Through two games, Rockies pitching is setting the tone

The Colorado Rockies have scored 15 runs through their first two games — both wins. They tied a 103-year-old record with 12 doubles in the first two games of the season. Their offense is hitting on all cylinders, all of which has come on the road.

However, through the first two games, the offense isn’t the story for the Rockies.

Jordan Lyles, the Rockies young pitcher who made a name for himself a year ago before falling to a freak hand injury, picked up right where Kyle Kendrick left off. He pitched six innings, giving up just two runs on five hits. The two runs came in the 5th inning, after Lyles lost control of a curveball and plunked Jean Segura in the face.

The beanball seemed to stick with Lyles. He didn’t seem to have the same control that he exuded earlier. He gave up both of the runs following the incident.

Lyles trotted back to the mound in the 6th inning and needed just 11 pitches to put the Brewers down in order. The 6th inning was his final inning of work. 

In both games so far, the Rockies starters have been dominate, working the strike zone. Kendrick didn’t walk a batter in seven innings of work, and Lyles walked just one in his six innings on Tuesday night. Lyles struck out just two, but when he is on his game, he isn’t getting strike outs, he is getting outs on the ground. On Tuesday, the right-hander induced eight ground outs while recording just one out in the air.

Focusing on Kendrick and Lyles may seem like a slight towards a Rockies offense that has played to their potential through the first two games. However, the reality is, everyone is aware of the prowess that the Colorado offense possesses. With both Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki healthy, there is no reason why the offense shouldn’t be putting up a large number of runs on a fairly regular basis. No one should be expecting 10-run outputs every other game, but the understanding is clear that the lineup doesn’t need much tweaking to be where it needs to be.

The reason the focus has to be on the pitching is because it truly is the linchpin for the Rockies in 2015 and beyond. They can have all the offense that they want, but if a starting pitcher can’t keep the opposing offense at bay, the team stands little to no chance.

Baseball is a funny game when it comes to momentum. There is so much that goes into the mental side of things that doesn’t get discussed enough. When a team knows that they have a starting pitcher on the mound who can get outs and limit damage, they tend to get more run support. When the team has a starting pitcher who continuously gets into trouble and gives up runs, the offense tends to shut down.

The discussion on why that happens can be a long one. However, a couple of reasons might be that players feel more relaxed at the plate when they know that they don’t have to go out and put up a big inning every inning. They can go out and play their game, scratch a couple of runs across the board and probably have a chance to win. Suddenly the pressure disappears and they end up scoring plenty of runs.

Another reason is that a pitcher who works quick and gets outs keeps his offense off of the field. The less time between at-bat, the better rhythm a batter can get into. When a pitcher is consistently dealing with traffic, his lineup is standing around in the field. It takes the focus away from batting and makes the at-bats further apart.

The Rockies have never truly had a starting rotation that was full of pitchers who gave the offense a chance night-in and night-out. They have had a few pitchers here and there who have been able to accomplish that task, but top-to-bottom, the club hasn’t ever seen.

With as much fuss as was made by fans in the offseason about the Rockies not making a play for a big name free agent pitcher, the fact is, they may end up with one of their best rotations in their history. If Kendrick can be a serviceable starter, with Lyles and Tyler Matzek taking the next step, the Rockies will also have a returning Jorge De La Rosa, who has shown to be the best starter in club history. Couple those factors with the hope of Jon Gray and Eddie Butler being impact starters and the Rockies suddenly have an impressive rotation.

Of course, two games into a season is far too early to make any suppositions about where the Rockies will finish. It is far too much of a stretch to suggest that the Rockies will turn around completely after several years of misery. However, the early part of the season is also a good time to evaluate the talent that is on the roster and the potential that it has.

If the Rockies can get starting pitching similar to what they have received over the passed two days, the club will be in better shape than anyone would have expected.