Charlie Blackmon and the Colorado Rockies host the Los Angeles Angels in Coors Field on Sunday in the concluding game of a three-game series. This is a pivotal game for the Rockies as they try to gain on the San Francisco Giants and Milwaukee Brewers for the final playoff spot in the National League. This is the only series of the season between these two teams. This preview was written before the middle game of the series on Saturday.
In the first game of the series on Friday, Blackmon capped off a five-run bottom of the ninth inning with a two-out, walk-off grand slam to give Colorado an 8-4 victory, their first since Sunday. Blackmon had five RBI in the game, while Trevor Story doubled, tripled, and knocked in two runs. Mike Trout and Jared Walsh had a pair of hits for the Angels in the loss. Walsh and Anthony Bemboom hit homers for Los Angeles.
Angels lose late again
Friday’s loss to the Rockies was doubly painful for the Los Angeles Angels. Not only did it further weaken their chances of making the postseason (they fell to 4.5 games behind the Houston Astros for second place), but it was their Major League-leading 13th blown save of the season. It was also their third loss in their last four games after it seemed like they had righted the ship a little bit with a five-game winning streak.
“It's a frustrating part of our season,“ Angels manager Joe Maddon said on espn.com. “We've been in this position often and haven't been able to close games.”
Trout once again leads the way for the Angels, batting .303 with 16 home run (tied for first in the majors) and 39 RBI (fifth). The MVP-candidate also has the 10th best OPS at 1.065. David Fletcher, who has been on the 10-day IL since August 30, leads the Angels in batting with a .312 batting average. He should be activated this weekend, so he will be ready for the game on Sunday. Los Angeles has hit 65 home runs this season, while batting just .242.
Andrew Heaney makes the start for the Angels on Sunday afternoon. He is 3-3 this season with a 4.04 ERA in nine starts. He gave up five runs (three earned) in five innings versus the Texas Rangers on Tuesday in his last outing. He has faced the Rockies twice in his career. He is 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA in those two starts. Rockies batters are hitting over .300 against Heaney in their careers.
Rockies looking to get into playoff race
The Colorado Rockies entered Saturday’s action in ninth place in the National League playoff chase, and with just 14 games remaining after their series finale on Sunday, they can’t afford to lose any more games to teams that they should beat. Their walk-off win on Friday broke a three-game losing streak, and it was Blackmon’s third grand slam of his career, and fourth walk-off hit.
“I really just needed to not make an out,” Blackmon said on espn.com about his game-winner. “I wasn't trying to hit for extra bases or swing hard. I wanted to make sure when I swung it was in the zone. He fell behind in the count and had to throw it over the middle of the plate."
Blackmon is having another solid season at the plate. The career-.305 hitter is ninth in the majors with a .331 batting average to go with his six home runs and 35 RBI (11th-best in baseball). He was just 7-31 in September before his walk-off heroics on Friday. Story leads the team in all extra-base categories, with 10 home runs, three triples, and 11 doubles this season. Colorado has hit 55 home runs, and they have a .260 team batting average, which is ninth-best in baseball. The Rockies pitching staff has been abysmal this season, as they rank in the bottom three in runs given up per nine innings (6.02), opponents batting average (.283), opponents OPS (.833), and strikeout per game (7.02).
Ryan Castellani goes to the mound for the Rockies on Sunday. He is just 1-2 this season with a 5.34 ERA. This will be his eighth appearance of the season and seventh start. He pitched just 4.1 innings in his last start, giving up four runs won six hits and four walks on Sunday versus the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has only pitched at least five innings twice this season. The rookie will be making his first career start versus the Angels.
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