Rockies at Cardinals
Paul DeJong has created quite the buzz during his two months in the majors, with his impressive performance in July helping the St. Louis Cardinals remain in contention in the National League Central. After belting his third homer in four contests, DeJong looks to send the Cardinals to a three-game sweep of the visiting Colorado Rockies on Wednesday.
DeJong belted a two-run shot to ignite his third straight multi-hit performance in Tuesday's 3-2 triumph, giving the 23-year-old three homers, seven RBIs and four runs scored in his last five games. St. Louis has won 21 of its last 26 against Colorado at Busch Stadium, while the latter's current road woes have been underscored by losses in 15 of its last 18 such games to fall into the NL's second wild-card spot. Trevor Story homered for the third time in six outings and is riding a four-game hitting streak into Wednesday's tilt. Carlos Gonzalez carries a six-game hitting streak into the contest versus St. Louis right-hander Carlos Martinez, against whom he is just 2-for-11 in his career with three strikeouts.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain (Colorado), FSN Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies RH Jeff Hoffman (6-2, 5.10 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Carlos Martinez (6-8, 3.34)
Hoffman sustained his first loss in a calendar month on Friday after allowing seven runs and career-high totals in hits (nine) and walks (four) in a season-low three innings against Pittsburgh. "It was my fastball command. I couldn't locate it," the 24-year-old told reporters. "Especially when I needed it. When you can't locate that one it is really hard to get out of any kind of jam." Hoffman takes his show on the road where he has pitched considerably better, posting a 4-0 mark with a 2.45 ERA while allowing opposing batters to hit just .197 against him as opposed to a 2-2 record with a 7.79 ERA and .316 average at Coors Field.
Martinez saw his winless stretch extend to six outings on Friday after he yielded three runs on 10 hits in six innings of a no-decision at the Chicago Cubs. The 25-year-old Dominican is 0-3 in that stretch and can blame his penchant for serving up homers for his troubles, as he was taken deep once versus the Cubs and eight times during his last six trips to the mound. Martinez's lone loss in May came at the hands of Colorado after he yielded three runs on six hits in 7 1/3 innings of a 10-0 rout.
WALK-OFFS
1. Colorado LF Gerardo Parra is 14-for-26 with eight runs scored during his seven-game hitting streak.
2. St. Louis C Yadier Molina has recorded back-to-back 2-for-4 performances in this series and hit safely in seven of his last eight contests.
3. Rockies 3B Nolan Arenado is 1-for-14 with five strikeouts in his last four games versus the Cardinals.