Rockies-Giants Series Grades: Razor thin margins

The Colorado Rockies series that just concluded against the San Francisco Giants couldn’t have been closer.

Three one-run games and the Rocks were able to pull out the third to avoid a sweep, after having blown yet another late lead.

This series could’ve gone in several directions with such slim margins, yet Colorado’s late-game struggles continued on the pitching side, forcing them to lose two of three.

We’re going to do things a bit differently from here on with our series grade, using our advanced statistics and our-in-house all-encompassing metric DPR for our individual grades for this series and all others to come in the future.

Note, the scores below are each player’s average DPR for the series, all Rockies stats can be found here.

DJ LeMahieu (80.17 — A-): The Rockies’ second baseman started off the first two games with pretty disappointing results—striking out each game and grounding into a double play in the first game. His WPA (win probability added) was way in the minuses, too. What salvaged things was game three, going 3-for-5 and having the game-winning home run, coming through for a massive 206.68 DPR—one of the highest of the season. His WPA in game three was an off-the-charts 0.874. 

Nolan Arenado (55.89 — C): Nolan’s cooled off some after a stretch from June 19-22 in which his DPR was above 100 in four consecutive games. In the Giants series, he struggled offensively in the first two outings, reaching the base pads only once on a walk. A solo blast in the third game salvaged his series to some extent, but he was otherwise absent offensively, going 1-for-12 and striking out once. Nolan’s WPA was a minus in the first two games, which greatly impacts his score. 

Charlie Blackmon (32.41 — D): One single and a ground ball leading to a double play was the extent of Blackmon’s offensive contributions this series. Not what you’d like from one of your two stars. Blackmon’s overall DPR this season is down more than 12 points from what it was a season ago, going from being the third highest performer in the MLB per DPR in 2017 to 36th. Series like these are a great example of why that downslide has occurred. 

Noel Cuevas (59.42 — C): In only four plate appearances, Cuevas was able to contribute a double, which he scored on, and a walk. His DPR score isn’t going to wow you, but he was clutch in game three in his pinch-hit appearance.

Ian Desmond (67.10 — B-):  Desmond had himself a game to start the series with an impressive 0.342 WPA while adding two RBIs. He finished the series with four RBIs adding a triple in game three. His DPR could’ve been much higher if not for the seven strikeouts on 11 plate appearances. 

Carlos Gonzalez (62.55 — C+): CarGo was solid, with no truly negative games as he scored a 50 or higher in the three matchups. He had a hit in each game, without a single K. However, his WPA was in the negatives for both the first two games, limiting his score as he struggled to slug.

Chris Iannetta (60.84 — C+): Iannetta had an impact despite coming on as a pinch-hitter in two of the games. He walked twice and had two hits in the third game off of only two ABs. His performance in game three was crucial in getting the one win, which is reflected in his positive 0.174 WPA. 

Gerardo Parra (51.65 — C-): Parra’s series consisted of two completely opposites games; game one was awful with three strikeouts, game two was outstanding, with two hits while also contributing a run and an RBI. His overall score is the average of the two. 

Trevor Story (66.44 — B-): Story didn’t get any extra base hits and struck out twice while also being caught stealing once. However, he managed five hits in the series and was crucial in game three with three singles and a run. 

Tom Murphy (49.83 — C-): Murphy’s series average is greatly affected by only two plate appearances in the final two games where he went 0-for. His outing in game one, the only game he started, was awesome, contributing two hits with a double and a respectable 0.276 WPA, while also striking out once. His DPR average per plate appearance was in the A range. With a 52.50 DPR since being called up, Murphy’s been above average. 

Chad Bettis (61.95 — C+): Offensively, Bettis walked once while also striking out. On the mound, he was solid, with a 61-percent strike percentage while also inducing 15 ground balls. He had a quality start. 

Adam Ottavino (13.60 — F): The only pitcher to appear in multiple games in the series, Otto’s wasn’t his best. There was admittedly some bad luck involved in game one where he got a few bad calls, however, allowing three runs in 2.2 innings pitched won’t get you rewarded by DPR. 

Kyle Freeland (89.04 — A): Freeland was spectacular in seven innings battling Madison Bumgarner. His conventional stats aren’t outstanding outside of a scoreless outing and only walking one batter. His WPA, Game score and FIP were really good though, making him the MVP of the series in a losing effort. 

Scott Oberg (68.13 — B-): Oberg had a solid outing, walking one batter and inducing three ground balls in 1.1 innings. Interestingly enough, his 5.42 FIP was really high, which brought his rating down. 

Harrison Musgrave (-60.87 — F): Musgrave had an outing to forget allowing the Brandon Crawford walk-off home run that lost Colorado game two of the series. He wasn’t able to get any outs prior to that, throwing two strikes on three pitches, it’s that other pitch that got him. 

Jon Gray (34.62 — D): Gray once again wracked up the strikeouts but struggled to keep traffic off the base paths. He allowed as many hits as he did Ks and allowed a home for the fourth straight start. He also induced five ground balls to seven fly balls. His -0.510 WPA says it all, as Gray was the only starter who didn’t have a quality start in the Bay. 

Chris Rusin (78.32 — B+): Rusin’s now had two consecutive quality outings in his last two long relief appearances. His 68-percent strike percentage was impressive and induced four ground balls to two flies. 

Jake McGee (71.61 — B): McGee bounced back after his last outing on June 24th against the Marlins. He did allow a run and his 1-to-3 ground ball to fly ball ratio was unimpressive, as was his minus WPA. His FIP of 1.16 is telling though and explains the high score despite conceding a run. 

Wade Davis (88.95 — A): Davis only threw 50 percent of his pitches for strikes, but was able to get the job done in a crucial save to avoid a Giants sweep.