The 2023 season for the Colorado Rockies starts with an opening weekend series on the road against the San Diego Padres. The last season’s fifth-place finishers in the NL West face a team who finished a series away from the World Series. Colorado went 68-94 overall with a 27-54 road record. The Rockies batted a team average .254 while slugging .397 at the plate. The Opening Day matchup is a tone-setter with two pitchers looking to regain their peak performance after less-than-ideal 2022 seasons. The first pitch gets underway at 2:10 p.m. MDT.
Rockies Opening Day Starter: Germán Márquez
German Márquez had arguably the worst year of his career in 2022, posting a 94 ERA+ and 4.95 ERA. While Coors Field does no favors, his near 5.00 ERA is far from the best years of his career. His Baseball Savant page was worse in every conceivable way from 2021 to 2022, but he has a saving grace. In 17 spring innings, he dominated with a 0.53 ERA and 20 strikeouts to just two walks. Now, it’s no secret that Coors Fieldwill artificially inflate his numbers, but starting on the road will save his confidence.
In theory, looking forward to making a payday after this contract season is all the motivation Márquez needs to find his All-Star form, which, at best, has the potential to finish top-15 in Cy Young voting.
Padres Opening Day Starter: Blake Snell
Having fallen off the radar after being pulled in game six of the 2020 World Series, Snell quietly posted a 3.38 ERA in 2022. It has been four full seasons since his Cy Young-winning campaign, but his pure talent still shows itself occasionally. Having an entire offseason around a stacked rotation, including Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove, Snell should have confidence from a good staff around him and World Series aspirations for the team.
The lefty will have a few problems with a Rockies lineup bound for a sub-.500 season, but he may see a pitch count restriction with it still being early in the season.
Final Thoughts on the Game
Different teams, different expectations. However, both teams start at the same time as the first pitch is set for 2:10 p.m. MDT Thursday, March 30. Rockies Opening Day is always a time of optimism for fans, as new faces on the team are excited to watch for the club’s future.
Photo Credit: © Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
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