COLORADO ROCKIES NOTES:
ROAD TRIP WRAP UP
• The Colorado Rockies wrap up their seven-game road trip today with the last of three games in Cleveland after dropping three of four in Philadelphia.
• Despite their two wins in a row, the Rockies .320 winning percentage is last in the National League and is the second-lowest in franchise history through 25 games, ahead of the 2005 Rockies (6-19, .250).
DONUTS
• The Rockies won the series opener Monday in Cleveland, 6-0 … of their eight wins on the season, three have been shutouts, tied for the fourth-most shutouts in the Majors.
• Colorado had six shutouts in 2022, but did not record their first until June 24 at Milwaukee … the franchise record for shutout victories in a season is 12, set by the 2010 Rockies.
SERIES OF EVENTS
• Last night’s win gave the Rockies their first series victory since Sept. 16-18, 2022 at Chicago-NL when they took two of three from the Cubs. … have lost or split each of their first seven series of 2023, the first time in franchise history that Colorado has failed to win any of their first seven series.
• The Rockies have won five of eight series opening games this season … have won the second game of the series twice, beating San Diego March 30-31 before losing the next two games to split the series.
SPRING CLEANING
• Colorado has made 18 errors, tied with San Francisco for the most in the Majors, and has allowed an MLB-leading 19 unearned runs through their first 25 games.
• Rockies pitchers have posted a 45.2 ground ball percentage so far this season, the seventh-highest rate in the
Majors.
BRENTON MAKES THE WORLD TAKES
• After going hitless on Monday, last night Brenton Doyle went 3-for-4 with one run, one RBI and two stolen bases … it marked the first time in Rockies history that a player had three hits and two stolen bases in a game that featured his first career hit.
• Doyle also became the fifth player Major League player since 1900, first since Charlie Bates on Sept. 22, 1927, to have a game with at least three hits and two stolen bases within his first two career games … the only other Major Leaguer in history to record those numbers while also tabbing an RBI and an extra-base hit in one of his first two career games was also Bates.
I HAD TO COME TO CLEVELAND TO BECOME A CROOK
• Entering last night’s game, the Rockies had just two stolen bases on the season, the least in franchise history through 24 games.
• With three stolen bases on the night, Colorado now has five through 25 games (the Guardians lead MLB with 29), the third-fewest through 25 games in club history with the 2017 and 2022 team’s having stole four bases over 25 games … the most stolen bases through 25 games is 36 by the inaugural 1993 Rockies.
• Since 2019, the Rockies rank 23rd in the Majors with 239 total swiped bags.
CHUCK (STILL) NAZTY
• With two runs scored last night, Charlie Blackmon tied Larry Walker for second on the all-time Rockies runs scored list at 892 …Todd Helton ranks first in Rockies history with 1401.
• Blackmon’s 292 career doubles are five short of tying Walker for the second-most doubles in franchise history.
• Blackmon’s home run in the first inning of yesterday’s game was his 40th career lead-off home run … his 40 lead-off home runs rank ninth all-time (Brady Anderson’s 44 rank eighth).
• Germán Márquez needs just seven strikeouts to tie Jorge De La Rosa for the most strikeouts in franchise history … Márquez’s next win will be the 66th of his career, breaking a tie with Jeff Francis for the third-most wins in franchise history … De La Rosa holds the franchise record with 86 wins.
ARM BARN
• The Rockies bullpen has tossed 97.0 innings of relief through 25 games, the fourth-most in the Majors and the most in the National League … have recorded 98 strikeouts, tied for the fourth-most in the Majors.
• Jake Bird is third in the NL with 15.2 innings of relief, and ranks third among NL relievers with 19 strikeouts … has pitched 9.1 scoreless innings over his last five outings with three hits, two walks and 15 strikeouts.
• Brent Suter has tossed 16.1 innings, the second-most relief innings in the NL, and holds a 1.10 ERA (16.1 IP, 2 ER), sixth-lowest in the Majors among relievers with at least 13 innings pitched … also has a Major League leading three pickoffs.
