Rockies at Marlins
Charlie Blackmon has enjoyed quite the power surge over the last week, recording three homers to highlight a trio of three-hit performances in his last six contests. The 31-year-old aims to continue swinging a hot bat on Friday as the Colorado Rockies open a three-game series against the host Miami Marlins.
Blackmon went deep for the second time in as many contests on Wednesday as his 27th homer gave the Rockies a 3-2 win over Cleveland, marking their fourth win in six outings. His 50 multi-hit performances are tops in the majors while his 74 RBIs are the most among the game's leadoff hitters. While Colorado and Arizona are jockeying for position while holding down the National League's two wild-card spots, Miami has dropped five of seven to slowly work themselves out of any faint postseason discussion. Giancarlo Stanton remains the talk of South Beach, however, as the slugger went deep for the sixth time in seven games in Thursday's 3-2 loss to Washington, extending his career-high and major league-best total to 39.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountains (Colorado), FSN Florida (Miami)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies RH Jon Gray (4-2, 4.94 ERA) vs. Marlins RH Jose Urena (10-5, 3.70)
Gray recorded his third straight strong outing on Saturday after allowing one run on six hits in seven innings of an 8-5 triumph versus Philadelphia. The 25-year-old has permitted just six runs and struck out 18 batters against two walks in his last three outings, but only has a 1-1 mark to show for it. Gray hasn't fared well in two career outings versus Miami, posting an 0-2 mark with a bloated 9.31 ERA.
Urena yielded one run on three hits for the third time in four outings Sunday and improved to 3-1 in that stretch with a 4-1 victory at Atlanta. The 25-year-old has limited his foes to a .157 batting average in that span and looks to continue his strong surge versus Colorado. Urena has notched a 1-0 mark with a 1.42 ERA in two career starts (12 2/3 innings) against the Rockies.
WALK-OFFS
1. Colorado 3B Nolan Arenado and 2B DJ LeMahieu each have hit safely in nine of their last 10 games.
2. Miami OF Marcell Ozuna is mired in a 4-for-27 rut over the last seven contests.
3. Rockies SS Trevor Story is stuck in a 1-for-18 stretch over his last five games and has struck out 23 times in his last 13.