After showing signs of getting their offense going, the Chicago Cubs will be eager to get to Coors Field for a three-game series that begins on Friday. After seven contests on the road, the Colorado Rockies also will welcome a return to their hitter-happy confines.
The Rockies went 5-2 on their road trip that featured stops in Washington and Pittsburgh, but the offense sputtered at times, scoring just two runs on four different occasions. They didn’t swing the bats much better in their first homestand of the season as they went 2-4 and produced three or fewer runs four times. Colorado will turn to Jon Gray to try to shut down Chicago’s feast-or-famine offense, which broke out for 14 hits in an 8-5 win over St. Louis on Thursday. The Cubs counter with Kyle Hendricks, who has recorded quality starts in three of his four career turns at Coors Field.
TV: 8:40 p.m. ET, WGN (Chicago), AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain (Colorado)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cubs RH Kyle Hendricks (0-1, 3.71 ERA) vs. Rockies RH Jon Gray (1-3, 6.23)
Hendricks hasn’t yet found the fastball command he needs to dominate, but he has posted quality starts in two of his three outings. The 28-year-old surrendered a pair of home runs last time out against Pittsburgh, but they were both solo shots and accounted for the only runs he allowed over six innings. Hendricks is 1-2 with a 4.04 ERA in six career starts against the Rockies.
Gray has been roughed up in three of his first four starts to begin the season, although he was able to limit the damage until the sixth inning in his last outing. The 26-year-old has been hit hard the third time through the order, allowing opponents to post a .524 average. Gray will be facing the Cubs for the first time in his career.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Cubs are averaging 8.6 runs in their eight wins and 1.75 in their eight losses.
2. Rockies 3B Nolan Arenado returns Friday from a five-game suspension for his role in an on-field fight against San Diego while OF Gerardo Parra is expected to drop his appeal and begin serving his four-game ban stemming from the same incident.
3. Chicago 2B Javier Baez has recorded three doubles, three triples and five homers among his 14 hits this season.