• Justin Lawrence has posted a 2.08 ERA (13.0 IP, 3 ER) with 15 strikeouts across his 10 appearances while limiting opponents to a .178 average (8-for-48) … right-handed hitters are batting just .115 (3-for-26).
DÍAZZLING
• Elias Díaz’s 22 games at catcher are the most in MLB … his .333 batting average ranks seventh in the NL … his 24 hits (22 as a catcher, two as a pinch-hitter) are the second-most among primary catchers in the Majors.
• His four catcher caught stealings are tied for sixth in baseball.
KBOOM
• Kris Bryant is slashing .303/.374/.449 on the season and has reached base safely in 21 of 23 games.
• Bryant has reached base safely in 58 of 65 total games in his Rockies career, slashing .305/.375/.466 … ranks fifth in the NL in average and seventh in OBP over the past two seasons (min. 275 PA)
ROCKIES STARTING PITCHER – #48 GERMÁN MÁRQUEZ RHP
ON BACKGROUND
• Originally signed by the Tampa Bay Rays on July 6, 2011 as a 16-yearold out of San Felix, Venezuela.
• Acquired by the Rockies along with LHP Jake McGee in exchange for OF Corey Dickerson and INF Kevin Padlo on Jan. 28, 2016.
• Signed a five-year contract extension on April 6, 2019, covering the 2019-23 seasons with an option for 2024.
LAST TIME OUT … AND THEN OUT
• Earned the win after allowing two runs on three hits over five innings to the Cardinals on April 10, striking out four an walking none …
marked the 28th time in his career he had not issued a walk in a start (Rockies 17-11).
• Left the game prior to the start of the sixth inning due to forearm discomfort.
• Was placed on the 15-day injured list on April 12 (retroactive to April 11) with right forearm inflammation … was activated prior to today’s
game.
THREE DOWN
• Is 2-1 with a 4.42 ERA (16.1 IP, 8 ER) with, two walks and 13 strikeouts through his first three starts of the season … has allowed 10 hits,
including three home runs.
• Lost his second time out, April 4 at Dodger Stadium … pitched 5.1 innings and allowed four runs on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts … all four runs scored on a career-high tying three homers.
• Made his franchise record third Opening Day start on March 30 at San Diego … allowed two runs on five hits across six innings, walking none and striking out five … surpassed nine other pitchers in franchise history for the most Opening Day starts: Kyle Freeland (2022, 2019), Jon Gray (2017-18), Jorge De La Rosa (2016, 2014), Ubaldo Jiménez (2010-11), Aaron Cook (2007, 2009), Jason Jennings (2003, 2006), Mike Hampton (2001-02), Darryl Kile (1998-99) and Kevin Ritz (1996-97).
MOVING ON UP
• His 979 career strikeouts are seven shy of passing Jorge De La Rosa (985) for the franchise record … De La Rosa, who pitched with the Rockies for eight seasons from 2008-2016, passed Ubaldo Jiménez for the franchise-lead on May 21, 2015.
• With his last win on April 10 (65), passed Jeff Francis (64 wins) for the third-most wins in franchise history … trails Aaron Cook (72) and De La Rosa (86).
• Márquez surpassed the 1,000 inning mark for his career in his first start of the season, joining Cook (1,312.1), De La Rosa (1,141.0) and Francis (1,066.0) as the only Rockies to pitch at least 1,000 innings for the club.
• Tied for sixth in franchise history with 30 wins at home with Ubaldo Jiménez … 497 strikeouts at home second behind De La Rosa (515).
• His 35 road wins are the second-most in franchise history, one away from tying Aaron Cook for the franchise record … 478 strikeouts on the road are the most in franchise history.
CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:
GUARDS DROP SECOND STRAIGHT TO COLORADO
Cleveland dropped a second straight decision to the Colorado Rockies, falling by a 5-1 margin on Tuesday night at Progressive Field…marks the third consecutive series for Cleveland to lose the first two contests, though the Guardians have a chance to salvage their third straight series finale.
