MLB Preview: San Diego Padres (31-33) at Colorado Rockies (26-40)

SAN DIEGO PADRES NOTES:

Friars edge Rockies 3-2 yesterday afternoon in Dever to take series

• The Padres used 6 different pitchers in yesterday’s win, and they combined to allow 2 runs on 5 hits with just 1 walk and 7 punchouts…starter Ryan Weathers went just 3.0 innings but allowed just 1 run on 3 hits…he punched out 2 Rockies without allowing a walk…reliever Drew Carlton immediately followed Weathers, and he received the win in his 2.0 innings of 1-run ball (now 2-0)…Josh Hader closed the door in the 9th for his 15th save of 2023 (ranking 2nd in the NL to just SF’s Camilo Doval’s 16 saves).
• SD batters went just 1-for-12 with RISP after going 10-for-25 in their 1st 2 games of the series with RISP.
• Manny Machado went 3-for-5 with a double, and Fernando Tatis Jr. also had a multi-hit game, going 2-for-5 with a 2B.

Padres look for their season-high 4th straight win and their 1st sweep in Denver since 2011

• With yesterday’s win, the Padres have now won 3 straight for the 1st time since April 29-May 1, tying their season-high winning streak (now done 4x)…if they win today, it’ll be their longest winning streak of the season and their longest since their 5-game winning streak from September 16-21, 2022…per Elias this year is the 1st time since 2018 that the Friars went this deep into a season without any sweeps of 3+ games (had no sweeps of 3+ games at all in 2018).
• A win today would be the Friars’ 2nd sweep this season and their 1st sweep of any team in a series longer than 2 games (sole sweep was of the Giants in their 2-game Mexico City Series from April 29-30)…it’d be their 1st sweep of Colorado since May 17-19, 2021 in SD and their 1st @ Coors Field since Sept. 19-21, 2011.

Hot Tati

• Fernando Tatis Jr. has 5 RBI in his last 4 games and has multiple hits in both games so far this series… Tatis has hit safely in 8 of his last 9 games (5 of which have been multi-hit efforts) at a .368 clip with 6 doubles, 3 homers and 13 RBI for a .415 OBP and .763 SLG.
• Tatis has 5 outfield assists this year, and since his 1st game returning from the restricted list on April 20, his 5 assists lead the NL and rank 2nd in the Majors among outfielders to just TEX Adolis Garcia’s 6.
• He is tied for the 2nd-highest arm strength among MLB OF’s so far at 95.0 mph (Statcast measures the average of top 10% of throws)…ties with COL’s Brenton Doyle, behind ATL’s Ronald Acuña Jr.’s 96.5 mph.

Bump Day in Denver: Blake Snell gets the series finale

• Starter Blake Snell has pitched 6.0 scoreless innings in his last 2 outings, allowing 5 hits in total in those starts with 15 punchouts…he allowed a total 6 BB in those outings, however, and he looks to limit the free passes, as his 37 BB allowed lead the Padres pitching staff (Yu Darvish’s 22 are 2nd most).
• If Blake throws at least 6.0 scoreless innings today, it’ll be the 1st time in his career going 6.0+ without allowing a run in 3 straight starts.

Padres have committed just 24 errors, lead MLB in outs aboveaverage (OAA)

• The Padres have committed just 24 errors this year for a .990 fielding percentage, the 2nd fewest errors of any team in baseball (Arizona has committed 23)…per Statcast, they have also combined for an MLB-most 20 outs above average (next most are the D-Backs, Royals, and Mariners 11 OAA), and an MLB-most 16 “runs prevented” (next most are the Mariners & D-Backs 9).
• Xander Bogaerts’ 7 OAA lead the Padres and rank 3rd among all Major League shortstops (CHC’s Dansby Swanson has 9 and TB’s Wander Franco has 8).

STARTING PITCHER – BLAKE SNELL #4
Snell set for 11th career start vs. Rockies
30-year-old left-hander Blake Snell takes the mound for his staff-leading 13th start of the season, the 11th of his career vs. COL and his 2nd this season vs. COL…he made his 2nd career Opening Day start and his 1st as a Padre on March 30 at Petco Park…he was tagged with the loss in SD’s 7-2 defeat, allowing 3 ER on 6 hits while striking out 9 acorss 4.1 IP.

