Marlins To Face Off Against The Rockies
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MIAMI (AP) -- D.J. LeMahieu and Nolan Arenado have played a significant role in Colorado's recent success. They've also shined against the Rockies' next opponent, a team they'll face seven times in the next 10 games.
Colorado will first welcome the Miami Marlins to Coors Field for a three-game set that begins Friday night.
LeMahieu is batting .379 in his last 17 games and is among the NL leaders with a .339 average. Arenado has six homers and 18 RBIs while batting .378 in his last 11.
Arenado's sacrifice fly in the ninth inning Wednesday gave the Rockies a 7-6 walk-off victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was their ninth win in 12 games.
"I told the guys that the game will reward you for playing it the right way and competing like we are," manager Walt Weiss said. "Guys kept fighting. We've been fighting until the last out of every game."
Troy Tulowitzki also is on a tear after having a season-high five RBIs in that comeback win, going 10 for 20 with four homers and 10 RBIs in the past five games.
Tulowitzki and Arenado have keyed the Rockies (24-28) homering in 15 consecutive games, two shy of the club record. They haven't homered in 16 straight since 2005.
Charlie Blackmon had four hits Wednesday as Colorado reached double digits for the 10th time in 15 games. The Rockies are averaging 5.9 runs in that span after previously scoring 3.9 per game. They totaled 21 runs and 37 hits in the last three against the Dodgers.
They could stay hot against the Marlins behind Arenado, who owns a .339 average in 14 games against them, and LeMahieu, who is batting .328 in 18 matchups. These teams also play a four-game set next week in Miami.
LeMahieu is 6 for 9 lifetime against Tom Koehler (3-3, 4.01 ERA), Tulowitzki is 3 for 5 with a homer off him and they could have another advantage with this matchup coming in Denver.
Whereas Koehler has a 1.57 ERA at home, he's 0-2 with an 8.68 ERA in his last four road starts after giving up five runs in 3 1-3 innings Saturday in a 9-5 win over the New York Mets. He was 1-0 with a 0.95 ERA in his prior three starts - all at home - and is 1-0 with a 2.14 ERA in three career outings against the Rockies.
Koehler will try to lead Miami (22-32) to its first three-game win streak since a four-game run April 28-May 2.
"We've got to win a lot more series to get back to where we want," pitcher Dan Haren told MLB's official websiteafter Wednesday's 7-3 win over the Chicago Cubs. "The goal is to get somewhere around .500 by around the All-Star break or a little bit after and go from there."
Giancarlo Stanton has homered in back-to-back contests, giving him 17 this season and four in the past five games. He has a .358 career average at Coors but has one homer in his last eight contests there after hitting one in each of his first six. He hit .400 with 12 RBIs in last season's seven games against Colorado.
Dee Gordon, the NL batting leader at .368, has hit .431 in his past 15 matchups with the Rockies and Marcell Ozuna is a .469 hitter in eight lifetime meetings.
Gordon is 3 for 5 with two triples against Eddie Butler (3-5, 4.22), who will seek to build on one of his best starts in his first against Miami. The right-hander yielded one run in six innings in Saturday's 5-2 victory in Philadelphia after going 0-4 with a 6.00 ERA in his prior five outings.
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