The Colorado Rockies won their second series of the year, taking three out of four against the Washington Nationals to move a game over .500 (9-8) as they continue their road trip, which now finds them in Pittsburgh for a three-game series against the Pirates.

Against two aces — Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg — on a team that won 97 games last year, the Rockies hung tough against the Nationals with timely offense and starting pitching that kept them in the game.

Chad Bettis is still stellar

The Rockies once again got a workhorse-like performance from Bettis in Game One of the series. Bettis threw seven innings of one-run ball before finishing with 94 pitches and exiting the game after outdueling Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez.

With the Rockies going through early inconsistency with their young starters, quality starts from veteran arms on the staff are even more crucial to the team’s early success. Bettis has been very good with an old-school pitching approach, back when you didn’t need a 100+ mph fastball to dominate. Good location and an excellent mix of pitches and speeds has resulted in a 2.04 ERA on the young campaign, the best ERA on the starting staff by a full two runs.

Wade Davis watch

Baseball is a marathon, not a sprint, and with the season about 10% finished, it’s worth noting the usage rate among pitchers on the staff, particularly the relievers, where Wade Davis is getting a lot of work.

It’s a good sign that Davis is turning his opportunities into production — he’s tied for the MLB lead in saves (7) but it’s also worth nothing that he’s on-pace for the most innings pitched in a single season in his career since 2013 — when he was a starter with Kansas City.

Davis locked down two games in the series — both one-inning performances that saw the Nationals go hitless — and while production early is a good sign, watching his inning count is going to be important as the season progresses. Innings pitched may have had a direct correlation to the struggles of Greg Holland in 2017 towards the end of the year, and certainly that’s not a path Colorado wants to go down again.

Power away from Coors

In the series, Charlie Blackmon hit two home runs and D.J. LeMahieu hit three — bringing their total as a pair at 11, and all of those home runs came on the road.

With public scrutiny always seemingly aimed at the Rockies and their power hitting at Coors Field, the major leagues should take note of the Rockies’ pop that does exist on the road — particularly with Blackmon — who leads the MLB in road home runs.

What’s next

The Rockies will continue their extended road-trip with three games in Pittsburgh against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Rockies are expected to send right-hander German Marquez (0-1, 4.97 ERA) to the mound, who is scheduled to oppose Pittsburgh’s Steven Brault (2-0, 3.46 ERA). The first pitch is scheduled for 5:05 MST from PNC Park.