Father’s Day, 2017. Blood streamed down Nolan Arenado‘s face as he unleashed a primal scream and 48,341 fans at Coors Field lost their minds.
Moments before, the Rockies’ star third baseman blasted a walk-off, three-run homer off closer Mark Melancon to beat the Giants 7-5. Even more spectacular, Arenado’s home run capped the first cycle of his career. The battle scar above his left eye was the result of a wild celebration at home plate with his teammates.
Arenado lives for moments like that, with electricity in the air and fans hanging on every pitch. That’s one of the reasons why he has always loved playing in San Francisco, where, despite the cold nights and wicked winds, fans regularly become part of the drama.
He thinks, or rather he hopes, that Coors Field is becoming that type of baseball park. Moreover, he hopes the Rockies are becoming the kind of team that inspires that kind of passion. That hope is part of the reason why he recently signed an eight-year, $260 million contract with Colorado.
“Absolutely, I want Coors to feel like that,” he said. “I signed here long term because I see good things happening and I want to win ballgames. I think the fans should understand that, especially after what’s happened here the last couple of years.”
The Rockies, who host the Dodgers on Friday afternoon in their home-opener, are coming off back-to-back playoff trips for the first time in franchise history. But they have never won a National League West title and have not advanced beyond the NL division series since their stunning Rocktober World Series run of 2007.
Arenado is convinced that more raucous crowds in LoDo can help his team take the next step.
“We need the fans to back us up,” Arenado said. “I think the best teams have the best crowds, and teams feed off that.”
The Rockies drew 3,015,880 fans to Coors Field last season — an average of 37,233 per game, which ranked seventh in the majors and was the Rockies’ best attendance since 2001. The truth is, however, that when nationally popular teams, such as the Chicago Cubs, come to town on June 10-12, or when the mighty Boston Red Sox visit Aug. 27-28, up to half the stadium will be filled by fans wearing visiting colors.
Arenado is not thrilled about that.
“At times, Coors Field is electric,” he said. “But there are a lot of times when Cubs fans, or whatever, really show up at our place. I guess I get that, I understand how popular the Cubs are. But we need our fans to be there and support us. We feed off that.
“And we need the opposing team to feel our crowd, too. Because when that happens, it can change the concept of the game.”
The Rockies are off to a sluggish start, going 3-4 on their first road trip of the season through Miami and Tampa Bay where they hit .197 with 72 strikeouts and just two home runs. Nevertheless, Arenado believes Colorado’s has a chance to field an exciting team.
“I think we are a team that the fans can get behind and a team that can win ballgames,” he said. “That remains to be seen, of course. We have a lot of good ballplayers.”
The third baseman pointed to last season’s final homestand when the Rockies won six of seven games to clinch a playoff spot and tie the Dodgers for the NL West lead before losing in a Game 163 playoff at Los Angeles. In the final three games vs. Washington, the average crowd at Coors Field was 47,901.
“When we played the Phillies and Nationals down the stretch, it was a whole different environment,” he said. “I know when we go to opposing ballparks, you feel some anxiousness when their crowd is loud and they are getting into it. So I know that down the stretch last year, those opposing teams had to feel our crowd.”
On Deck
Dodgers RHP Kenta Maeda (1-0, 4.05 ERA) vs. Rockies LHP Tyler Anderson (0-1, 9.00)
2:10 p.m. Friday at Coors Field
TV: ATT SportsNet Radio: 850 AM/94.1
Anderson is coming off a rocky first start of the season at Miami, where the Marlins battered him for three runs on nine hits over five innings. Anderson, however, usually pitches well at Coors Field, where his 3.73 ERA as a starter ranks third in team history behind Kyle Freeland and Ubaldo Jimenez. Maeda also has pitched well in LoDo, going 4-1 with a 3.19 ERA, with 35 strikeouts and only eight walks in 31 innings.
Trending: The Rockies are 15-11 in home-opening games, but lost 8-3 to Atlanta in the cold last year. In 2017, they beat the Dodgers behind a stellar start by left-hander Freeland, who was making his big-league debut.
At issue: Can the Rockies get their offense up and running? They enter Friday’s game batting .197 (14th in the National League), with a .245 on-base percentage (14th) and two home runs (15th).
Upcoming pitching matchups
Saturday: Dodgers RHP Walker Buehler (0-0, 15.0) at Rockies RHP Jon Gray (0-1, 4.05), 6:10 p.m., ATTRM
Sunday: Dodgers LHP Julio Urias (0-0, 0.00) at Rockies RHP Chad Bettis (0-1, 9.53), 6:37 p.m., ESPN
Monday: Braves TBD at Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (1-1, 2.31), 6:40 p.m., ATTRM
