Rockies at Giants
The schedule is set up for the Colorado Rockies to clinch a National League wild card, they just need to win the games. The Rockies will begin their final road trip of the campaign with a visit to the NL West-worst San Francisco Giants on Tuesday to start a two-game series.
Colorado is trying to hold off the Milwaukee Brewers, who are two games behind, and St. Louis Cardinals -- 4 1/2 back -- for the second wild card, and will play its next nine games against teams with losing records before finishing up at home against a Los Angeles Dodgers squad that could have everything wrapped up before the series. The Rockies took two of three at home from the San Diego Padres over the weekend but could not pull off the sweep as the bullpen blew a rare save opportunity Sunday. The Giants (58-93) are staring down their first 100-loss season since 1985 and only the second in franchise history with their next eight games against postseason hopefuls Colorado, the Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks. San Francisco will try to throw a wrench into the Rockies' postseason plans with veteran Johnny Cueto while Colorado sends German Marquez to the mound Tuesday.
TV: 10:15 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain (Colorado), NBCSN Bay Area (San Francisco)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies RH German Marquez (10-7, 4.41 ERA) vs. Giants RH Johnny Cueto (7-8, 4.58)
Marquez is fading down the stretch in his first full season in a major-league rotation and allowed four runs on 11 hits over 3 2/3 innings in a loss at Arizona on Wednesday. The 22-year-old totaled three strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings over his last two outings and surrendered 17 hits in that span. Marquez was ripped for five runs and seven hits in four innings to suffer a loss in his lone start against San Francisco on June 26.
Cueto is 1-1 in three starts since returning from a forearm injury and lasted only 3 2/3 innings against the Dodgers last Tuesday while allowing four runs on six hits and four walks. The Dominican Republic native has yet to complete six innings since his return but earned a win in five frames at Colorado on Sep. 6, when he struck out seven and yielded one run. Cueto is 2-1 in three starts against the Rockies this season and went seven innings to earn a win at home over the division rivals April 14.
WALK-OFFS
1. Giants 2B Joe Panik is 9-for-20 over his last six games.
2. Rockies SS Trevor Story hit safely in each of his last nine games and recorded eight extra-base hits in that span.
3. Colorado CF Charlie Blackmon is 4-for-27 over his last seven contests.