Snell aims to continue NL West success in 36th career start vs. the division
Among all ML pitchers who have made at least 35 career starts vs. NL West opponents since 1969, Snell enters tonight’s start as 1 of just 2 hurlers with a sub-.200 opponent clip (.191 AVG) vs. the division, with Jacob deGrom (.174) being the other…his 2.66 ERA vs. the NL West ranks 8th since 1969 (min. 35 starts).

16.0 scoreless-inning streak 3rd-longest of his career
The southpaw tossed a season-high 109 pitches last Mon vs. CHC and secured his 2nd winning decision of the season and his first since May 1 vs. CIN…it was his 64th career 100+ pitch outing in 171st career start, and the 109 pitches T-7th most in his career…beginning with the 2nd inning of his May 25 start @ WSH, Snell enters tonight riding a 16.0 scoreless-inning streak, which is the 3rd-longest of his career and trails only his 20.0 scoreless innings from Sept. 16-Oct. 2, 2022 and 17.0 scoreless IP from June 19-July 1, 2018…if Blake goes at least 6.0 scoreless innings, it’ll be the 1st time in his career going 6.0+ without allowing a run in 3 straight starts.

Snell has allowed just 2 HR in last 5 starts
Since May 12 @ LAD, Snell has allowed just 2 HR, which both came during his May 19 start vs. BOS…among all NL hurlers who have made at least 5 starts since May 12, his 0.67 HR/9 IP ratio is T-15th-fewest…he’s 1 of just 8 Major League pitchers (including teammate Joe Musgrove) to allow 0 HR across at least 3 starts since May 25.

Snell’s run support average 7th-fewest in the NL
Among all NL hurlers who have made at least 12 starts entering today, his 3.77 run support average (runs scored while he’s in the game) is 7th-fewest…digging deeper, among all qualifying NL pitchers since the start of 2022, his 4.07 RSA is 10th-fewest…the Padres are now 3-9 in his 12 outings, and his 6 losing decisions T-4th most in the NL.

Call him ‘Swing and Miss Snell’
Snell has caused opponents to swing and miss 30.8% of the time, 7th-highest swing and miss rate among all ML starters and 4th highest in the NL (min. 12 starts)…among all ML pitchers who have made at least 55 starts since 2021, which was Snell’s first season with the Padres, his 32.1 whiff % is T-4th-highest with Max Scherzer, Carlos Rodon and Freddy Peralta, trailing only Corbin Burnes (35.0%), Shane McClanahan (33.4%), Dylan Cease (32.8%).

COLORADO ROCKIES NOTES:

BASEBALL

• The Colorado Rockies play the final game of their six-game homestand today against the San Diego Padres … are hoping to avoid the fourth winless homestand in franchise history (min. two opponents) with a win today … the last time the Rockies failed to record a win in a homestand against two opponents was April 5-9, 2019 against Los Angeles-NL and Atlanta (0-5) … the last time the Rockies went 0-6 or worse in a homestand was June 8-14, 2012 vs. Los Angeles-AL and Oakland.
• The Rockies six-game losing streak has them at a season-low 14-games below .500 … it is their second losing streak of at least six games this season after an eight-game losing streak April 11-19.
• Following today’s game, the Rockies will embark on a 10-day, 10-game road trip to Boston, Atlanta and Cincinnati, their first of two 10-game road trips this season.
• The Rockies are in a stretch of 16-straight days with a game, and 33 games in 34 games overall
  from May 19-June 21 … are 7-15 through the first 22 games of this stretch.

D-FENCE

• Catcher Elias Díaz’s 1.3 defensive WAR (Baseball Reference) is tied for the second-highest mark among all players, the best among all catchers … 3B Ryan McMahon and SS Ezequiel Tovar each have 1.0 dWAR, tied for sixth among all Major League position players.
• The Rockies’ have only one miscue through their last nine games … the team’s 13 errors through 38 games since April 30 are tied for the second-fewest in baseball … started the season with an MLB-leading 21 errors through April 29 (28 games).

NL WEST WOES

• The Rockies have lost nine in a row and 15 of 16 against NL West teams after taking two games in San Diego to begin the season … have been outscored 58-109 over the 16-game span … have not had a winning record against the division since going 41-36 in the club’s 91-72 2018 campaign.
• The Rockies have not been swept by San Diego at Coors Field since Sept. 19-21, 2011 … Colorado has gone 17-11 overall against the Padres at Coors Field since 2020.

