3 Things To Watch in the Rockies Series Against the Astros

Colorado will visit Houston one week after sweeping them at home.

Brenton Doyle | Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

Two teams that are struggling will begin a three-game series on Tuesday night when the Colorado Rockies visit the Houston Astros. This will be the second series in a week after the Rockies swept the Astros last week at home.

Speaking of sweeps, both teams were swept over the weekend. Colorado was swept by the San Diego Padres in Southern California, while Houston was swept by the Seattle Mariners to cap off a brutal 10-game road trip where they went 1-9. The record was a side story to all the injuries the Astros had and now the Rockies will face a depleted team for three games. Here are three things to watch for over the next three days.

1. Who Wins the Series To Break Their Losing Streak?

Something has to give this week for two teams who are riding long losing streaks. Houston has lost several key players to the injured list and their starting pitching has more question marks with Cristian Javier, Hunter Brown and Tatsuya Imai all being injured on the road trip.

Coming off a long road trip, the first game at home is generally a tough one for the home team. In this case, not only was it a one-win trip, but it was one where injuries were the biggest talking point. The Rockies have a chance to get off on the right foot and clinch the season series on Tuesday night.

2. Rockies Must Get Length From Starters

When it was announced that Kyle Freeland was scratched from his start on Sunday against the Padres due to left posterior shoulder soreness, it forced manager Warren Schaeffer to use a bullpen game in the 7-2 loss. That stretched that bullpen thin.

Monday was an off-day for Colorado, which was timely. At the time this article is being written, the Rockies have yet to name a starter for any of the three games in the series. Whoever gets the ball early in the series needs to give Schaeffer some length early on.

3. How Do the Rockies Handle a Four-Game Sweep?

Coming off a third straight 100-loss season and under new leadership, this is an early-season test for Schaeffer and his team and how they respond to a four-game sweep by San Diego. There are a lot of young players mixed in with some veterans and just how do they respond from a day off?

This is a series that they need to at least win as they return home this upcoming weekend to host the Los Angeles Dodgers. Taking advantage of a banged-up team and a banged-up starting rotation would be a good sign for the Rockies over the next three games.