Posted By Jeff Fletcher on September 8, 2009 10:07 am

I know a lot of Giants fans are clinging to the fact that the Giants’ pitching is better than the Rockies as a reason that the Giants will end up on top. While I don’t dispute that the Giants pitching is better, with guys like Lincecum, Cain and Jonathan Sanchez, don’t underrate the Rockies.

I looked up a few interesting nuggets this morning that might explain why the Rockies pitchers have been so consistently effective, if not spectacular.

Pitches per plate appearance

2. COL, 3.71
24. SFG, 3.88

I had expected this would result in Rockies starters going more innings, but it hasn’t. They’ve actually gone about the same as the Giants’ starters. They’ve just done it in fewer pitches. That certainly means they throw more strikes. It also means they may be a little fresher at this time of year. (Lincecum and Cain are both in the top 10 in the NL in pitches thrown. The Rockies’ Ubaldo Jimenez actually leads the league in pitches, but no other Rockies pitcher is in the top 20.)

Quality Start Percentage

1. COL, 61 %
6. SFG, 55%

The Rockies, with a better offense than the Giants, don’t really need to go out and put up 8-4-1-1-3-9 lines that much. They just need to keep their team in the game and let the offense score, which they do with great frequency.

Groundout Ratio

2. COL, 1.33
19. SFG, 1.02

Put all these together and you get an idea of how the Rockies have pitched effectively at Coors Field. Their pitchers throw strikes and keep the ball down, and they keep their team in games. Add all that up, and you’ve got a pretty effective pitching staff.

Would I rather have the Giants pitchers than the Rockies? Of course. The Giants are still better. I’m just not sure that the Giants’ advantage in pitching is wide enough to make up for the Rockies’ advantage in offense.

All of that said, the Giants are two games out with 24 games to play, so all of these big-picture comparisons really don’t mean much. What matters is how the two teams play over the next 24 games, and that’s still a pretty small sample size. The Padres have the same record as the Giants over the past 39, so that gives you an idea that anything can happen over a few weeks.