JONES JIVING

• Nolan Jones hit his third home run of the season Saturday, his second in four games … since his recall from Triple-A on May 26, the 25-year-old is slashing .348/.400/.630 with four doubles, three home runs, 11 RBI and four stolen bases.
• Stole a base in four-straight games Tuesday-Friday, the longest stolen base streak for a Rockies player since Charlie Blackmon stole a base in five-straight June 11-15, 2011.
• Jones’ 483-foot home run Wednesday night is the second-longest home run in the Majors this season behind Giancarlo Stanton’s 485’ home run on April 2 vs. San Francisco.
• The home run was measured at 114.2 mph off the bat, the third-hardest hit home run by a
  Rockies player in the Statcast Era (since 2015), trailing two Carlos González home runs hit in
  2016 (117.4 mph, June 4 at Arizona) and 2018 (114.4 mph, July 31 at Cincinnati).

MAC ATTACK

• Third baseman Ryan McMahon has reached base in 16 of his last 18 with nine multi-hit games since May 23 … is slashing .357/.438/.671 with five doubles, one triple, five home runs and 18 RBI over that span … ranks tied for second in the NL in RBI, third in hits and tied for third in extra-base hits in the NL since May 23.
• McMahon’s 1.9 WAR (Baseball Reference) is the best among NL players with at least 50% of their games at third base this season … his nine defensive runs saved at third base are tied with Ke’Bryan Hayes for the most among third basemen (via. Sports Info Solutions).
• Since moving from second base to third base on April 18, McMahon has slashed .281/.354/.489 with 15 doubles, two triples, six home runs and 28 RBI.

BABY GOT BACKSTOP

• Rockies catcher Elias Díaz’s .294 batting average ranks eighth in the National League and is the second-highest among all MLB catchers … his .336 (36-for-107) average at home is the seventh-highest in the Majors while his .382 (21-for-55) average with runners in scoring position is the seventh-highest in the NL.
• Has appeared in 54 games at catcher, the second-most in the Majors … his 12 catcher caught stealing are tied for the second-most in the Majors.

ROCKIES STARTING PITCHER – #32 DINELSON LAMET RHP
HOW WE GOT HERE

• Dinelson Lamet will make his second start in a Rockies uniform today … joined the rotation last week after making 12 relief appearances to begin the season before a stint on the injured list … placed on the IL on May 4 with lower back stiffness, reinstated prior to his last start on May 31.
• Originally claimed off waivers by Colorado from Milwaukee on Aug. 5, 2022 and signed a one-year deal with the Rockies this offseason to avoid arbitration … was designated for assignment by the Brewers on Aug. 3 after being acquired via trade from San Diego on Aug. 1 … the Brewers received Lamet, LHP Robert Gasser, LHP Taylor Rogers and OF Esteury Ruiz from San Diego in exchange for LHP Josh Hader.

BACK AT THE FRONT

• Took the loss in the Rockies 10-4 defeat by the Giants on June 6 … threw three innings and allowed three runs on six hits and two walks
  with four strikeouts.
• Made his first start since June 26, 2021 at Arizona on May 31 … suffered the loss in a 6-0 Rockies defeat against Tommy Henry and the D-backs … pitched three innings and allowed five runs on seven hits with no walks and four strikeouts.

SETTING THE TONE

• Has made 58 starts over his career, going 14-19 with a 3.95 ERA (291.2 IP, 128 ER) … opposing hitters have slashed .217/.300/.382 when the right-hander starts.
• Used solely as a starter in each of his first three seasons from 2017- 2020 … began the 2021 season as a starter before transitioning to the
  bullpen in September after missing time with forearm injuries.
• Won his MLB debut at Citi Field back on May 25, 2017 … tossed five innings and allowed one run, three hits and two walks while striking out eight.

THOSE COLORS LOOK FAMILIAR

• Making his fourth career appearance and first start against San Diego … over three relief appearances tallied a 6.00 ERA (3 IP, 2 ER) with three walks and four strikeouts.
• His last appearance came in San Diego on April 1 … one inning of relief, gave up two runs on one hit and three walks.
• Spent parts of five seasons with the Padres before being claimed by the Rockies.

START ME UP

• Made three rehab starts with Triple-A Albuquerque, posting a 0.84 ERA
  (10.2 IP, 1 ER) with six hits allowed, one walk and 11 strikeouts.
• Tossed 4.2 scoreless innings his last time out May 26 vs. Round Rock, allowing two hits with one walk and six strikeouts while throwing 63 pitches … tossed four perfect innings in his previous outing, May 20 vs. Tacoma, striking out four while throwing 38 pitches.