Cincinnati @ Colorado preview
Coors Field
Last Meeting ( Sep 9, 2011 ) Cincinnati 4, Colorado 1
THE STORY: After snapping a Coors Field losing streak that lasted over three years, the Cincinnati Reds should be feeling quite confident about their chances to get back to .500 soon. The Reds got strong pitching from Homer Bailey and took advantage of some suspect defense in Friday’s series opener, halting a 10-game streak that stretched back to Aug., 2008. The Colorado Rockies were in a hole offensively with Troy Tulowitzki out with a sore hip and Carlos Gonzalez taking the second half of the game off due to his fifth-inning ejection. The Rockies hope to have Tulowitzki and a calmer Gonzalez back when they host Cincinnati again on Saturday afternoon.
TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, FOX
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies RH Alex White (2-1, 5.63 ERA) vs. Reds RH Bronson Arroyo (8-11, 5.00 ERA).
White has been less than impressive since joining the Rockies, posting a 7.41 ERA in three starts since coming over from the Cleveland Indians in the Ubaldo Jimenez trade. The 23-year old picked up his first National League win last Saturday at San Diego despite allowing four runs in five innings. White made an interleague start against Cincinnati on May 20, when he was still with the Indians. He allowed one earned run on one hit in three innings before leaving with a finger injury.
Arroyo is coming to the end of his worst season since breaking into the majors with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2000. The veteran righthander leads the majors and has already set a career high in home runs allowed with 37. He has not had his ERA dip below 5.00 since the end of June. Arroyo has never won at Coors Field, posting an 0-2 record with a 6.23 ERA in three starts.
ABOUT THE ROCKIES (67-77): Gonzalez did not agree with a pair of called strikes in the fifth inning of Friday’s 4-1 setback, arguing from the dugout with home plate umpire Mark Carlson. Manager Jim Tracy was tossed as well, and the Rockies surrendered the lead in the following inning. The season is slipping away from Colorado, which has dropped four of its last five to match its lowest point of the season at 10 games under .500. The Rockies suffered from a pair of errors on one play in the sixth inning on Friday, turning a single by Joey Votto into a run and the start of a four-run rally. Tulowitzki, who has 26 multi-hit games since the All-Star break, sat out with a hip injury suffered in the batting cage before the game.
ABOUT THE REDS (71-73): Cincinnati has traded off wins and losses over the last eight games while managing to score more than four runs only once. The stagnating offense actually stretches back to Aug. 29, marking an 11-game stretch in which the Reds have averaged under 3.5 runs. Ryan Hanigan got the big hit on Friday, plating the go ahead runs in the sixth. That lead stayed into the ninth, when Francisco Cordero came on and retired the side for his 322nd career save, passing Jose Mesa for the most ever for a Dominican-born reliever. It was Cordero’s 15th straight save since the All-Star break and 32nd of the season.
FINAL PITCH: Reds Opening Day starter Edinson Volquez will return to the rotation on Sunday. The former All-Star was demoted to Class AAA Louisville in July after posting a 5.93 ERA in 16 starts with Cincinnati. He went 4-2 with a 2.37 ERA in 13 starts for the Bats.