COLORADO ROCKIES NOTES:
THE GANG HITS THE ROAD
• The Colorado Rockies continue their seven-game road trip this evening with game two of a four-game set with the defending National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies before heading to Cleveland for a three-game set with the Guardians.
• Since winning their first two games of the season the Rockies have gone 4-14 … their .300 winning percentage overall on the season is tied for the lowest in franchise history through 20 games (also: 2002 & 2005).
WIT OUT
• Colorado snapped its eight-game losing streak last night with a 5-0 win … per Elias, the last time the Rockies snapped an eight-game losing streak with a shutout victory was April 14, 2019 at San Francisco after dropping eight games April 5-13.
• It was the Rockies’ first shutout victory on the road since Sept. 14, 2022 when the Rockies bested the White Sox 3-0 at Guaranteed Rate Field … was also the first shutout victory at Citizens Bank Park since Sept. 12, 2007 when the Rockies beat the Phillies 12-0 in a game that featured a solo home run from Rockies AT&T SportsNet analyst Cory Sullivan.
• Rockies starter Ryan Feltner tossed 5.2 scoreless innings in the win with three hits allowed, three walks and six strikeouts, the longest scoreless outing of his career.
SERIES JAWNS
• Colorado was swept in three games by Pittsburgh Monday-Friday at Coors Field … allowed 33 runs total in the series, tied for the 10th most in a three-game series in franchise history, the most since allowing 33 runs to the Dodgers June 1-3, 2018.
• The Rockies have failed to win any of their first six series of the season, dropping four and splitting two … have gone winless through the first six series of the season one other time in franchise history: the 2005 Rockies lost each of their first six series of the season before taking two of three from the Dodgers in the seventh series, April 22-24.
YOUSE GUYS
• The Rockies bullpen has tossed 80.1 innings of relief through 20 games, the third-most in the Majors and the most in the National League.
• Over the last 15 games, the bullpen has posted a 3.55 ERA (63.1 IP, 25 ER) with 31 walks and 66 strikeouts while allowing four home runs, tied for the sixth-fewest in baseball during that span.
• Justin Lawrence tossed a career-high 2.1 scoreless innings of relief Thursday night, allowing two hits with one walk and a career-high tying four strikeouts (also: May 8, 2021 at STL) … has not allowed a run on the road this season (5.2 IP) with two walks and 10 strikeouts.
• Since allowing one earned run in his first outing of the season, LHP Brad Hand has put together seven consecutive scoreless appearances (5.2 IP), striking out nine through this span.
BARDO-LY LOVE
• Wednesday, Rockies reliever Daniel Bard pitched a perfect eighth inning in his return from the 15-day injured list (anxiety) having missed the team’s first 18 games.
• In 2022, ranked sixth in the Majors and third in the NL with a career-high 34 saves … his 91.9 save percentage (34 saves, 37 opportunities) was the best in Majors and second-best in a single season in Rockies franchise history (first: Huston Street in 2004, 94.6).
GOBBLER
• Elias Díaz’s 18 games at catcher are the most in all of baseball … his .339 batting average leads all catchers and ranks seventh overall in the NL … his 20 hits (18 as a catcher, two as a pinch-hitter) are the second-most among primary catchers in the Majors.
• His five caught stealings are tied for second in baseball while allowing just five stolen bases … his only two errors behind the dish came on two catcher’s interference calls on Opening Day.
SCRAPPLE
• Kris Bryant homered for the second consecutive day on Tuesday night, his first two home runs at Coors Field as a member of the Rockies … hit each of his first six home runs with the Rockies on the road, including his first home run of the season last Friday at Seattle.
• Bryant is slashing .293/.369/.467 on the season and has reached base safely in 18 of 19 games … has reached base safely in 55 of 61 total games in his Rockies career, slashing .302/.374/.472.
