Colorado @ Cleveland preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 21, 2011 ) Colorado 4, Cleveland 3

THE STORY: The Colorado Rockies go for a three-game sweep of the host Cleveland Indians on Wednesday night. Colorado has won six of seven after a gritty 4-3 victory Tuesday. Seth Smith's leadoff homer in the ninth off closer Chris Perez came after the Indians tied the game with two runs in the eighth. The win came on the heels of a six-run fifth inning Monday that led to an 8-7 victory. Momentum is definitely in Colorado's dugout going into the final game of the series.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, Root Sports (Colorado), STO (Cleveland)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies RH Jason Hammel (4-6, 4.00 ERA) vs. Indians RH Josh Tomlin (8-4, 3.93 ERA). Hammel won for the first time since April 30 when he beat Detroit on Friday. He didn't pitch that well, allowing six runs in 6 1/3 innings, but the offense scored 13 runs. Hammel is 5-1 in seven interleague starts for Colorado. He is 0-2 with a 6.27 ERA in six career appearances against the Indians. Tomlin, who got knocked around in his first three June starts, turned in a strong performance against Pittsburgh on Friday. He held the Pirates to one run and didn't walk a batter in 6 2/3 innings. Tomlin, who will be making his first career appearance against Colorado, has been Cleveland's most consistent starter.

ABOUT THE INDIANS (39-33): While there are no must-wins in June, the Indians could use a victory. Cleveland swept three games from Pittsburgh to begin its homestand, but has run into a roadblock against the Rockies. The Indians begin a very unfriendly road trip Friday that consists of nine straight games in National League ballparks (San Francisco, Arizona and Cincinnati). Cleveland went 2-7 on an interleague road trip last season. Designated hitter Travis Hafner, who has been swinging the bat well since coming off the disabled list, will only see pinch-hitting duties during the trip.

ABOUT THE ROCKIES (37-36): Colorado has been a tough team to judge. The Rockies were 17-8 in April, but 8-21 in May. The Rockies seem to have turned it around this month with a 12-7 record. Troy Tulowitzki has driven in 13 runs in his last 11 games while Carlos Gonzalez has hit in 13 of his last 14 games with nine RBIs. The Rockies are 18-17 on the road after finishing 31-50 away from home last season.

FINAL PITCH: Grady Sizemore was on the bench Tuesday until grounding out as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning. Since coming off the disabled list May 27, he is batting .188 and has struck out 34 times in 85 at-bats. Sizemore's average has dipped to .233.