should be a nice reprieve for the Rockies after all those games against teams with winning records.

Much like the Mariners earlier this season, it's fair to be skeptical about the Rockies as a viable contender given their run differential, but, much like the Mariners, these wins have happened and they can't be taken away. There are six weeks to go in the regular season and what has happened already won't have much impact on what happens going forward. The

Rockies have played quite well lately, and if they continue at something close to this pace, they'll have a chance to not only go back to the postseason, but win the NL West.

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Woody Paige: Colorado Rockies rally to tenacious victory, keep postseason surge alive By: Woody Paige - Aug 19, 2018 Updated 21 hrs ago | Colorado Springs Gazette

Unleashing their late-game routine resolve and tenacity once more, the Colorado Rockies scored three runs in the ninth and two in the 10th to overpower the flabbergasted Braves in Atlanta on Saturday night.

The Rockies intrepidly strive to accomplish a historic franchise feat in their 26th season.

Denver is the only city in Major League Baseball and North America since the unification of the National and American leagues in 1901 not to have won one division title and/or a World Series championship.

In this silver jubilee of the Rox, it’s about time.

The wild-and-woolly, and weird, West Division is right there, and, so, too, are the Rockies.

The Rockies are a Sunday victory over the Braves and a home sweep against Padres from an opportunity to nudge into first place in the tightest division with fewer than 40 games remaining.

Ninety would be a good number to get into Rocktober V as a division winner or a wild-card team. The Rox need to finish with an august August and produce a September to remember.

Hurlers and hitters, Rox.

Only three teams haven’t won a division from 1993-2017. The two ’93 expansion clubs — the Fish and the Rox — share that dubious disgrace with the Pirates. Pittsburgh did end up first in the National League East in 1992 when only two divisions existed, and the Marlins shockingly prevailed in two World Series as a wild-card team. The Purple Rox were dominated by the Red Sox in the 2007 Series after winning seven consecutive playoff games (and the play-in game).

However, they’ve lost nine straight postseason games.

In 1995, the wild-card Rockies fell to the old Braves in three of four. The Rox never have appeared in back-to-back postseasons.

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But they can overcome that stigma. Lately, the rotation has been Rox-solid, and the offense stopped being offensive and is ranked in the top five in eight categories — including runs, RBIs, slugging percentage, batting average and even stolen bases.

Walk-off and late-inning victories are occurring with more frequency, and the meltdown bullspitpen isn’t blowing leads and games as often. The startling series with the Dodgers has turned around the Rox, especially considering that L.A. and the

Diamondbacks traded for high-profile veterans (including ), while the Rockies added solid reliever Seung- hwan Oh and Matt Holliday, who is hitting .370, with three homers, in Albuquerque and waiting for the September call-up.

Brashness has replaced bashfulness with the Rockies, And Bud Black is calmer after the Kerosene Korps stopped lighting matches every night.

Denver Public Schools’ own Kyle Freeman is developing into the ace the Rox needed desperately, and Jon Gray returned from his stint with the Isotopes and has figured out the protons and the neutrons. Some sycophants are calling the

Rockies’ starters their best ever.

Not so quick. The Rockies will have three with double-digit victories, but the 2009 staff possessed five pitchers with 10-16 victories each, and Ubaldo Jimenez, Jason Marquis, Jorge De La Rosa, Jason Hammel and Aaron Cook combined for 67 victories. The current Rox Six-Pack is young, but growing in a hurry.

Hitters are helping the hurlers. At least four will crush more than 20 home runs; Nolan Arenado, as usual, should be the

MVP, and Carlos Gonzalez has been a marvel and should be in the Comeback Player paragraph. Trevor Story is a real star shortstop. Tu-lo has been pushed aside in LoDo for Trev-or.

The Rockies’ difficult schedule lets up this week briefly. After the Padres, the Cardinals, who have surged since the

Rockies shoved them in St. Louis, are in town for three.

From Sept. 3 to Sept. 23, the Rockies play 10 games at home against the Giants, the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks, then nine games on the road in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix. The Rockies are 26-24 against division opponents.

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The Rockies conclude the season with seven straight out of the division at The Keg — four vs. the Phillies and three with the Nationals.

The Rox are in competition with the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks, the Cardinals and the Phillies, (plus the Cubs ,

Braves and the Brewers). The Giants and the Gnats are done.

The rocking and rollicking Rockies, who at one point had trailed the Braves by the same score that the Broncos were leading by in Denver (2-0), rallied — and are determined to make the postseason and history.

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