The Rockies offense got to Guardians starter PEYTON BATTENFIELD (4.2IP, 6H, 4R-ER, 4BB, 4SO, HR, 97 pitches) early, as Charlie Blackmon drilled the right-hander’s second offering of the contest into the RF seats for a lead-off homer to start the game ahead of Colorado’s 3-run rally in the 2nd inning; Blackmon delivered an RBI-double ahead of Jurickson Profar’s sac fly and an RBI-single from Kris Bryant…a lead-off walk in the 6th set the table for Brenton Doyle’s RBI-double to give the Rox a 5-0 lift, as the Guardians did not get on the board until the bottom half of the same frame after STEVEN KWAN reached on a lead-off single and later scored on AMED ROSARIO’s sac fly…that unearned tally was the lone blemish against Colorado right-hander Ryan Felter, who notched his second win of ’23 (6.0IP, 5H, 1R-0ER, 0BB, 6SO, 82 pitches).
The Clevelanders are 1-4 entering finale of this 6-game homestand against Miami (1-2) & Colorado (0-2)…club has dropped 8 of first 11 tilts at Progressive Field…Guardians (11-13) have lost 7 of last 9 overall; still hold sole possession of 2nd place in AL Central standings, 3.0 games behind Minnesota (14-10).
GETTING WARMED UP
After the loss yesterday, Cleveland fell to 11-13 through the club’s first 24 contests…during the Terry Francona Era (since 2013) the Guardians have had a winning record only 4 times through 24 games, going 15-9 in 2020 and 14-10 in 2017-19…the club was 12-12 in 2016 and 2021 and below .500 in 2013 (11-13), 2014 (11- 13), 2015 (9-15) and 2023.
Since 2013, Cleveland’s offense has struggled in the season’s opening month, posting its lowest totals runs per game (4.19), average (.237), OBP (.310) .SLG (.391) and home runs (246) in April…with 4 games left in the month, the offense is averaging 3.73 runs per game with a slash line of .226/.309/.347 and 12 home runs…if the month were to end today it would be the lowest runs per game, slugging percentage and home run total in April under Francona…conversely, the Guardians have posted their 2nd-best monthly runs per game (4.79), slugging percentage (.420) and home run (288) totals in May.
MONTHLY OFFENSIVE SPLITS, SINCE 2013
MONTH R/GM .AVG .OBP .SLG R HR
April 4.19 .237 .310 .391 981 246
May 4.79 .254 .329 .420 1212 288
June 4.59 .256 .320 .418 1096 268
July 4.81 .264 .332 .429 1134 273
August 4.43 .252 .321 .409 1240 316
September 4.60 .255 .326 .412 1265 286
A ROCKY STRETCH
The Guardians will look to avoid being swept by the Rockies for the first time since dropping 2 games at Coors Field from June 6-7, 2017…it would be the fourth time that Cleveland has been swept by Colorado, also losing 3 at Coors Field in 2003 and 2008…with the loss yesterday the Guards are now 5-5-1 in series against the Rockies.
Cleveland has dropped 5 of its 8 series in 2023 and has lost 3 straight series for the first time since losing 3 straight from August 25 to September 4 of last season (@SEA 1-3, vs. BAL (1-2), vs. SEA 1-2)…the club followed up that stretch by winning 10 straight series before dropping 2 of 3 vs. Seattle from April 7-9 this season.
JOSÉ IN THE RECORD BOOKS
With his 297th career double in the 5th inning of Tuesday’s tilt, JOSÉ RAMÍREZ passed Charlie Jamieson for sole possession of 7th-most doubles in franchise history…the hit also broke a 3-way tie with Brook Jacoby and Jack Graney for 20th-most hits in club history (1,179)…his 90 career multi-extra-base hit games is one away from tying Manny Ramirez and Ken Keltner for 6th in franchise history…he is also 7th in club history in extra-base hits (526), 9 away from tying Nap Lajoie (535) for 6th all-time…his 8 doubles in 2023 are tied for team lead with JOSH BELL.
