MILWAUKEE — When the Rockies’ offense stinks worse than the smell of boiling wort emanating inside the various breweries in downtown Milwaukee, it’s hard not to point fingers at the usual suspects.
And those usual suspects — Colorado’s offensive core of Nolan Arenado, D.J. LeMahieu, Charlie Blackmon and Trevor Story — have been frustratingly lackluster in the playoffs so far. The foursome has largely scuffled offensively through three playoff games while looking like they, amid the October tension the club had worked so hard to feel, could use some of those Milwaukee suds to ease the nerves.
Through the Rockies’ 2-1, extra-innings wild card win over the Cubs, as well as the first two losses of the National League division series at Miller Park, the Rockies’ leading bats have gone cold, unable to match strong performances by the Colorado pitching staff.
It’s a nightmare scenario for Colorado, which has four starters and a handful of relievers peaking (or close to it) at the perfect time, only to see those efforts wasted by the unpredictably vaunted Rockies offense.
“It’s on us,” Arenado admitted after the Rockies did nothing to support Tyler Anderson’s strong outing in Game 2. “We have to be better than that.”
Arenado, despite a pair of singles Friday to record his first career multi-hit postseason game, is still searching for his second playoff home run after recording his first in Colorado’s wild-card loss to Arizona last season.
“It feels good to get a couple hits, but at the same time, it doesn’t really matter in the playoffs,” Arenado said. “It’s all about the big-time moments, and you have to be able to do something in them. I wasn’t able to do it today.”
The third baseman is 3-for-12 with five strikeouts in the 2018 postseason, including a pair of Ks in Game 2.
Meanwhile, Story is hitting like a shell of the MVP candidate he emerged as throughout a torrid second half. The shortstop is 3-for-14 with six strikeouts and often seemed lost at the plate at Miller Park, consistently out-of-balance on his front foot and chasing breaking balls in the dirt. His three hits came in the wild-card game.
LeMahieu (2-for-12 with a couple walks) and Blackmon (1-for-15) haven’t fared better as the Colorado offense, stymied by the Brewers’ bullpen effort Thursday and former Rockies starter Jhoulys Chacin on Friday, have settled into a disturbing Rocktober routine of making the opposition’s one- or two-run lead feel larger than the scoreboard shows.
“We’re putting a little pressure on ourselves,” LeMahieu admitted. The second baseman later added that “we just need to relax, have good at-bats like we have all year, and we’ll be excited to get it going on Sunday.”
For the Rockies to play beyond Sunday, that core has no other choice. Arenado, LeMahieu, Blackmon and Story must bring the big bats to Game 3, and Colorado must be better overall with runners in scoring position than the 2-for-22 mark it has posted through three playoff games.
“When guys are on base, we feel like we’re not having that quality at-bat,” Arenado said. “It’s been frustrating, one through nine, all of us. We have to clean that up for us to have a chance.”
