Two teams no doubt looking forward to the All-Star break will get an opportunity to finish the first half on a positive note when the Colorado Rockies and host San Francisco Giants open a three-game series Friday night.
Both clubs had a day off Thursday, with the Rockies having suffered a fourth straight loss a day earlier in Houston, while the Giants were ending a four-game skid with a home win over the Seattle Mariners.
The Rockies are expected to go with left-hander Austin Gomber (6-7, 6.64 ERA) as their starting pitcher for the series opener, while the Giants will counter with right-hander Ross Stripling (0-2, 6.51).
The Rockies’ winningest pitcher, Gomber has rebounded from an 0-4 start with six wins in his last nine decisions, starting nine Colorado victories in 13 outings during that stretch.
His ERA, once as high as 12.12, has dropped 0.61 from 7.25 in his last two starts, a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels and an 8-5 win over the Detroit Tigers, games in which he allowed four earned runs over 12 innings.
Gomber did not pitch when the Giants rolled through Denver early last month for three straight wins, putting up a total of 21 runs.
The Rockies were without Kris Bryant for that earlier series as he was sitting out 27 games with a left heel bruise. Bryant has played in five games since convincing team management he could work his way back into shape in a Rockies uniform rather than on a minor league rehab stint. He has five hits, including a homer, in those five games.
“There’s definitely some rust for sure,” Bryant said earlier this week. “Pitch selection, maybe my timing … I feel like I’m comfortable in the box. I feel like I’m seeing it well. Hopefully, I can go on a little run.”
The Rockies have been looking for Bryant runs ever since prying him from the Giants in free agency after the 2021 season. Acquired from the Chicago Cubs in a trade, Bryant had joined the Giants that year for the stretch drive, hitting .262 with seven homers in 51 games.
He’s played just 97 games in more than a season and a half with the Rockies and has totaled just 11 homers. Remarkably, he has never faced the Giants as a member of the Rockies.
The Giants could find themselves in the market for another Bryant-type bat at the trade deadline after a 3-7 slide that has seen them drop back to third place in the National League West. San Francisco has totaled just 24 runs over the stretch.
Having watched his top two pitchers, Logan Webb and Alex Cobb, both pitch well in the Seattle series, Giants manager Gabe Kapler admitted after Wednesday’s win that he’s more concerned about his rotation depth right now.
The Giants will squeeze Webb in for one more start before the break on Sunday. They haven’t committed to a starter for Saturday’s game.
“This is around the time you start to think about the best way to give your pitchers a blow and get them as many starts as possible,” Kapler said. “Striking the balance between having Cobb and Webb start as many games as possible, but also give them the rest and recovery that they need. A lot of the discussions the next couple of days will be around that.”