TAP MAC
• Ryan McMahon has made his last three starts at third base after starting his first 17 at second base in place of the injured Brendan Rodgers (2022 2B Gold Glove winner) … McMahon was a finalist for the Gold Glove at third base in both 2021 and 2022.
• At the plate since returning to the hot corner, McMahon is 6-for-13 (.462) with three doubles and one RBI, with an .857 BABIP.
ROCKIES STARTING PITCHER – #63 NOAH DAVIS RHP
FIRST THINGS FIRST
• Twenty-five-year-old Noah Davis makes the second Major League start of the season and his career … will be his third Major League appearance.
• Recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque on April 16 in place of Germán Márquez, who was placed on the injured list with right forearm inflammation.
• The Newport Beach, Calif. native was acquired by the Rockies along with RHP Case Williams in a trade with Cincinnati in exchange for RHP
Mychal Givens on July 28, 2021.
• Originally selected by the Reds in the 11th round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of UC Santa Barbara … had his contract selected by the Rockies on Nov. 19, 2021 as protection from the Rule 5 draft.
KEEP DOING THAT
• Made his first career Major League start last Sunday in Seattle and tossed five scoreless innings with three hits allowed, three walks and five strikeouts … did not factor into the decision in the 1-0 Rockies loss.
• Became the first Rockies pitcher since Antonio Senzatela (April 6, 2017 at Milwaukee) to toss five scoreless innings in his first Major League start.
A WHOLE NEW WORLD
• Made three starts for Triple-A Albuquerque prior to his promotion on April 15, going 0-0 with a 4.26 ERA (12.2 IP, 6 ER).
• Allowed three earned runs through three innings at Round Rock in his first start on March 31 … since, has allowed five runs, three earned,
through 9.2 innings across two starts.
• Made five Cactus League appearances (four starts) for Colorado this spring, going 2-0 with a 4.15 ERA (13.0 IP, 6 ER) … allowed two runs though 8.1 innings across his final three outings.
ONE YEAR AGO
• Pitched across three levels in the Rockies’ system in 2022 … made 26 starts for Double-A Hartford, one start for Triple-A Albuquerque and made one relief outing for Colorado.
• Made his Major League debut Oct. 5, the final game of the 2022 season … allowed a home run to the first batter he faced (Cody Bellinger) … finished the outing allowing two runs on three hits, walking one and striking out two … struck out Joey Gallo for his first Major League strikeout.
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:
GAME #20 RECAP: The Phillies were shut out for the third time this season in a 5-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies at Citizens Bank Park … Starter Matt Strahm (L, 1-2) allowed 3 runs over 5.1 innings with 2 walks and a career-high 11 strikeouts … The Phillies had six hits and five walks but went 1-for-7 with RISP and left 11 on base.
SWING AND A WHIFF: Last night, LHP Matt Strahm struck out a career-high 11 over 5.1 innings pitched (21 batters faced) … Strahm’s 11 strikeouts were the most by a Phillies left-hander since Cole Hamels, July 25, 2015 in his no-hitter against the Cubs at Wrigley Field (13 SO) … There have been 95 pitchers this season to make at least four starts – Strahm’s 38.0% strikeout rate ranks 3rd out of those 95, behind only ATL’s Spencer Strider (40.9%) and TEX’s Jacob deGrom (40.0%).
JUST. SCORE. FOUR.: This season, the Phillies are 7-3 in 10 games when they score at least four runs … Conversely, they are 1-9 in 10 games when they score three runs or fewer … Dating back to the start of last season, the Phillies are 78-26 (.750 win %) when they score four or more and 17-61 (.218 win %) when they score three or fewer.
FEELING SLG-ISH: Through 20 games, the Phillies have 47 doubles (1st in MLB), six triples (T-1st in MLB), 18 home runs (T-20th in MLB) and a .439 SLG (6th in MLB) … This year, the Phillies are averaging a home run every 39.4 at bats which ranks 23rd in MLB (18 HR, 709 AB) after averaging a HR every 26.8 AB last year (205 HR, 5496 AB) which ranked 6th in MLB … Philadelphia’s 47 doubles are the third most ever by a Phillies club through the first 20 games of a season in the modern era, behind only the 2002 and 2007 clubs (49 2B).
