Things are going well for the Colorado Rockies, continuing with their fine start to this season with a 9-2 win over the Texas Rangers. Not just Troy Tulowitzki playing better than anyone in baseball right now, but also having Nolan Arenado carrying on with his impressive hitting streak, tying a franchise record with 27.
Last season it was Michael Cuddyer who set the franchise record with 27, and Arenado seems to be on his way to making it a little bit more impressive. The 23-year old third baseman started out the game by easing the pressue off, hitting a double off of Colby Lewis to score Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez and finished the game with 3-of-5, reaching 26 RBIs this season while hitting a .326. At 23 years of age, his streak is the longest for anyone 23 years or younger since Albert Pujols had a 30-gamer in 2003 when he was 23.
But the story this season for the Rockies (22-14), leading the loaded NL West, has been their hitting, leading the league in runs scored, batting average, OBP and slugging. Troy Tulowitzki didn’t hit any home runs, but he did get an RBI with a sacrifice fly and finished with 1-of-4 at the plate. He has an NL-best average of .414, is tied for second with nine home runs and has 31 RBIs which is second behind Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins.
In the numbers that are a bit more advances, Tulowitzki is ahead of everyone. He leads the National League with a .511 OBP, .775 slugging, 1.286 OPS and a league best WAR of 3.7. The 29-year old who has three All-Star appearances and a couple of Gold Gloves & Silver Slugger awards is now well on his way to finish as the NL MVP, although May is usually a bit too early to declare these things with 100% certainty.
There’s a very good chance Arenado continues his impressive streak and gets close to 30 or beyond, especially with a second game against the Rangers coming up. Matt Harrison is the pitcher, someone Arenado has never faced, but he is hitting .500 against Rangers pitchers, making it quite likely we’ll see him (and not alone) get some bat action going early in the game.