DOWN ON THE FARM
SAM HENTGES (left shoulder inflammation) made his 3rd rehab appearance last night, and his first rehab appearance at AAA Columbus…the left-hander threw a scoreless 5th inning with one hit and one strikeout…he threw 22 pitches, 15 for strikes, and topped out at 94.2 MPH.
With a .373 average and 5 home runs, ZACK COLLINS leads the Clippers in average and is T1st in home runs with JHONKENSY NOEL…the 28-year old catcher launched 2 solo home runs Tuesday night and has multiple hits in his last 3 games.
JHONKENSY NOEL launched a 398-foot home run with a 110.7 MPH exit velocity Tuesday night…marks his 5th long ball of the season, T1st in the farm system with ZACK COLLINS…he finished the night 2-for-4 with a double and 2 runs along with the home run…over the past two games he is 3-for-7 with 2 home runs, 4 runs and 5 RBI.
BRAYAN ROCCHIO extended his hitting streak to 11 games after going 1-for-4 last night, slashing .356/.400/.422 with 10 RBI over that period…he has hit safely in 19 of 20 games to start 2023 with a .338 average (27-for-80).
TANNER BURNS continued his strong start to the 2023 season, making his third start for AA Akron on Tuesday…the 24 year-old allowed 1R/ER on 4 hits with 5 strikeouts and 2 walks…through his first 3 starts he has a 2.77 ERA (4ER/13.0IP) with 19 strikeouts and 5 walks.
GUARDS GAMING
The Cleveland Guardians yesterday announced the launch of its online gaming community, Guards Gaming, in partnership with Rival – a leading fan engagement platform that specializes in building custom-branded gaming communities…Guards Gaming will offer its online gaming community the opportunity to take part in tournaments across a variety of titles, including MLB The Show 23, NBA 2K 23, Madden and more…tournament participants will play to win Guardians memorabilia, tickets and more…the Cleveland Guardians first tournament will take place on Friday, April 28 at 7PM ET, featuring MLB The Show 23.
TODAY’S STARTER – 61 TANNER BIBEE RHP
BIBEE AT HOME, MiLB
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 1-0 2.89 2 2 9.1 7 3 3 6 11
Career 3-0 2.53 14 14 67.2 56 21 19 18 89
BIBEE’S MINOR LEAGUE CAREER
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 2-0 1.76 3 3 15.1 8 3 3 8 19
Career 10-2 2.13 28 28 148.0 109 42 35 35 186
WELCOME TO THE BIGS
The 24-year-old right-hander is making his Major League debut in the final matchup of this 3-game set with the Colorado Rockies…he is the fourth Clevelander to make their Major League debut after LOGAN ALLEN on April 23 vs. Miami, PEYTON BATTENFIELD on April 12 vs. New York-AL and TIM HERRIN on April 2 at Seattle…BRAYAN ROCCHIO was called up on April 19, but did not make his debut…Bibee was originally selected by Cleveland in the 5th Round (156th overall) of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Cal State Fullerton…entered the 2023 season as Cleveland’s #5 prospect according to MLB.com…through 3 starts at AAA Columbus this year, he has a 1.76 ERA (3ER/15.1IP)…he is starting on extended six day’s rest.
LAST TIME OUT
He has made 3 starts at AAA Columbus this season with the most recent one coming on April 19 vs. Toledo…he did not factor into the decision after earning the win in his previous two starts this year, allowing three runs (earned) on 3 hits over 4.1 innings… his 5 walks allowed were a career-high as he previously never had a start where he allowed more than 2…tallied four strikeouts in the outing, marking the first time in his career he had more walks than strikeouts in a start…the righty has been lights out in 2023, holding opposing batters to a .151 batting average (8-for-53) with 19 strikeouts and 8 walks.
