Sunday, July 7, 2013

Rockies Game Preview: 7/7

     The Rockies will be trying to salvage one game of their three game series against the Diamondbacks when they take the field on Sunday afternoon. The Rockies lost a laugher on Saturday as the D-Backs defeated them 11-1 behind a strong pitching performance from Wade Miley and a 5-5 performance at the plate from Cody Ross. Carlos Gonzalez was the only bright spot for the Rockies on the day as he went 4-4 at the plate with his 24th home run of the season. Drew Pomeranz was rocked for the second straight time and has failed to show the organization any sort of development from last year in his first two starts this year.

     Roy Oswalt will be looking to pick up his first win as a member of the Colorado Rockies when he takes the hill to face off against the Diamondbacks on Sunday afternoon. Oswalt will be taking an 0-3 record with a 7.88 ERA into the game and he will be looking to drastically lower his ERA. He has made three starts for the Rockies and in each of them he has battled issues with giving up to many hits to the opposing players. He has a terrible WHIP of 1.81 which is way above his career 1.21 average. Of course he is not the same pitcher as he was but he has good enough stuff to improve that number by a wide margin. He has shown good command in his first three starts as he has only walked two batters, but once again the issue comes down to him leaving the ball over the heart of the plate too much, and hitters taking advantage of those pitches. Hopefully he has shaken off the rust and will be ready to return to a form similar to what he was in Houston when he was one of the premiere pitchers in the game. He has made two starts on the road this year and has an 0-2 record with a 7.36 ERA. In those starts he has gone a combined 11 innings allowing 18 hits, nine runs, one walk and has 16 strikeouts. Oswalt has fared well against current Diamondbacks in their previous meetings. He has held them to a .216 average with no home runs and two RBI in 74 combined match ups. Oswalt will be trying to show that he still has what it takes to pitch well at the Major League level and show that he still has some gas in the tank. He has been able to avoid injury so far and by the looks of his pitches, he still has his velocity and break that made him an All Star in previous years.

     Facing off against the Rockies today for the Diamondbacks today is Patrick Corbin. The young left hander has been one of the biggest surprises in the MLB this year and has posted a 9-1 record this year with a very good 2.49 ERA. He does not have overpowering stuff, but he hides the ball very well and has a deceptive delivery, so his 93 MPH fastball looks 96 to a hitter at the plate. Corbin has been perfect at home this year posting a 5-0 record with a 1.63 ERA in eight starts. opponents are hitting just .194 against him at Chase field this year. Current Rockies are hitting .280 against Corbin in their career match ups with one home run and nine RBI in 100 combined at bats. Jordan Pacheco is 7-12 against him in his career with two doubles and four RBI. Wilin Rosario has the only home run against him. Corbin is 2-0 in two starts against the Rocies this year including a complete game gem he threw at Coors Field on May 20th which included 10 strikeouts in the game. He needed only 97 pitches to dispose of the Rockies in the 5-1 win for the D-Backs. Corbin is talented but he has cooled off since he started the year hot and he has not picked up a win since June 2nd. His last time out he had his worst start of the year against the Mets as he went six innings allowing six hits, five runs, one walk and struck out four. It was the most runs that he has allowed all year and the Rockies are hoping that he has a similar start today.

     The Diamondbacks lineup for the game this afternoon is as follows:
1. Gerardo Parra, CF
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
4. Eric Chavez, 3B
5. Cody Ross, RF
6. Miguel Montero, C
7. Jason Kubel, LF
8. Cliff Pennington, SS
9. Patrick Corbin, 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, 1B
5. Wilin Rosario, C
6. Nolan Arenado, 3B
7. Tyler Colvin, CF
8. Jonathan Herrera, SS
9. Roy Oswalt, P

     First pitch for the game this afternoon is at 2:10 PM Mountain time. The Rockies are looking to salvage at least one game of the series and not fall further behind the division leading Diamondbacks.

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