The Rockies are looking for the sweep against the Giants today and they will be trying to inch closer to the division lead. The Rockies took care of business on Saturday with a walk off victory in the ninth inning from Nolan Arenado. Arenado hit a walk off single that scored Josh Rutledge from second base and gave the Rockies the 2-1 victory and got their record back to .500. Jorge De La Rosa was pitching well but had to leave before throwing a pitch in the seventh inning due to a bruise on his left thumb. Rafael Betancourt picked up the victory in his first game back from the disabled list.
Drew Pomeranz will be making his 2013 debut with the Rockies today and he will be looking to show everyone that he is ready to remain a Major League pitcher. He spent the majority of the season with the Rockies last year but did not have much success. Last year he had an awful 2-9 record with a 4.93 ERA. He has worked hard in the offseason and his hard work has paid off so far this year in AAA. He is 8-1 with a 4.20 ERA this year and he currently leads the Pacific Coast League in strikeouts with 96. He still has some control issues but that is something that the organization is hoping will come with time and experience. There is limited history between Pomeranz and Giants hitters, but Pomeranz has done well in previous match ups against them. The Giants are hitting just .200 against him with two home runs and six RBI in 25 combined at bats. Buster Posey is 2-2 against Pomeranz with one home run and two RBI. Pomeranz will be looking to do a couple of things today that he failed to do last season. One is to be able to control the strike zone. He struggled throwing strikes last year he issued 46 walks in just over 96 innings of work. He will also be looking to keep the ball down in the zone. Last year when he left the ball up he paid for it by giving up the long ball. He allowed 14 home runs last year which was high for the amount of innings he threw. If he can do those two things then he has a chance to become a great pitcher because he has great stuff, he just needs to learn how to become a better pitcher.
Madison Bumgarner will be facing off against the Rockies when he takes the mound on Sunday. On the year Bumgarner is 7-5 with a 3.20 ERA. The 23 year old lefty is quickly becoming one of the best starters in the National League and he has the ability to dominate every time he takes the mound. He took the loss in his last start against the Dodgers despite pitching pretty well. He threw seven innings allowing five hits, three runs (two earned), one walk and he struck out five. Prior to that he had won three straight decisions. On the road he has a 4-4 record with a 3.57 ERA in nine games started. Rockies hitters are familiar with Bumgarner and have hit him well in their previous match ups. Rockies hitters are hitting a combined .304 with six home runs and 24 RBI in 161 at bats. Carlos Gonzalez has hit him very well as he is 10-27 with three home runs and six RBI. Michael Cuddyer has a good chance of extending his hitting streak as he is hitting .500 (3-6) against him with one double and one RBI. He has faced the Rockies two times this year and is 1-1. He has failed to make it out of the sixth inning in wither start. On April 8th he went 5 2/3rd innings allowing five hits and two runs and took the win. On May 17th he faced the Rockies at Coors Field and was severely roughed up on the day. He lasted just 4 2/3rd innings allowing eight hits, nine runs (seven earned), two walks and struck out four. In his career against the Rockies he has a 6-4 record with a good 3.12 ERA.
The Giants lineup for the game today is as follows:
1. Andres Torres, LF
2. Tony Abreu, 2B
3. Buster Posey, 1B
4. Hunter Pence, RF
5. Pablo Sandoval, 3B
6. Juan Perez, CF
7. Guillermo Quiroz, C
8. Brandon Crawford, SS
9. Madison Bumgarner, P
The Rockies lineup for the game today is as follows:
1. DJ LeMahieu, 2B
2. Jordan Pacheco, 1B
3. Carlos Gonzalez, LF
4. Michael Cuddyer, RF
5. Wilin Rosario, C
6. Nolan Arenado, 3B
7. Tyler Colvin, CF
8. Josh Rutledge, SS
9. Drew Pomeranz, P
First pitch for the game today is scheduled for 2:10 PM Mountain time.
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