Likely Story: Rockies infielder hot facing Mariners
DENVER -- Colorado shortstop Trevor Story will try to continue his hitting surge and help the Rockies sweep the Seattle Mariners before participating in his first All-Star Game.
Rockies left-hander Tyler Anderson (6-3, 3.76) will start against Mike Leake (8-6, 4.26) with Anderson coming off three outstanding starts and Leake trying to rebound from back-to-back poor outings.
The Rockies' 4-1 win Saturday night assured them of winning five straight series for the first time since 2014. Those five series wins have all come against teams with winning records. The Rockies (50-45) have won 11 of their past 14 games at Coors Field, where they have improved to 22-23.
Story went 2-for-4 Saturday to extend his hitting streak to a season-high tying nine games, eight of which have been multiple hit games. He's hitting .293 with a .906 OPS along with a team-leading 27 doubles, 19 home runs and 67 RBIs, which is tied for the team lead.
On June 1, Story was hitting .237 with 66 strikeouts in 211 at-bats, an average of one strikeout every 3.20 at-bats. But Story is hitting .371 dating from June 2 with 35 strikeouts in 151 at-bats, an average of one strikeout every 4.31 at-bats.
"I think there's been a commitment to a shorter swing with two strikes," Rockies manager Bud Black said. "I think there's been a commitment to looking to go the other way. There's been a commitment to putting the ball in play. And there's been a big commitment to cutting down on strikeouts.
"So when you do those things, you're going to hit the ball. And with Trevor's strength, you're going to hit the ball with authority. That's what's shown up in the last couple months. We've seen a great progression from a year ago until now. We've seen it become All-Star caliber because of what he's doing."
Anderson is 2-0, 0.41 ERA in his past three starts, a stretch in which he has allowed nine hits and one run in 22 innings with seven walks and 25 strikeouts. He allowed six runs over five innings in his only previous start against the Mariners.
For the first time this year, the Mariners (58-38) have lost three straight series, two against the Rockies. Seattle is 13-6 in games started by Leake, who has thrown seven or more innings in seven starts, including three eight-inning outings. However, he has thrown just four innings in each of his past two starts, going 0-2, 9.00 in those games, both against the Los Angeles Angels.
"Some teams you match up (with) better than others," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "The Angels are not a great matchup for him because they're a low fastball hitting team so it can be a little bit more challenging.
"He's got a sinking fastball, cuts the fastball, has a curveball, slider. He's got a repertoire of pitches, but he still has to locate those pitches pretty well."
Leake is 2-2 with a 5.60 ERA in five starts against the Rockies.
Story will fly to Washington after the game and experience being a National League All-Star.
"It means the world me," Story said. "That's been one of my goals since I was a kid is to be an All-Star. It hasn't really set in yet. I think until we get there, I just kind of focus on the day-to-day here."
There will be one more game to do that. The third-place Rockies are 2 1/2 games behind, the closest they have been to first place in the NL West since June 9 when they also trailed by that margin. And that shortly after Story began to get hot.
"If you control your effort in the batters' box, if you're committed to shortenting your swing, you'll see the ball a little bit longer," Black said. "You won't commit early. And that's what Trevor's doing. He's not looking for certain pitches. He's just looking for the ball. And I think with the confidence that he's gained from the success of the two-strike approach and the shorter swing as he gets deeper in the count, that just adds to the momentum that he's building as an offensive player."