BOOM OR BUST: Over their last six games, the Phillies have been shut out three times (4/15 at CIN, 4/18 at CWS and 4/20 vs COL) … In their other three games, the Phillies have scored 14 runs (4/16 at CIN), seven runs (4/18 at CWS) and five runs (4/19 at CWS) … In the three games over this six-game span the Phillies were not shut out, they are averaging 8.67 runs per game … This marks the first time the Phillies have been shut out three times in a span of six games since last August.
GO NOLES: When he takes the mound tonight, Aaron Nola will tie Hall-of-Famer Jim Bunning for 9th place in Phillies franchise history with 208 career starts (next: Larry Christenson, 220 GS) … Nola also ranks 7th in franchise history with 1,399 strikeouts and trails Hall-of-Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander (1,409) for 6th place in franchise history … Nola ranks 4th in franchise history with 27 double-digit strikeout games – Cole Hamels ranks 3rd with 29.
GREAT STOTT!: INF Bryson Stott leads MLB this year with 12 multi-hit games, two clear of teammate Trea Turner and Ronald Acuna Jr., both T-2nd with 10 … Stott’s 12 multi-hit games are the most by a Phillies player in the modern era through the first 20 games of a season, eclipsing the previous mark of 11 multi-hit games set by Pinky Whitney in 1931 and John Kruk in 1992 … Stott hit safely in his first 17 games this year and set a Phillies modern day franchise record for consecutive games with a hit to begin a season … Stott eclipsed Puddin’ Head Jones’ previous mark of 16 straight games to begin the 1950 season … Since last year’s All-Star break (7/23/22), Stott has played in 83 games and is slashing .301/.342/.426 in 334 plate appearances.
MARSH MADNESS: Phillies center fielder Brandon Marsh enters today’s game slashing .356/.424/.712 with a 1.136 OPS that leads the National League and ranks 2nd in MLB, behind only TOR’s Matt Chapman (1.211) … Marsh has reached base safely in 17 of his 18 games played this season, including each of his last 16 (since 4/3 at NYY) … Marsh is batting .394 with a .939 SLG in 37 plate appearances that have ended with a fastball (4-seam, 2-seam/sinker, cutter) … Last season, Marsh hit .243 with a .374 SLG in 227 plate appearances that ended with a heater … Since being acquired by the Phillies via trade from the Los Angeles Angels for Logan O’Hoppe at least year’s deadline, Marsh is slashing .309/.353/.534 with an .887 OPS that ranks 16th among 186 MLB players with 200+ plate appearances in that span.
STRIKE ONE, STRIKE TWO, GOOD LUCK: In Wednesday’s 5-2 win over the White Sox, Jose Alvarado picked up his 2nd save in as many attempts with a scoreless 9th inning … Alvarado did not record a strikeout for the first time this year and it snapped a streak of 14 consecutive appearances with 2+ strikeouts (9/13/22-4/18/23) … It was Alvarado’s first appearance without a strikeout since August 26, 2022 vs PIT (20 straight G) … Alvarado, who has faced 29 batters this season, has 18 strikeouts and 0 walks … Since his last walk on Sept. 21, 2022 vs TOR, Alvarado has faced 48 batters and has struck out 30 of them (63.0% SO rate) with 0 walks.
STARTING TO FIND IT: Over their last 11 starts (since 4/10), the Phillies rotation has combined for 59.2 innings pitched and 58 strikeouts … In that span, they rank 2nd among all ML rotations in innings, trailing only PIT (65.0) and T-3rd in strikeouts (with MIN), trailing only BOS (66) and PIT (63)… Over their first nine games of the year (3/30-4/9), the Phillies starting staff combined for 42.2 innings which ranked 24th among ML staffs and 39 strikeouts, which ranked T-23rd.
