Kansas City @ Colorado preview
Coors Field
Last Meeting ( Mar 11, 2011 ) Kansas City 3, Colorado 4
THE STORY: Two reeling teams kick off an interleague series Friday when the Kansas City Royals visit the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. The Royals have dropped nine of their last 11 games, while the Rockies have lost six of eight. Colorado isn’t standing pat, however. The Rockies, who are 6 1/2 games in back of the San Francisco Giants in the National League West, acquired second baseman Mark Ellis from the Oakland Athletics on Thursday.
TV: 8:10 p.m., ROOT, FSKC
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies RH Juan Nicasio (2-1, 5.08 ERA) vs. Royals LH Danny Duffy (1-2, 4.61 ERA)
An inconsistent 24-year-old, Nicasio threw just 45 of 84 pitches for strikes at Yankee Stadium in his last outing. Batters are hitting .289 against Nicasio, who has collected three quality starts in six outings.
Batters are hitting .300 against Duffy. The 22-year-old Duffy has recorded 11 strikeouts and two walks in his last two starts. The Royals just decided to go with a six-man rotation to keep Duffy in their starting rotation. The rookie needs a couple strong outings to solidify his place in the big leagues.
ABOUT THE ROCKIES (39-42): The Rockies say Ellis, 34, will bat second in the lineup against the Royals. Jonathan Herrera and rookie Chris Nelson had tried to fill that role, but were not producing. Ellis is hitting just .217 after batting .291 last season. Colorado continues to search for another bat and also would like to add a starting pitcher. Todd Helton played his 2,000th career game on Thursday, going 2-for-5. Troy Tulowitzki leads Colorado with 15 homers this season.
ABOUT THE ROYALS (33-48): The Royals had a much-needed day off after being swept in San Diego to start this nine-game trip. Jeff Francoeur struck out four times Wednesday but still leads the team with 11 homers and 47 RBIs. Rookie third baseman Mike Moustakas is slumping, with one RBI in his last 16 games. Kansas City has the third-worst ERA in the majors (4.49), and the starters’ ERA is even worse (5.03). The bullpen has blown 11 of 26 save chances. The Royals own a horrific 10-24 road record.
FINAL PITCH: Kansas City's Alex Gordon is enjoying the best season of his five-year career. He has a team-best 37 extra-base hits. Gordon is tied for the club lead with 45 runs, and also leads all outfielders with 13 assists.