The Colorado Rockies hit home runs at Coors Field on Wednesday night. A lot of them. OK, fine, let me be specific: Five of them.
(You can watch all of them here.)
Nolan Arenado broke out of his mini-slump for his National League-best 27th of the year. Carlos Gonzalez continued his assault on baseballs everywhere with a pair of them. Mark Reynolds hit one to the vegetation in center field. D.J. LeMahieu, usually known more for making contact with the ball rather than driving it, even got in on the action.
The barrage of dingers helped Colorado rout the Los Angeles Dodgers 12-2. They also helped the Rockies achieve a somewhat notable benchmark. For the first time since 2010, the Rockies (54-53) are above .500 after the All-Star break.
Here’s a breakdown of where Colorado stood through 107 games in the season and its final record each of the last eight years. The list dates back to 2009 — the last time the team made the playoffs.
2016: 54-53, TBD
2015: 46-61, 68-94
2014: 43-64, 66-96
2013: 51-56, 74-88
2012: 39-68, 64-98
2011: 51-56, 73-89
2010: 56-51, 83-79
2009: 59-48, 92-70
As you can see, the Rockies are five games off their 2009 pace at this point in the season. The team’s 14-5 post-All-Star break record this year is the best in the MLB; however, Colorado will have to continue its torrid pace if it hopes to make the playoffs.
As of Thursday morning, the Rockies sat three games out of the Nation League Wild Card race. They’re playing their best baseball this late in the season for the first time since 2010. Now the question is: Can they keep it up?
