Braves at Rockies
The Atlanta Braves have halted their lengthy skid at Coors Field and look to follow up with another win on Wednesday in the third contest of their four-game series against the Colorado Rockies. Atlanta snapped its 11-game slide in Denver by capitalizing on a rare miscue by Nolan Arenado on Tuesday to record a 4-3 victory.
Arenado, a four-time Gold Glove third baseman, made a throwing error with two outs in the eighth inning to allow Brandon Phillips to score the tiebreaking run. The victory was only the third for Atlanta in its last 16 overall meetings with the Rockies, who are tied with Arizona for the two National League wild-card berths. Arenado, who has committed five errors on the campaign, hit his 27th homer for Colorado, which also saw Mark Reynolds and Trevor Story go deep despite losing for the sixth time in eight games. Nick Markakis homered for Atlanta, which has won just six of its last 22 contests.
TV: 8:40 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Atlanta), AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain (Colorado)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves RH Mike Foltynewicz (10-7, 4.29 ERA) vs. Rockies RH Jon Gray (4-2, 4.92)
Foltynewicz has lasted four innings or fewer while losing two of his last three starts but recorded a career-best 11 strikeouts in the win during that span. The 25-year-old already has set a career high for victories and won six decisions in a row in one stretch prior to the recent inconsistency. Foltynewicz is 0-2 with a 3.20 ERA in five career appearances (three starts) against the Rockies and has been rocked by DJ LeMahieu (7-for-9) while shutting down Arenado (0-for-7) and Charlie Blackmon (1-for-9).
Gray did not factor in the decision against Miami in his last outing, when he gave up three earned runs and eight hits over 5 2/3 innings. The 25-year-old is 3-0 with 3.00 ERA in four turns at home this season and 10-3 with a 4.70 ERA in 23 career outings at Coors Field. Gray went 1-0 with a 0.64 ERA in two starts against the Braves last season.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Rockies have scored exactly three runs in six consecutive games and have tallied just 21 over their last eight contests.
2. Atlanta LF Matt Kemp (hamstring) is expected to be activated on Friday.
3. Blackmon is 1-for-10 over his last three games after going 12-for-23 over the previous five contests.