C.J. Cron knows Rockies must solve drastic road-hitting woes

PITTSBURGH — Things were supposed to be different for the Rockies this season.

More firepower and more accomplished hitters on the roster, specifically left fielder Kris Bryant, was supposed to ease the Rockies’ drought on the road. And, perhaps the Rockies’ personality wouldn’t be quite as split.

But Bryant’s sore lower back kept him out of the lineup Tuesday night against the Pirates for the second consecutive game, and manager Bud Black said that there is a chance that Bryant will have to return to the injured list.

The Rockies entered Tuesday’s game at PNC Park having lost 10 of their last 11 games on the road, and they were averaging just 2.6 runs per game (last in the majors), had hit 10 home runs (last), and were hitting .228 (19th) away from Coors Field.

But perhaps no set of statistics illustrates Colorado’s two-faced offense better than these:

* At Coors Field, the Rockies are hitting .313 with runners in scoring position.

* After going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position in a 2-1 loss to Pittsburgh Tuesday, the Rockies’ average with RISP on the road fell to .203.

“When the opportunity presents itself, either home or road, we have to do a better job of driving in runs, and I didn’t do a very good job of that yesterday, and I kind of put the team in a bad spot,” said first baseman C.J. Cron, who’s been Colorado’s best offensive player, by far, hitting .321 with 11 home runs and 32 RBIs.

“We just have to keep working and seeing as many pitches on the road as we can, and those hits will come,” Cron said.

Cron is a definite All-Star Game candidate, but his splits, like his team’s, are huge. At home, Cron is hitting .398 with nine home runs and a 1.189 OPS. He entered Tuesday’s game hitting .197 with two homers and a .611 OPS on the road.

And there is also this disparity: Cron is 12-for-29 (.414) with runners in scoring position at home but is 3-for-13 (.231) on the road.

Cron, in his second season with Colorado, is discovering what many Rockies hitters experience when they step up to the plate at Coors Field vs. almost everywhere else they play.

“I’m starting to realize it a little more,” he said. “Last year, it didn’t quite click with me, but you definitely notice the ball moving differently.

“If the ball is off your barrel just an inch, that’s now a swing and a miss or it’s a jam shot, so you are going to miss a lot more barrels. But we have to find a way to overcome that and play better on the road. It’s as simple as that.”

Missing Bryant. Manager Bud Black said that Bryant will continue going through back exercises, but added that the left fielder “was still not right.”

“He’s going through (evaluation) this afternoon with the medical staff and we will probably have more information tomorrow,” Black said before the game.

That could mean another stint on the IL for Bryant, who was pulled out of Monday’s starting lineup about 90 minutes before the first pitch.

Bryant, 30, who signed a seven-year, $182 million free-agent deal to come to Colorado, first went on the IL with a strained lower back on April 26 and missed 21 games. He came off the IL on Saturday and played in the first game of a doubleheader against the Mets, going 1-for-4. He also played in Sunday’s game, going 0-for-2 with two walks.

“Once he gets back to being Kris Bryant, he’s a presence in the middle of the order — a producer,” Black said.

Rotation news. Black confirmed that right-hander Ryan Feltner, called up from Triple-A, will start Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Pirates. He’s filling in for right-hander Antonio Senzatela, who’s on the IL with a strained lower back.

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