San Diego @ Colorado preview
Coors Field
Last Meeting ( Sep 4, 2011 ) Colorado 2, San Diego 7
THE STORY: A pair of National League West teams limping toward the finish line meet when Colorado hosts the opener of a three-game series with San Diego on Monday night. The Rockies have lost four in a row, getting swept at home over the weekend by San Francisco. The last-place Padres took two of three from division-leader Arizona, but have won just five of their last 23 games.
TV: 8:40 p.m. ET, Channel 4 (San Diego), ROOT Sports (Colorado)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Padres LH Cory Luebke (5-9, 3.27) vs. Rockies RH Kevin Millwood (3-2, 3.68).
Luebke is 0-3 over his last five starts but he has pitched well his last two times out on the road, allowing four runs over 11 2/3 innings. His lone rough start this month came against Colorado on Sept. 3, when Luebke allowed five runs on eight hits in just 4 1/3 innings. Luebke has an impressive strikeout-to-walk ratio of 139:37 in his 126 2/3 innings this season. Millwood has been fairly effective in his short stint with the Rockies, and his best start came at the expense of San Diego on Sept. 2. The veteran righthander limited the Padres to seven hits over seven scoreless innings in a 3-0 Colorado win, striking out eight without a walk. Millwood has made 16 career starts against the Padres, going 8-1 with a 2.84 ERA.
ABOUT THE PADRES (65-88): San Diego's offense, which has ranked among the least productive in baseball all year long, has had a particularly tough time of late, scoring just nine runs over the last five games. That has made life extremely difficult on a pitching staff that has generally performed well. The Padres have surrendered just 12 runs over the past five contests but won only two.
ABOUT THE ROCKIES (70-82): Colorado's offense ranks among the National League leaders with 689 runs, but it hasn't been getting much help from the Rockies' beleaguered pitching staff. During the team's current skid, Colorado gave up 35 runs in four games against the Giants, who boast the league's least productive offense, including a 12-5 setback Sunday. The Rockies' ERA of 4.43 is tied with the Chicago Cubs for highest in the National League.
FINAL PITCH: The Padres own the worst division record (23-43) of any team in the major leagues, and the team has won just 15 of its last 52 games against NL West opponents.