Arizona @ Colorado preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 11, 2010 ) Arizona 1, Colorado 2

Long September winning streaks are nothing new to the Colorado Rockies.

The Rockies continue their familiar late-season blitz and seek their 10th straight victory when they close out a three-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday at Coors Field.

After taking the first game of the series 13-4 on Friday, the Rockies scored twice in the seventh inning to nip the Diamondbacks 2-1 on Saturday despite getting nothing from Troy Tulowitzki, who went 0-for-4 after slugging eight homers in eight games.

Colorado (78-64) enters the contest 3 1/2 games behind the San Diego Padres in the National League West and 3 1/2 games back of wild-card leaders Philadelphia and Atlanta. The Rockies are 1 1/2 games back of San Francisco.

September surges are nothing new for the Rockies. They won 11 straight and 14 of 15 to close the 2007 season that ended in a World Series appearance, and recorded eight- and five-game win streaks last season that elevated the Rockies to the postseason. Colorado has won 16 of its last 20 this year to cut 7 1/2 games off San Diego’s lead.

Jhoulys Chacin (8-9, 3.65 ERA) will try to keep the ball rolling for the Rockies. He is 3-0 with a 1.38 ERA in his last four starts, including a 1-0 win at Arizona on August 22. The 22-year-old Venezuelan yielded just three hits and a walk while striking out nine in that effort.

In his last start on Tuesday against the Cincinnati Reds, Chacin allowed two runs and six hits with a walk and five strikeouts in six innings in a 4-3 triumph. Chacin, who averages over a strikeout per inning, is 2-1 in four games – three starts – with a 2.33 ERA against Arizona this season.

Ian Kennedy (9-9, 4.01 ERA) will try to help the Diamondbacks avoid the sweep. The right-hander has been pitching well lately. In his last start on Monday against the San Francisco Giants, the 2006 first-round pick of the New York Yankees pitched eight scoreless frames, allowing just a pair of hits and walks in a no-decision, an eventual 2-0 loss.

Kennedy is 3-0 with a 2.12 ERA in his last four appearances and 6-2 with a 3.76 ERA over his last 11 games. Prior to that, the 25-year-old was 0-5 in his previous eight starts.

Kennedy has been touched for nine runs and 10 hits over 11 innings in two starts vs. Colorado this season, including a 3-2 loss to Chacin on May 25.