Penciling in atop the Rockies lineup nearly every day is more than a convenience. He is their best batter. Giving him the most at-bats is a wise side note.
If only Colorado’s hitters filled in so well behind him. Blackmon’s solo home run in the sixth inning Wednesday — a 424-foot blast over the center field wall — was his 32nd, the most in baseball among lead-off hitters. But it was half of the Rockies’ run total in a 6-2 loss to .
Blackmon has one month to chase a record held by the Yankees’ Alfonso Soriano, who hit 39 home runs from the leadoff spot in 2006, the most ever. (Baltimore’s Brady Anderson hit 50 homers in 1996, but only 15 came when he hit leadoff).
The Rockies have Blackmon’s name in concrete atop the order. His career-high 84 RBIs are tied with Taylor Douthit, who did it for St. Louis in 1930, for second-most in the National League in a season. Craig Biggio had 88 for Houston in 1998.
If he looks unlike a traditional leadoff hitter — at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds he has just 13 stolen bases — it only understates his value. Blackmon leads the Rockies in at-bats and plate appearances and his 1.023 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) is fifth-best in baseball, behind only Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton, Cincinnati’s Joey Votto, Washington’s Bryce Harper and Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt.
Blackmon sets up a cascade of hitting prowess atop the Rockies order, followed by and . LeMahieu on Wednesday went 2-for-4 at the plate to extend a season-long hitting streak to eight games. Arenado leads the team with 111 RBIs in large part because Blackmon leads all of baseball with 112 runs scored ahead of him. Arenado is on pace to lead the NL in RBIs for a third consecutive season, from 1920-22.
But there’s a problem. After the top three hitters, the rest of the Rockies lineup continues to struggle against Detroit. Their 5 through 9 hitters combined to go 3-for-18 on Wednesday.
Backup catcher singled in the eight inning, with the game already out of hand, to snap an 0-for-22 hitless skid.
And the Rockies have scored four or fewer runs in 18 of their past 22 games and no more than three in 15.
More rotation questions. Rookie Antonio Senzatela is scheduled to pitch Sunday at against the Diamondbacks to finish a critical weekend series. But Senzatela in his last outing gave up four runs on six hits in just 3 2/3 innings in a loss to the Tigers on Monday. That may leave his rotation spot in doubt.
“I can probably answer that in a couple of days,” Colorado manager Bud Black said. “We’re talking about a lot of things.”
If the Rockies choose a different route, there is no clear substitute. Rookie right-hander remains in Triple-A Albuquerque after giving up six runs on less than one inning last week. He is scheduled to pitch for the Isotopes on Sunday. Lefty Tyler Anderson is also in Triple-A rehabbing a left knee injury. He will pitch Thursday.
Looking ahead
Thursday: Off
Friday: Diamondbacks RHP Taijuan Walker (7-7, 3.55 ERA) at Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (11-8, 3.81), 6:40 p.m., AT&T SportsNet
Saturday: Diamondbacks LHP Patrick Corbin (12-11, 3.91) at Rockies RHP Jon Gray (6-3, 4.18), 6:10 p.m., AT&T SportsNet
Sunday: Diamondbacks RHP Zack Godley (6-7, 3.29) at Rockies RHP Antonio Senzatela (10-5, 4.68), 1:10 p.m., AT&T SportsNet
