Kansas City @ Colorado preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 2, 2011 ) Kansas City 6, Colorado 9

THE STORY: A rough finish to June has turned into a smashing July for the Colorado Rockies, who have put up 18 runs in winning their first two games of the month. A series sweep of the lowly Kansas City Royals would get the Rockies back to .500 by the close of interleague play. The Royals have not exactly been making it difficult for their opponents lately, dropping five in a row as the pitching staff continues to take its lumps. Kansas City will be looking to end its slide behind Colorado native Luke Hochevar when it visits Coors Field again on Sunday afternoon.

TV: 3:10 p.m. ET, FS Kansas City, ROOT (Colorado)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies RH Jason Hammel (4-7, 4.02 ERA) vs. Royals RH Luke Hochevar (5-8, 4.96). Hammel bounced back Tuesday after a pair of rough starts, allowing two runs in seven innings against the Chicago White Sox. The righthander was held out of the decision, however, leaving him with a 1-6 record since the end of April. Hammel has faced the Royals five times - two starts - in his career, posting an 0-1 record with a 5.40 ERA in 15 total innings. Hochevar snapped a two-start losing streak last time out, allowing three runs in 5 2/3 innings against the Chicago Cubs in a 6-3 victory. The former No. 1 overall draft pick has lost five of his last seven decisions but has not gotten a lot of help from his offense, receiving an average of 1.6 runs in the setbacks. Hochevar won his only career start against Colorado and is 4-3 with a 4.74 ERA in 10 career interleague starts. Hochevar was born in Denver, and grew up in Fowler, Colo.

ABOUT THE ROCKIES (41-42): Colorado dropped below .500 with five losses in six games to close June, averaging only over three runs per game during that stretch. But with the Royals and their American League-worst pitching staff in town, the Rockies’ bats have woken up over the past two days. Newcomer Mark Ellis was brought in from the Oakland Athletics primarily because of his defensive reputation at second base. But he has contributed immediately at the plate as well, going 6-for-10 with a home run, four doubles, five RBIs and four runs scored. Ellis’ new double-play partner, Troy Tulowitzki, has been hot as well, homering in three straight games to push his season total to 17.

ABOUT THE ROYALS (33-50): Kansas City has dropped five straight to fall three games back of the Minnesota Twins for the worst record in the American League. Only the Houston Astros (29-55) are keeping the Royals from the bottom of the whole pile. Kansas City has not had much success in interleague play, going 4-13 so far. The pitching has been the biggest problem, with starters Danny Duffy and Kyle Davies combining to allow 12 runs - nine earned - in eight innings against the Rockies. Kansas City continues its nine-game road trip with three at the Chicago White Sox starting Monday. The Royals are 10-26 on the road.

FINAL PITCH: The Royals entered 2011 with the top-ranked farm system in the game and have already begun to graduate those prospects with Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Duffy, Aaron Crow and Tim Collins all helping at the major league level. On Saturday, Kansas City made a move to replenish the stock, reportedly signing 16-year-old Dominican outfielder Elier Hernandez to a $3 million bonus.