San Diego @ Colorado preview
Coors Field
Last Meeting ( Jul 10, 2010 ) San Diego 2, Colorado 4
One game before the All-Star break, one game back in the standings.
The Colorado Rockies will be looking to move into a tie atop the National League West when they go for a sweep of the San Diego Padres on Sunday.
Winners of six in a row and eight of nine this month, the Rockies, who were in fourth place two weeks ago, have ridden their hot offense to within one game of the Padres in the division.
Whether they win or lose today, the team is close enough now that the losses of Troy Tulowitzki and Todd Helton have not proved as devastating as they had feared.
Tulowitzki, out since June 18 with a fractured left wrist, is way ahead of schedule on the road to recovery. He is expected to start taking batting practice after the break and could be back by the end of the month. Helton should be ready when his 15 days on the disable list run out on July 20.
Clint Barmes has done a fine job as the primary shortstop in place on Tulowitzki, while Helton’s fill-ins have been carrying the club of late. Jason Giambi is 9-for-12 with three runs scored and three RBIs in three starts and Brad Eldred hit a two-run homer on Saturday.
Eldred’s blast was one of three for Colorado in Saturday’s 4-2 victory. Carlos Gonzalez added his 17 homer of the season and Melvin Mora hit his first to account for all the offense. Jason Hammel didn’t even need that much, however, as he allowed just two runs on five hits in 6 1/3 innings to move to 6-0 in his last nine outings.
The four runs represented the low point for the Rockies offense during their most recent surge. They are averaging over seven runs per game this month and have moved into second place in the NL in runs scored.
Jeff Francis will look to benefit from that run support today as he aims for a measure of redemption after getting lit up by the Padres on June 30. The left-hander was tagged for eight runs on seven hits in three innings in that start, walking three without striking out a batter.
After missing all of the 2009 campaign following arm surgery, Francis looked sharp in his first two starts back, allowing one run in 13 1/3 total innings.
He notched quality starts in four of his next six outings before falling off against San Diego and following that up by allowing five runs on six hits in four innings against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday.
In 19 career starts against the Padres, Francis is just 5-11 with a 5.66 ERA, having allowed 14 homers in 109 2/3 total innings. Adrian Gonzalez has one of those homers but is just 4-for-26 with 11 strikeouts against Francis overall.
San Diego will counter with left-hander Clayton Richard. The 26-year-old was on the winning end of that June 30 game, allowing two runs on five hits in seven innings against the Rockies, striking out a career-high 10. He has faced Colorado three times already this season, going 1-1 while yielding eight runs in 19 total innings.
Richard has had some control problems this season, issuing 42 walks, including four or more in six different outings. He walked four on Tuesday at Washington and could not overcome them, getting knocked out after having surrendered five runs in six frames.