pitching performance to stay on track Saturday.Right-hander Antonio Senzatela gave up
three hits in seven innings in a 5-1 victory over Arizona
Gleyber Torres Jersey , following German Marquez’s dominant outing Friday as the Rockies took the first two games of a three-game series.The Rockies trail
the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West and the St. Louis Cardinals
for the final wild-card spot. Each deficit is 1 1/2 games. The Diamondbacks, who
led the division Sept. 1, is one loss away from elimination.Article continues
below ...“We need to get it done, no matter how we get it,” said Colorado
catcher Chris Iannetta, whose two-out, two-run single triggered a decisive
four-run third inning.“We just need to get wins. We don’t have many games left.
We need some help from teams in front of us to lose some games, and we have to
win a bunch. It’s going to be difficult, but we’ll just try to win one each day
and see what happens.”Colorado left-hander Kyle Freeland (15-7, 2.95) is to face
Arizona righty Zack Godley (14-10, 4.79) in Sunday’s series finale. Freeland has
made nine consecutive quality starts.If home field means anything, Colorado
might have a bit of an edge as it looks to make up the necessary ground in the
final week of the season.The Rockies
Tyler Austin Jersey , who have played one fewer game than the Dodgers, will play their final seven games at Coors Field against NL East teams
Philadelphia and Washington. Both have been eliminated from the playoffs.The
Rockies set a franchise record with 43 road wins after taking the first two
games of the Arizona series Saturday and also are 41-33 at home.The Dodgers will
play their final game this season against San Diego on Sunday. They have road
series remaining against Arizona and the Padres. St. Louis has a three-game home
series against contending Milwaukee beginning Monday before closing the season
with a three-game set against the NL Central-leading Cubs at Wrigley Field.“I
think most teams feel comfortable and confident at home,” Colorado manager Bud
Black said. “I think we do. We’re much better at home the second half of the
season. We play the schedule.”Arizona has lost 11 of 14 with the troubles coming
because of a sluggish offense compounded by a suddenly leaky bullpen.“I go back
to Jim Carrey ‘you’re saying there a chance’,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo
said. “I’ve going to live until I can take no more breaths, and I feel like the
whole clubhouse will do the same.”Freeland, a native of Denver who was the
Rockies’ first round pick in the 2014 draft, has developed into a star in his
second season in the rotation, and with right-hander Marquez appears to give the
Rockies a dominant 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation for years to come.
Freeland is 25. Marquez 23. Freeland is fifth in the NL in ERA and victories and
fourth in WAR, and has only gotten sharper as the season has moved along. He is
9-1 with a 2.43 ERA in his last 18 starts, and has given up more than three runs
only once in that stretch. The Rockies have won 14 of his 18 starts during that
span.“He’s doing what successful pitchers do,” Black said. “He’s throwing a lot
of strikes in good spots within his repertoire, and his repertoire is solid
major league stuff across the board. He pitches with a great deal of
aggressiveness and confidence. He’s been able to make a pitch when he needs
to
http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-giancarlo-stanton-jersey , to get out of an inning and get out of a jam.”The Rockies have won three of
Freeland’s previous four starts against the Diamondbacks, although he is 1-1
with a 4.76 ERA against them this season and 2-2 against them in his career. He
gave up four runs in five innings in his only start at Chase Field.“Changing
speeds very well, much better than he did a year ago,” Black said. “The
consistency of his slider is much improved from last year. Fastball command much
improved. The strikeout/walk ratio are in order for his type of stuff. He’s
fielding his position. He’s holding runners well. All the things that make his
successful.”Godley was pushed back until Sunday to give Zack Greinke and Patrick
Corbin the first two cracks the Rockies in this series, a maneuver designed to
give Arizona the best chance to win this series and in the final week of the
season.Like Freeland, Godley has set career highs in virtually every statistical
category in his first full season in the rotation, although he has battled
consistency at times. He leads the NL with 12 hit batters and 16 wild pitches,
and his 1.45 WHIP ranks 30th of the 31 NL qualifiers.Godley has not been at his
best since mid-August, going 1-4 with a 7.42 ERA in his last six starts.
Included in that was a 13-2 loss at Colorado on Sept. 10, the first contest of a
four-game series in which the Rockies won three. He is 1-1 with a 6.14 ERA in
three starts against the Rockies this season and is 4-1, 3.99 in eight career
outings. HOUSTON (AP) — Ask Houston manager AJ Hinch to name the best thing
about George Springer and he rattles off a laundry list of qualities he admires
in the outfielder.When he finishes that list, he adds a final thought.“I’m not
sure there’s a perfect player
Miguel Andujar Jersey ,” Hinch said. “But he’s pretty close.”Last year’s World Series MVP hit three homers during a sweep of Cleveland in the AL Division
Series, and the Astros look for him to keep delivering as they prepare for
Boston’s powerful lineup in the AL Championship Series beginning
Saturday.“There’s nothing not to like about Springer,” Hinch said. “His makeup’s
good, his effort’s good, his competitiveness is off the charts, he’s happy when
he comes to the ballpark every day, blends in well with all aspects of the
clubhouse.”Springer’s three homers are tied with Yankees slugger Aaron Judge for
the most this postseason and his six hits rank third in the playoffs. It’s a
continuation of the work he did in helping the Astros to their first World
Series title last season.In 2017, Springer hit six homers, five doubles and
drove in nine runs in the postseason. Most of his damage came in the World
Series when he hit five homers.The leadoff man came one shy of the MLB record
when extended his streak of postseason games with a home run to five with a solo
shot in a win over the Indians in the ALDS opener. He didn’t homer in Game 2,
but made up for it by connecting twice in Game 3 to help the Astros complete the
sweep.Springer tries not to get too wrapped up in statistics, but knows what
people expect in October.“This is a result-oriented time of the year,” Springer
said. “But for us it’s about doing anything that you can for the team. So just
sticking with that mentality.”Springer’s teammates rave about what he does on
the field and the attitude he brings to work every day.“Unbelievable
teammate
Tim Tebow Jersey , unbelievable player,” third baseman Alex Bregman said. “Stepped up huge for us last year and then is stepping up huge for us now.
Definitely fun to be on his team. He loves to compete and do anything to help
the team win. We love George.”A two-time All-Star, Springer was the 11th overall
pick out UConn in 2011. He made his debut in 2014 and since then has become one
of Houston’s most consistent and dynamic players, part of a young core that
helped the Astros morph from league laughingstocks to World Series champions in
just a few short years.Springer hit a career-high 34 home runs last season and
had 22 this year. It’s the type of power rarely seen in a leadoff hitter, but
his pop combined with speed has been a great combination for the Astros.He
believes the experience this team gained in capturing the franchise’s first
title last year will help the Astros as the get deeper into this postseason.
Springer also thinks Houston’s success last year has given the team a certain
calmness this season no matter what challenge it encounters.Springer is rarely
seen without a smile and you can often find him cracking jokes to his teammates
or dancing around the clubhouse. Despite the importance of the situation, he
believes it’s important to remember that even though the stage is much bigger,
they’re simply playing the game they love.“This is obviously a game where the
higher up you go the harder it gets so you want to try to make things simple,”
he said. “You want to try to have as much fun as you possibly can and just enjoy
it and try to keep yourself and other guys loose.”
