Rockies-Dodgers Series Grades: Lopsided performances doom Colorado

To live and die in L.A.

That could be the final summation of the Rockies’ season, but there are still 10 games to play. Let’s do our jobs here, though, and assess the damage that was the Rocks’ recent series with the Dodgers:

The Rockies scored just two runs in each game.

Due to those offensive struggles, the hitting grades aren’t going to be good, with very few batters averaging an above 50 DPR, which would be an average grade.

As we do after each series, using our advanced statistics and our in-house all-encompassing metric DPR, we bring you our Rockies 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.

Nolan Arenado (38.57 — D-): Nolan hasn’t been himself and struggled mightily in the final two games in LA. Five strikeouts without Trevor Story in the lineup hurt a lot. Correction: A LOT.

Charlie Blackmon (74.90 — B): With a monster homer off of Clayton Kershaw, Blackmon was one of the few batters to garner a positive grade. Sadly, it wasn’t enough to salvage a win.

DJ LeMahieu (42.05 — D): One hit and three strikeouts won’t cut it in the biggest series of the season.

David Dahl (69.94 — B-): Starting in game three, Dahl had a nice outing; getting on base twice and scoring a run. It might be time to get him in the lineup more regularly.

Carlos Gonzalez (30.95 — F): CarGo’s Game 1 outing was rough, with a 0-for day and a strikeout.

Ian Desmond (47.32 — D+): Desi’s versatility came in handy with Story’s injury, though his first two games were rough with three Ks. He was also caught stealing and grounded into a double play. His game three performance with a key two-RBI single salvaged his grade.

Garrett Hampson (54.16 — C-): In game two, Hampson made his mark, scoring a run, getting a single, a walk, and stealing a base. His brief appearance in game three hurt him, though.

Ryan McMahon (20.87 — F): Four ABs in the final two games and two strikeouts for the young infielder, not great.

Gerardo Parra (49.76 — D+): At least Parra managed to get a couple hits in the first two games, netting him a positive WPA in both outings. However, he struck out once in game three and had no extra-base knocks in the series.

Matt Holliday (36.43 — D-): It just wasn’t Holliday’s series as he struck out thrice and couldn’t do much after getting a walk and a single in game one.

Pat Valaika (58.64 — C): Valaika got a hit in game one, salvaging his grade some, despite a negative WPA.

Drew Butera (51.26 — C-): Butera was effective in game one walking once and scoring a run, not an earth-shattering performance, but hey, it’s something.

Chris Iannetta (27.67 — F): The final two games were not good to Iannetta who struck out twice and walked once.

Jon Gray (-32.09 — F): Two innings pitched and a FIP of 18.16, his worst of the year by a mile, spelled doom for Gray. In four starts in the month of September, Gray hasn’t had a FIP under 7.66, not good.

Kyle Freeland (70.49 — B): Freeland was great, in a gutsy battle against Kershaw—who had a 73.21 DPR himself in the duel. The stat sheet wasn’t great, with as many walks as he had Ks, as the lefty conceded almost twice as many fly balls as he did ground balls. Kyle was extraordinary none the less in 6.2 innings.

His DPR remains among the 15 best in the NL this year.

Tyler Anderson (73.48 — B): Anderson battled on the mound with a quality start in a tough spot. Even if he conceded yet another home run, he was exceptional, a shame the Rox couldn’t get a ‘W’ off his Game 3 start.

Jake McGee (82.34 — A-): McGee got a ground ball out in game three. Not a major contribution but he got the job done when called on.

Adam Ottavino (43.23 — D): After pitching an immaculate 9th, Otto got the game two ‘L’ conceding a walk-off homer to Chris Taylor, right when the Rockies needed him most. Ottavino has now had sub-par DPRs in his last three outings, all against a different division rival.

Scott Oberg (26.66 — F): In the midst of an unbelievable stretch from Oberg, he was taken yard by Yasiel Puig that sealed the sweep for Dodger Blue. He had an outstanding game two but his game three performance with a -40 DPR killed his grade.

Seunghwan Oh (57.23 —C): Playing in all three games, Oh was able to keep the Dodgers powerful lineup off the scoreboard. He wasn’t always perfect and his grade was hurt by his game two performance, which resulted in a FIP of 12.25 allowing a hit and a walk, but still a useful contribution.

Harrison Musgrave (27.07 — F): Musgrave’s outing in game one was defined by the number two; in two innings he allowed two hits, two walks, and conceded two runs while striking out (you guessed it) two.

Sam Howard (53.41 — C-): Howard also appeared in game one, and though he allowed a hit and a walk for a FIP of 7.16, he got out of it with a K and a ground ball out.

Chris Rusin (93.22 — A+): Tasked with getting two outs in game three, Rusin was perfect, striking out one for a FIP of 0.16 on seven pitches—six of which were strikes.

Bryan Shaw (71.22 — B): Shaw walked one but was able to get out of his inning in game one unscathed.