BULLISH ON THE PEN: Over the last five games (since 4/16 at CIN), the Phillies bullpen has totaled 14.1 innings pitched with only 2 ER allowed (1.26 ERA), with 20 strikeouts and two walks, while averaging 14.3 pitches per inning … Over their first 15 games of the season (3/30-4/15), the bullpen posted a 7.19 ERA (45 ER, 56.1 IP) with 60 strikeouts to 41 walks while averaging 19.7 pitches per inning.
50 SCHWARBOMBS: On 4/13 at CIN, Kyle Schwarber hit his 50th career home run as a Phillie (regular season only) and became the fastest in franchise history to reach 50, doing so in his 168th game … Schwarber eclipsed Jim Thome’s previous franchise record of 50 HR in his first 172 games with the club … Ryan Howard (50 HR in 182 G) ranks 3rd, Rhys Hoskins (50 HR in 192 G) ranks 4th and Chuck Klein (50 HR in 195 G) ranks 5th … Of Schwarber’s 50 regular season home runs with the Phillies, 47 have been hit with an exit velocity north of 100.0 MPH (94%) and 16 of those 50 have been hit over 110.0 MPH (32%).
TONIGHT’S STARTER – AARON NOLA • RHP #27
LAST START: 4/16 at CIN: W, 6.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO … Nola vs Cessa … With nine runs in the 1st inning, the Phillies rolled to a 14-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds at GABP … The Phillies had 23 hits on the day (7 XBH) with 5 walks and 4 strikeouts … They tagged Reds starter Luis Cessa for 11 runs and 14 hits.
TONIGHT’S START:
• K Counter: Nola’s first strikeout today will be the 1,400th of his career … Per Elias, there are 20 active pitchers with at least 1,400 strikeouts and only five have reached that mark before age 30 (Nola is 29 years, 321 days today): Clayton Kershaw (26, 161), Chris Sale (28, 093), Justin Verlander (29, 185), Zack Greinke (29, 265) and Gerrit Cole (29, 363)
• Moving Up The Ladder: With tonight’s start, Nola will tie Hall of Famer Jim Bunning for 9th place on the Phillies all-time starts list with 208 … He could also pass Larry Christenson (220) for 8th and Curt Schilling (226) for 7th this season
• Cold Hard Facts: Nola has faced the Rockies 7 times and in those 7 starts he has struck out 56 of the 178 batters he faced (31.5%) and walked 6 (3.4%) … He has struck out 10 or more COL hitters in each of his last three starts against them at CBP, averaging 16.00 SO/9.0 IP (32 SO, 18.0 IP) in those starts
• Home Body: Nola has a 1.53 ERA (5 ER, 29.1 IP) with 5 BB, 37 SO and has held opponents to a .218/.259/.309 slash line over his last 5 home starts (since 8/25/22) … Three of those starts have been scoreless … He had a 12.2-inning scoreless streak at home end in his home debut this season
• To the Nines: Nola is in his 9th season as a Phillie, becoming the 7th pitcher in franchise history to make a start in 9 straight seasons for the club, and joining Cole Hamels (10) as the only Phillies draft picks to do since Larry Christensen made starts for his 9th straight year with the team in 1981
• vs NL West: 11-9, 4.56 ERA (95 ER, 187.1 IP) in 32 starts
HOME:
• 2023: 0-1, 6.35 ERA (4 ER, 5.2 IP) in 1 start
• Career: 44-25, 3.21 ERA (226 ER, 633.1 IP) in 102 starts
2023 SEASON:
• Made his 6th straight Opening Day, extending his MLB-best active streak of Opening Day starts
• Was the first pitcher in baseball to make 6 straight Opening Day starts since Julio Teheran in made his 6th consecutive for ATL in 2019, and joins Robin Roberts (12) and Steve Carlton (10) as the only Phillies to do.
