Colorado @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( May 16, 2010 ) Washington 1, Colorado 2

THE STORY: The Colorado Rockies are sliding in the wrong direction. Assured of a losing record at the All-Star break, the Rockies have dropped five in a row to fall well off the pace in the National League West. The Washington Nationals are on their way up after years on the bottom, though they will have to shake off a tough defeat after blowing an eight-run lead on Thursday. The Nationals will send Jason Marquis to the mound when they host the opener of a three-game series against Colorado on Friday night.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, ROOT, MASN2

PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals RH Jason Marquis (7-3, 4.11 ERA) vs. Rockies RH Jason Hammel (4-8, 4.31 ERA).

At least Marquis should be well-rested when he takes the mound Friday. The veteran righthander lasted just 1 1/3 innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates last Friday, getting pounded for seven runs – six earned – and eight hits to absorb the loss. Marquis owns a 5-3 career record with a 3.98 ERA in 13 games (11 starts) against Colorado.

Hammel is coming off a beating of his own from last Sunday, when he was knocked around for six runs (five earned) in 3 2/3 frames to suffer a loss to the Kansas City Royals. The 28-year-old has won only once in his last 12 starts. Hammel has never lost to the Nationals, going 2-0 with a 3.71 ERA in four starts.

ABOUT THE NATIONALS (45-44): Nine of Washington’s last 10 victories have come by a single run, including the first three games of a four-game set against the Chicago Cubs this week. Just when it looked like they were finally going to blow out an opponent, the Nationals let a big lead slip away Thursday, squandering an 8-0 cushion. They did battle back to tie it at 9-9 but ended up falling 10-9, when the Cubs scored in the top of the ninth. For a young team, learning how to move past a crushing blow like that will just be another step in the maturation process. Jayson Werth singled in a run on Thursday but finished 1-for-4 to bring his latest slump to 2-for-20 over the past six games.

ABOUT THE ROCKIES (41-47): Colorado is losing games and shedding players, with outfielder Charlie Blackmon joining Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki among the wounded. Blackmon, who suffered a fractured left foot on Thursday against the Atlanta Braves, could be out much longer than his more celebrated teammates. But while the offense has lost some of its pop, it is mostly the pitching staff that has been to blame for the teams’ recent failures. Colorado has allowed an average of eight runs during its five-game slide and ranks 14th out of 16 NL teams with a 4.22 team ERA.

FINAL PITCH: Rockies first baseman Todd Helton was one of five players eligible for the final NL All-Star spot but came in third in fan voting. The veteran first baseman is having a bounce-back year with a .315 batting average and nine homers.