The Rockies are happy to see the calendar turn into August and will be looking for anything they can to try and salvage a game in Atlanta against the Braves. They lost last night 9-0 and the game was not even that close. The Rockies were behind in the game 8-0 after three innings, so the Braves could have made the game a lot worse. The Rockies have stumbled as of late and are looking for anything to build off of, but those sparks have been few and far between for them this year. Tonight, the Rockies fans will get a look at a new pitcher in Chad Bettis who was called up from AA to make the start tonight.
The Rockies will be handing the ball to Chad Bettis tonight for him to make his Major League debut tonight. Bettis will be making his debut against the Braves after a very good Minor League career. In his career at the minor league level he has posted a 21-10 record with a 2.91 ERA between four different teams. Bettis was originally drafted by the Houston Astros in the 2007 draft in the 8th round of the draft but he elected to head to college and pitched three years at Texas Tech University. He was the closer at Texas Tech and has a power arm coming out of the bullpen but the Rockies management decided to move him into the rotation and he has fit very well. When coming out of the bullpen he has touched 98 but as a starter he averages 93-94 MPH. He has a good slider that is his out pitch right now. When working out of the bullpen he mainly worked on those two pitches so he is still developing his changeup and curveball. Both the change and curve have flashes of being good pitches, but right now he is working on getting a feel for them so they are not as reliable at this time. He is 24 years old and is relatively polished considering his time spent at both College and the Minor Leagues. He is a solid pitcher in the organization and should show a glimpse of what the future holds for the Rockies pitching staff.
The Braves will be looking for the sweep as they send Julio Teheran to the mound to face off against the Rockies. Teheran has quietly had a good season for the Braves this year and has a 7-5 record with a good 3.07 ERA. He had one of the best starts of his career in his last start against the Cardinals, but ended up taking a no decision as the Braves scored late to win the game. In that game he threw seven innings allowing just two hits, no runs, one walk and struck out six on the day. He has been a very consistent pitcher for the Braves and has allowed three earned runs or less in seven of his last eight starts, including three starts in which he has not allowed any runs. He has been good at Turner field this year as he has posted a 4-2 record with a 2.73 ERA in 10 games started. In limited matchups, Current Rockies hitters are hitting .316 against him in 19 combined at bats. Dexter Fowler is 2 for 3 against him in their previous match ups.
The Braves lineup for the game tonight is as follows:
1. Jason Heyward, CF
2. Justin Upton, RF
3. Freddie Freeman, 1B
4. Evan Gattis, LF
5. Brian McCann, C
6. Chris Johnson, 3B
7. Dan Uggla, 2B
8. Andrelton Simmons, SS
9. Julio Teheran, P
The Rockies lineup for the game tonight is as follows:
1. Dexter Fowler, CF
2. Corey Dickerson, LF
3. Troy Tulowitzki, SS
4. Wilin Rosario, C
5. Todd Helton, 1B
6. Nolan Arenado, 3B
7. Charlie Blackmon, RF
8. DJ LeMahieu, 2B
9. Chad Bettis, P
First pitch for the game tonight is scheduled for 5:10 PM Mountain time. The Rockies will be looking to salvage one game from the Braves in the four game series and will also be trying to not fall too far out of reach behind the Dodgers.
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