Colorado Rockies game no. 34 thread: Chris Sale vs. Brennan Bernardino

The Colorado Rockies had a prime opportunity to steal the series opener at home against the Atlanta Braves. They jumped out to a 6-0 lead but then, they saw the opportunity walk away. Literally.

Crucial walks in the eighth and ninth innings put the Rox in danger and ultimately behind in a game where they cranked their win probability up to 96.0% at one point. Alas, leads can be fleeting at Coors, especially when a team doesn’t score again after the second inning.

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The Rockies managed a 13-15 record in April, avoiding sustained losing streaks outside of a six-game skid. To get May off on the right foot, they’ll try to nip the losses in the bud and take at least one of the next two against Atlanta.

Unfortunately, on Fourth Wing Night at Coors Field on Saturday, the Rockies hitters encounter a challenge tougher than crossing the parapet: facing Chris Sale. Sale has been stellar this year (5-1 in six games started, 2.31 ERA). He’s been incredibly efficient in so many metrics, boasting a sub-1.00 WHIP so far — currently holding at 0.914 — along with 38 strikeouts and just nine walks.

Outside of a bumpy outlier game in which he gave up six runs on two dingers to the Los Angeles Angels in early April, Sale has been the epitome of consistency. In the other five games, he’s given up either just one run or none at all. For the cherry on top, he’s sitting on a .185 batting average against. Father Time has not slowed the 16-year veteran down at all, as he continues to be just incredibly stingy. That’s historically carried through against the Rockies, where Sale is 1-1 with a 1.48 ERA across five games, including 0-1 with a 1.74 ERA at Coors.

The Rockies will try and counter with a steady presence of their own. Despite Chase Dollander getting his first start in his last outing against the New York Mets, the Rockies will go back to their opener + Dollander approach, with Brennan Bernardino kicking things off tonight. The last time Colorado looked to use Bernardino and Dollander as a dynamic duo (April 4th against the Philadelphia Phillies), it turned into a trio. Bernardino gave up a walk followed by an early run, forcing an appearance from Jimmy Herget to better set up Dollander to enter in the third.

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Across the year, Bernardino is 2-0 in 14 games with the one start and a 0.71 ERA over 12.2 IP. He’s looked sharp and will try to move quickly through a hot top of the order for the Braves.

While it looked like Dollander moved closer to securing a full-time starter role like many hoped, his lone start might have been forced by the doubleheader, as he slots back into his bulk relief role today. For his part, Dollander is 3-2 through seven games, posting a 2.25 ERA over 32.0 IP. Atlanta will be one of his toughest tests so far as he continues to make his case for a spot in the rotation.

The Rockies found a spark and got the bats going early yesterday. Their six runs gave them a chance. That many may be harder to come by given the matchup, but they’ll look to hang around in what should be an intriguing pitching matchup on both sides.

First Pitch: 6:10 p.m. MDT

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TV: Rockies.TV

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

Braves SB Nation Site: Battery Power

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