NL Wild Card Game 2017: 5 reasons Rockies will win

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DENVER, CO – SEPTEMBER 29: Charlie Blackmon #19 of the Colorado Rockies hits an RBI single in the fifth inning of a game at Coors Field on September 29, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

3. Charlie Blackmon holds it together on the road

There’s really no point even debating it at this point — playing 81 times a year at Coors Field produces NL batting champions. DJ LeMahieu took his turn last year before handing it off to leadoff man Charlie Blackmon this year. Rockies hitters have now won five of the last eight NL batting titles.

Those home-road splits for Rockies hitters are typically ugly, but the batting champion has to be able to hold it together to a degree away from the thin air of Coors Field. While Blackmon’s .276/.337/.447 line on the road pales in comparison to the .391/.466/.773 line at home, he was still no slouch in away games.

The Rockies were collectively awful as a team at Arizona’s Chase Field this year, which does not make much sense considering that park is a mini-Coors with its dry air that helps balls take off. Colorado hit .208/.269/.373 when visiting the Diamondbacks and scored only 32 runs in 10 games. Even Blackmon struggled there, hitting below .200.

Hitting on the road was not a problem for Blackmon most of the year, so it makes little sense that he would struggle so mightily at Chase Field. He has handled Diamondbacks starter Zack Greinke well in 49 career at-bats and has also been productive against ace reliever Archie Bradley, although the sample size is much smaller.

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