Importance of pitching on display as Colorado Rockies nearly shutout

Going into Saturday night, the Colorado Rockies knew that they were going to have to get a great start from Chris Rusin to have a chance.

That didn’t happen, as Rusin got beat up in the 3rd inning, giving up four runs. At that point, with Johnny Cueto on the mound for the Reds, the game was essentially over. In the end, the Rockies dropped the game 5-2 after a 9th inning rally plated two runs.

The Reds ace, perhaps for the final time, was brilliant. With scouts looking on as the Reds look to unload before the July 31st trade deadline, Cueto was brilliant. In eight innings, the righty gave up just four hits, shutting out the Rockies.

Saturday night’s game was the latest lesson for the Rockies in how important it is to have strong pitching. The fact that the Reds had Cueto on the mound changed the course of the game before it even started. The Rockies knew that they were in for a tough night. Rusin probably knew that he was going to have to be nearly flawless in order to get the Rockies in a place where they might be able to win.

When Rusin didn’t have his best stuff, the Rockies odds of winning were somewhere between slim and none.

What Saturday night shows the Rockies, who are in the process of trying to figure things out, is how important it is to have great starting pitching. The reality for the Rockies is that their starting rotation is Jorge De La Rosa followed by no one in particular. Rusin is decent, Eddie Butler has a chance to be really good. Beyond that, however, the Rockies are in a world of hurt when it comes to their rotation.

Even when Jon Gray makes his highly anticipated debut, the Rockies are still going to need at least two more arms to fill in the gaps that are severely missing, and seemingly have been missing since the team first took the field in 1993.

The Rockies were dominated by Cueto. There is nothing negative to write about it. Great pitchers like the Reds have, perhaps for only another day or two, dominate teams. That gives teams an advantage when every fifth day they know that their ace is going to take the mound and not just be good, but dominate their opponent. If Cueto were on the Dodgers or the Yankees, he would be getting much more attention than he gets pitching in Cincinnati.

It is much easier said than done. Not every team can have a Cueto. The Rockies don’t need a Cueto, however. They just need guys who aren’t castoffs from other teams like Rusin throwing every fifth day. That sounds like a shot at Rusin and it certainly isn’t meant to be. He has been very good for the Rockies and was a great pickup. However, no one is going to argue that he is going to pitch the Rockies to the playoffs, and few would argue that teams look at the probable pitchers before they come into town and circle the game that Rusin is starting as one that they need to focus hard on to pull off a win.

This, of course, is no secret. However, games like Saturday highlight just how important it is. It isn’t just a theory that good pitching beats good hitting, it is a time-tested, proven science that will continue to be the truth until they change the rules of baseball.

The Rockies can’t just snap their fingers and get great pitching. However, they need to focus all of their energy on what it will take to get more than one good pitcher.