Rockies-Mariners Series Grades: Star performances abound from some unlikely heroes

The Colorado Rockies had another positive series, beating the Seattle Mariners two out of three on the road, and getting their two wins against the Mariners’ two aces in the process.

This was a series in which some of Colorado’s unsung heroes came up big, making it a particularly fun one to grade.

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 can be found here.

Trevor Story (108.68 — ⭐): Story’s continued his great run of form with two excellent outings, batting .500 in two games. He only struck out once and got his 17th homer of the season getting the Rockies back on top in game three. A really nice performance once again, as he’s raised his DPR to 68.15 on the season, which is among the best middle infielders in the NL.

Charlie Blackmon (70.70 — B): Charlie’s getting back to his old self as he had two nice games against the Mariners, specifically game one where he homered, had two more hits and scored two runs. In game three he had himself another solo home run. His grade would be much higher if not for a four-strikeout performance in game two where his DPR was an astonishing -3.99.

DJ LeMahieu (39.37 — D-): After a solid game one where he had a two-RBI double, DJ struggled offensively in Seattle. He struck out once in each game and produced a minus in the last two outings per WPA.

Nolan Arenado (37.84 — D-): After a scorching hot stretch, Nolan’s cooled off in his last four outings. He struck out five times in the Emerald City while contributing only two singles in three games.

Ian Desmond (58.46 — C): Desi was solid in the first two games managing two singles and stealing a base each outing as well.

Carlos Gonzalez (89.93 — A): CarGo was incredibly consistent in the series, hitting in each game and managing an RBI each game.

Noel Cuevas (89.24 — A): Cuevas was huge in a game two performance with a monster three-run homer added to two singles. He was less spectacular in a game three outing in which he struck out in both of his two ABs. That game two performance was probably the difference between the Rockies winning or losing the series though, which justifies the high grade.

Chris Iannetta (32.22 — F): After coming through in the clutch and allowing Colorado to sweep the last series, Iannetta’s bat went missing in the two games he played in Seattle, striking out four times in seven ABs.

Gerardo Parra (57.76 — C): Parra had a nice game two outing, with two singles and scoring a run while also managing an RBI. His other two appearances were nothing to write home bringing his series average down significantly.

Tony Wolters (126.01 — ⭐): Wolters was awesome in game one with two triples and three RBIs on the day, scoring two runs as well. It’s not accounted for by DPR, but he had a great defensive play throwing out a runner at home by recovering a pitch in the dirt by Marquez.

Pat Valaika (98.14 — ⭐): Valaika was a stud in his game two outing, producing both offensively and defensively. He reached the base pads three times with a walk and two singles while adding a run. He also had the defensive play of the day with a great diving grab and throw to first.

Raimel Tapia (84.97 — A-): Tapia had a pinch-hit appearance in game three that lowered his score but we’re not going to average his grade that way as it seems unfair. His big outing was his DH performance in game one where he had two runs after walking once and producing a double. That’s the type of spark Colorado needs from his bat.

German Marquez (80.34 — A-): After his best performance of the season in his last outing, Marquez was wheeling and dealing once again, throwing nasty stuff and showing sublime control. The Venezuelan was awesome with zero walks in six innings, allowing only one run off a solo homer.

In 110 pitches he had a stellar 70-percent strike percentage and induced 11 ground ball outs. A terrific outing to bring home the W while outdueling Felix Hernandez.

Kyle Freeland (56.22 — C): This was the second start in a row in which Freeland didn’t seem to have his best stuff but battled to get through relatively unscathed in five innings of one-run baseball. The stats won’t love his performance as he threw as many balls as he did Ks, had twice as many fly balls as he did grounders, and was below 60-percent in his strike percentage.

This was Freeland’s worst outing per DPR since May 29th, which speaks to his consistency thus far.

Antonio Senzatela (49.23 — D+): His second start of the season wasn’t nearly as lights out as his first, as Senza allowed five hits, walking three and ultimately was punished twice with some big at-bats by Ryon Healy. Healy got the righty twice with a bases-loaded double and a three-run homer for five RBIs on the day. Had Antonio, who got the run support he needed, been a bit cooler in those two ABs, the Rockies might’ve been sweeping in Seattle.

Jake McGee (75.04 — B+): In two innings this series McGee got the job done, with a potent outing in game one and a shakier appearance in game three where he still was able to shut the Mariners down. He collected three Ks in the two games and showed guts in the third game as he allowed a hit and a walk but threw a 75-percent strike percentage and was able to get out of trouble with two strikeouts.

Scott Oberg (74.86 — B+): Oberg appeared in the first two games of the series and had a couple clean outings. His first appearance was a bit shakier, allowing two hits, but he pounded the strike zone and was able to get out of it. He was excellent in game two with two strikeouts and a DPR of 96.11. His ERA is now down to 3.04 on the year.

Chris Rusin (61.53 — C+): Rusin wasn’t lights out in two appearances in the series, but he managed two clean outings so it’s certainly a passing grade. He was a bit shaky in a nine-pitch outing in game three where he allowed a single and a walk but got two ground balls to exit unscathed. He allowed a single in game one too but managed to get out of trouble quickly.

Adam Ottavino (80.23 — A-): Otto was tasked with a two-inning outing in game two and wasn’t perfect allowing a single in each inning but ultimately getting exiting cleanly. He struck out three, induced a double play, and threw two-thirds of his pitches for strikes. His 0.16 FIP was quite telling of how good he was on the day.

A nice outing with some extra duty work.

Wade Davis (83.33 — A-): Davis came in to close out game two in a non-save situation and was aided by some good defense. He got the job done forcing a pair of grounders to bring home the Rockies’ second win.