Rockies at Diamondbacks
There is a long list of batters who thrive against Colorado Rockies' pitching, and the Arizona Diamondbacks' Mark Trumbo is the latest to inflict a great deal of pain. The right fielder, who went 4-for-4 on Tuesday and is 6-for-8 with four RBIs, four runs and four extra-base hits in the first two games of the series, tries to make life miserable for Colorado again when Arizona hosts the Rockies on Wednesday in the rubber match of their three-game set.
Trumbo is hitting .349 in 63 at-bats with nine home runs, 28 RBIs and 12 walks against Colorado, which saw its ERA rise to 4.42 after losing 12-5 on Tuesday in a contest marred by Arizona starting pitcher Archie Bradley taking Carlos Gonzalez's line drive off the face. Bradley, who was making his fourth career start, lay on the ground for several moments before walking off the field under his own power and giving the thumbs-up to the Chase Field crowd before going to a hospital for tests. Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt also wears out Rockies' pitching as he is 6-for-10 with three RBIs and two runs scored in the series, raising his lifetime average against Colorado to .325. The Rockies' Jordan Lyles bounced back from a subpar performance with a victory in his last start and opposes Josh Collmenter, who could not build momentum off a shutout in his last turn.
TV: 9:40 p.m. ET, ROOT (Colorado), FSN Arizona
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies RH Jordan Lyles (2-1, 2.92 ERA) vs. Diamondbacks RH Josh Collmenter (1-3, 3.65)
Lyles yielded one run in 6 2/3 innings of a 2-1 victory over San Diego on Thursday after permitting four runs, five hits and five walks in six innings of a 6-3 loss at Dodger Stadium on April 18. "It's still early, and I wouldn't say I'm satisfied or anything like that ... but I felt that we took a big step in the right direction (Thursday)," the 24-year-old South Carolinian told the Denver Post. Lyles is 1-2 with a 6.46 ERA and .358 batting average against in six starts against Arizona - 0-1, 7.02, .342 in three turns at Chase Field - and has struggled with Trumbo (4-for-12, three home runs, seven RBIs).
Collmenter allowed three runs in six innings of a 4-1 loss to Pittsburgh on Friday after tossing a four-hitter in a 9-0 victory at San Francisco on April 17. "I was all over the place the first couple of innings. I was throwing, not pitching. ..." the 29-year-old Michigan native told reporters after allowing all three runs in the first two innings. Collmenter is 2-1 with a 4.07 ERA in 18 appearances (eight starts) against Colorado while having trouble with Carlos Gonzalez (5-for-12, two home runs, two doubles), but the Rockies right fielder is off to a poor start this season with a .208 average.
WALK-OFFS
1. Lyles has hit two career home runs, including one against Collmenter last season.
2. Arizona CF A.J. Pollock on Tuesday extended his hitting streak to a career-high eight games, but is 5-for-21 in his last five contests.
3. Colorado, which finished 21-60 on the road in 2014, has dropped four of its last five away games after starting the season 6-0 in such contests.