Much has been made of James Loney's career struggles at Dodger Stadium -- .276/.339/.389 at home, not exactly inspiring numbers from a middle infielder, let along a first baseman. We half-jokingly look forward to the Dodgers wearing gray uniforms, if only for the emergence of "Road Loney," with much more productive numbers (.317/.370/.514) away from home.
Loney has also earned the moniker "Mr. Coors" for his awesome numbers in Colorado. It all started on September 28, 2006, when in the midst of a pennant race, as a rookie, Loney slammed two home runs and drove in nine runs in a wild 19-11 win at Coors Field. Loney has had five RBI in a game three times in his career, and they have all been in Denver. In 28 career games at Coors Field, Loney has 37 RBI, and has hit .358/.414/.604. The "Mr. Coors" nickname has been deserved.
But should we start calling Loney "Mr. Chase" now, too? Loney had four more hits last night, including two doubles, one night after hitting an opposite-field homer. In his career at Chase Field, Loney is hitting .421/.461/.682 in 27 games. He has driven in at least one run in each of his last five games in Arizona, and has a hit in all but one of his 25 career starts at Chase Field. Loney has three home runs and two doubles in his last five games in Arizona.
To put the rise of Loney's power in Phoenix in some perspective, he has seven home runs in 27 career games at Chase Field, compared to 14 home runs in 253 games at Dodger Stadium.
Will Loney continue to have a .427 batting average on balls in play in Arizona? Well, no. But Mr. Chase and his entourage are still fun to watch.