True to their tradition, the Colorado Rockies struggled mightily on the road to begin the season, going 1-6 against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs. They now head on Friday for their first homestand of the year at Coors Field where they will look to right the ship in front of the hometown faithful against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rockies enter the series with an MLB-worst -34 run differential after starting pitching was pummeled by opposing batters. Dakota Hudson is the only starter thus far for the Rockies to have recorded an out past the fifth inning when he took the loss in Chicago after allowing three unearned runs in 5 1/3 innings. The Rockies look to carry some offensive momentum in the series finale against the Cubs and find their footing at the hitting paradise of Coors Field to jumpstart and offense that has been missing in action.

The Tampa Bay Rays enter the series 3-4 on the season after their first homestand against the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers. As is typical for the Rays, the starting pitching has been their greatest strength but they have faltered in the bullpen uncharacteristically and are off to a slow start offensively. They will look to take advantage of a struggling Rockies team to boost their own confidence and build some rhythm as they start their first road trip of the year.

Pitching Probables*

4/5: Zack Littell (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Austin Gomber (0-0, 7.71 ERA)

4/6: TBD vs. Ryan Feltner (0-1, 5.40 ERA)

4/7: Ryan Pepiot (0-1, 9.53 ERA) vs Dakota Hudson (0-1, 0.00 ERA)

*Subject to change

Things Worth Watching

Find power at home

The Rockies are at their best when they take care of business at their home ballpark. Due to the difficulties of playing on the road, the best Rockies teams have had to dominate at Coors Field and try to play .500 baseball on the road. 2023 saw the Rockies sport a record of 37-44 record at home, while also coughing up more home runs than they hit. If the Rockies have any hope of avoiding 100 losses for a second straight season, they will need to improve upon their .218 team batting average and four home runs.

Still, an eight-run comeback on Wednesday should give the Rockie some momentum, or at least some confidence, to get the bats rolling. Charlie Blackmon leads MLB in most at-bats (24) without a strikeout which has been crucial to his strong start has he carries the Rockies at the top of the lineup. Kris Bryant finally got a pair of hits in Chicago to snap an ugly streak to start the year. Strikeouts have been a major problem for the Rockies in their first week and will need to find some discipline against a quality Rays staff.

Pitching woes in Colorado

Pitching is going to naturally come as a struggle for the Rockies, but the team has already been blown out of the water offensively because of bad starting pitching. Entering Friday, the Rockies rotation has a league-worst 10.01 ERA in just 29 2/3 innings. The rotation has also coughed up eight home runs and surrendered 16 walks against 17 strikeouts. As mentioned, no pitcher has lasted six innings. The bullpen for the Rockies has mostly been excellent but have thrown 27 1/3 innings and have a 6.59 ERA (but most of that is due to Anthony Molina). Walks have been the main problem for the Rockies as starting pitchers have struggled with their command. The team has allowed 36 walks, third most in the league, and has the second-fewest strikeouts with 39. Opponents are batting .329 against them and the staff has a 1.98 WHIP, both of which are the highest in baseball. The Rockies need their pitchers to throw quality strikes and induce groundballs because they aren’t going to get many strikeouts.

Rays quest for offense

Much like the Rockies, the Rays are trying to find some consistency with their bats. Unlike the Rockies, they have the luxury of a quality pitching staff that keeps the games close and gives them the ability to do just enough to score runs without everyone contributing. Randy Arozarena, José Caballero, and Yandy Díaz are providing the bulk of the offense, but the rest of the team hasn’t quite caught up. Strikeouts have been a concern as well as a lack of walks, meaning that the Rays are making plenty of contact as well but not having much luck. Tampa Bay will look to take advantage of their aggressive approach and attack Rockies pitchers early and get some offensive momentum and perhaps run into a few.