Diamondbacks at Rockies
Red-hot Patrick Corbin strives to win his fifth consecutive start when the Arizona Diamondbacks visit the Colorado Rockies on Saturday. The left-hander has allowed just one run in 30 1/3 innings over his last four starts and will be looking to help Arizona extend its season-high winning streak to nine games.
The Diamondbacks registered a 9-5 victory in Friday's series opener to increase their lead for the National League's first wild card to 4 1/2 games over the Rockies. Arizona, which has won 10 of its last 11 contests, has scored 41 runs over its past five games. The Rockies have dropped eight of their last 12 contests and suddenly are just 1 1/2 games ahead of fast-charging Milwaukee for the second wild card. Colorado All-Star Charlie Blackmon is 16-for-37 with three homers during his nine-game hitting streak.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona, AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain (Colorado)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Diamondbacks LH Patrick Corbin (12-11, 3.91 ERA) vs. Rockies RH Jon Gray (6-3, 4.18)
Corbin has recorded 29 strikeouts against five walks and allowed just 18 hits during the best stretch of his career. The 28-year-old had a shaky 4.76 ERA prior to his streak of stellar outings and is two victories shy of matching the career high he set in 2013. Corbin is 5-3 with a 5.23 ERA in 15 career appearances (14 starts) versus the Rockies - 0-1 with a 6.97 ERA in two 2017 starts - and has fared well against Nolan Arenado (6-for-32, one homer).
Gray has won three of his last four decisions, including a victory over Atlanta in his last outing as he gave up five hits over six scoreless innings. The 25-year-old is 4-0 with a 3.00 ERA in five home starts this season and 11-3 with a 4.62 ERA in 24 career outings at Coors Field. Gray is 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA in three career turns against the Diamondbacks, with the victory coming on June 30 as he struck out a season-best 10 batters in six innings while allowing two runs and seven hits.
WALK-OFFS
1. Diamondbacks RF J.D. Martinez scored twice and recorded an RBI in the opener and has registered 13 homers and 30 RBIs in 38 games since being acquired from Detroit.
2. Colorado All-Star 2B DJ LeMahieu is riding a season-high nine-game hitting streak, going 14-for-38 with three homers during the stretch.
3. Arizona 1B Paul Goldschmidt went 0-for-3 with two walks in the opener to remain four hits shy of 1,000 for his career.