Rockies-Angels Series Grades: Two tense games

The Colorado Rockies faced off against the  Los Angeles Angels in a tight series with some late night tension, splitting the two games. Despite a tough game one loss, the Rockies are now tied for the NL West lead.

As we do after each series, using our advanced statistics and our in-house all-encompassing metric DPR, here are our individual grades.

Note: The scores below are each player’s average DPR for the series. All Rockies stats and individual player profiles can be found here.

DJ LeMahieu (115.05 — ⭐): With a grand slam in game one, DJ had the plate appearance of the series, though, it sadly was wasted away in a losing effort. He added a single and double for an off-the-charts grade. His game two appearance was nothing to write home about but that doesn’t matter as his grade here is all about his first outing.

Trevor Story (65.53 — B-): Story contributed three singles and a walk in the series, scoring a run and stealing two bases. His score was lowered when he was caught stealing in game two and by four strikeouts against the Angeles. A solid outing but still not his best.

Nolan Arenado (19.30 — F): This was Arenado’s worst series in a while as he struck out twice and grounded into a double play without getting a hit. That GDP actually resulted in an RBI in game one and was really the only positive thing he did offensively.

Charlie Blackmon (85.37 — A-): Blackmon’s series was solid as he reached the base paths five times against LA, with three walks in game one, scoring a run in the process, and two doubles in game two, adding another run. A big-time outing.

David Dahl (80.79 — A-): Appearing in the first game, Dahl was great mustering a walk, a double, and scoring a run. Had he not struck out his score could’ve been even higher in the high-scoring loss.

Carlos Gonzalez (109.04 — ⭐): CarGo had a vintage series with three singles, a walk, and a two-RBI jack, striking out once while stealing a base for good measure. He was crucial in getting the game two win.

Ian Desmond (45.34 — D+): Desi had a so-so series with a walk he scored on in game one and an RBI in game two off of a sac fly while striking out once.

Ryan McMahon(28.27 — F): The young infielder wasn’t able to contribute much in his game two start at first base, striking out once on an 0-for day.

Gerardo Parra (36.69 — D-): Parra, like McMahon, started in game two and was absent offensively with a negative WPA.

Matt Holliday (25.23 — F): Holliday’s game one appearance was rough, as he struck out three times for a WPA of -.107. He did get a single but that wasn’t enough to salvage his rating.

Chris Iannetta (47.99 — D+): In a pinch-hit appearance late in game one, Iannetta walked and scored, his biggest contribution of the series. Starting in game two he had an 0-for day with a negative WPA. The catcher did do a nice job behind the plate but nothing worthwhile offensively.

Tony Wolters (113.24 — ⭐): Starting in game one, Wolters was strong getting a solo home run and a single, for his first yard shot since May. 

Jon Gray (59.85 — C): Gray went 6.2 innings but just had a rough time in the fourth and sixth innings, allowing five runs off seven hits in an abnormal outing for Gray as he only struck out one and had no walks. His ground ball to fly ball ratio was off and his FIP of 6.76 wasn’t great either. The Rockies’ righty was knocked around for two homers as he has now been taken yard in his last six starts.

Kyle Freeland (78.64 — B+): Freeland’s start was another gem as his stuff was working great, going six innings and allowing a run. He struck out six, walked one and allowed five hits as well. His score could’ve been even higher had his ground ball to fly ball ratio been better instead of the 6:11 he put up.

Wade Davis (101.92 — ⭐): Davis was lights out in his game two save, striking out the side on 16 pitches for his 36th save of the season. His peripheral stats were out of this world with a WPA of .199 and a FIP of -2.84. Crazy good.

Jake McGee (63.85 — C+): Tasked with getting a single out in game one and having to clean up Gray’s mess, McGee wasn’t perfect but got the job done despite allowing a hit. Ultimately, the lefty got the K he needed to get out of the jam.

Scott Oberg (75.83 — B+): Oberg keeps on pitching quality innings, as he was once again asked to pitch multiple innings and got out of it allowing a hit and a run on 29 pitches. He did strike out two and had four fly ball outs which hurt his grade, though, his WPA was still positive and his FIP of 1.16 was very favorable too.

Adam Ottavino (6.45 — F): This was the rare series where Otto was actually the LVP as he just couldn’t find the strike zone consistently, walking three and only throwing 46-percent of his pitches for strikes eventually allowing four runs to blow the game one lead.

Seunghwan Oh (29.99 — F): Oh tried to come in to salvage Otto’s struggles but couldn’t manage it, walking two himself and allowing another run. His FIP of 15.28 was just bad and his WPA of -.608 was his worst of the season.