The Colorado Rockies are running out of time to win a series over a National League West team. Colorado is 0-12-1 against its division rivals this season with just three opportunities left.
The first chance comes this weekend when the Rockies host the San Francisco Giants for a four-game series starting Thursday night.
Colorado will send Chase Anderson (0-5, 6.49 ERA) to the mound in the opener. The Giants will counter with Logan Webb (10-12, 3.40) in a rematch of the Saturday game in San Francisco.
Webb, who is 8-2 with a 3.24 ERA in 14 games (13 starts) in his career against the Rockies, was dominant in the 9-1 win over Colorado on Saturday. He gave up three hits in six shutout innings to earn his first victory since Aug. 2.
Webb is 2-0 with a 1.77 ERA in three starts vs. the Rockies this year. He is 3-1 with a 4.89 ERA in seven lifetime outings in Denver.
San Francisco (75-71) is coming off a 5-1 homestand that was capped by a dramatic comeback victory over Cleveland on Wednesday. The Giants trailed 5-1 after two innings, but J.D. Davis hit a three-run homer in the eighth to tie it, and they won it 6-5 in 10 innings.
“When we get into those very close battles, we don’t give up,” San Francisco manager Gabe Kapler said. “I think we’re going to look back at this game at the end of the season and believe that it was very meaningful.”
It will be tough for the Rockies to break their division drought against San Francisco. The Giants have won 16 of their past 17 meetings with Colorado, dating back to August 2022, and they just completed a sweep in San Francisco last weekend.
The Rockies (53-92) have been eliminated from postseason contention but are coming off taking two of three from the Chicago Cubs, their first series win since Aug. 18-20 against the Chicago White Sox. Against the NL West, they are just 9-32 on the season.
“We’ve talked about the integrity of the season and integrity of these games, not only for us against them,” Colorado manager Bud Black said. “Other teams are watching our game. I’ve told the guys that there’s going to be a time that we’re going to be watching other guys.”
Anderson is slated to make his third start since coming off the injured list on Sept. 3, it will be his second straight against the Giants. He missed five weeks due to right shoulder inflammation and returned to face the Toronto Blue Jays on Sept. 3, when he tossed four innings of two-run ball.
He struggled in San Francisco on Saturday, lasting just 3 1/3 innings and allowing six runs on six hits. He is 3-4 with a 5.43 ERA in 12 career starts against the Giants, including 0-1 with a 9.35 ERA in two starts this year.
One encouraging sign for Colorado in the Cubs series was Kris Bryant’s return from a fractured left index finger. Bryant came off the injured list on Monday, and he went 4-for-11 with five runs, two homers and four RBIs in the three games against his former club.
Bryant is happy to be back.
“I’ve made it a point of mine to enjoy it as much as I can, because you’re not going to get to play ball with these guys forever,” he said.
–Field Level Media