Colorado @ San Diego preview
Petco Park
Last Meeting ( Sep 14, 2012 ) Colorado 7, San Diego 4
After battering Casey Kelly in their previous meeting nearly two weeks ago, the Colorado Rockies would love a repeat performance on Saturday when they face the young right-hander and the San Diego Padres again. The Rockies throttled the 22-year-old for seven runs in that Sept. 2 outing. Colorado also got the early jump in the series opener, registering five runs in the first inning en route to a 7-4 triumph.
The victory was just the second in nine games for Colorado, while San Diego suffered its sixth loss in 23 contests. Carlos Gonzalez matched a career high with four hits and swiped two bases to reach the 20-homer, 20-stole base club for the third consecutive season. Chris Nelson also tied a career high with three hits - including a homer - to extend his hitting streak to six games.
TV: 8:35 p.m. ET, ROOT (Colorado), FSSD (San Diego)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies LH Drew Pomeranz (1-8, 4.80 ERA) vs. Padres RH Casey Kelly (1-1, 7.07)
Pomeranz fell to 0-3 in his career versus the Padres after getting shelled for seven runs on nine hits in three innings on July 20. The 23-year-old has pitched well in his last two - albeit brief - starts. Pomeranz yielded a total of one run on nine hits in seven combined innings - but walked away with a pair of no-decisions.
Making his fourth career outing on Saturday, Kelly will look for a better showing than his previous two starts. He was blitzed for six runs on eight hits in 2 1/3 innings en route to an 8-5 loss to Arizona. The effort was actually a run better than his previous outing, which resulted in a no-decision versus Colorado on Sept. 2.
WALK-OFFS
1. San Diego CF Cameron Maybin is 9-for-19 with a homer, three RBIs and four runs scored in his last five games. Maybin is 1-for-3 in his career versus Pomeranz.
2. Colorado SS Josh Rutledge, who went 0-for-5 in the series opener, has failed to get a hit in 17 consecutive at-bats.
3. The Padres are honoring Jerry Coleman by unveiling a statue on Saturday. Coleman, who is the only major league player to see combat in two wars, will join Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn as the only Padres to be represented with statues outside Petco Park.