Colorado @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 20, 2009 ) Colorado 4, Washington 1

He’s 38 years old and was supposed to have been a backup or a complement to Jesus Flores. Ivan Rodriguez was expected to be a quiet kind of teacher to a young kid who’s going to be a pretty good catcher once he returns from injury. But a funny thing happened to that plan - Rodriguez started hitting like he did 10 years ago. He’s ripping line drives everywhere and is leading the National League with a .444 average. There’s no question that he’s the primary reason why the Washington Nationals bring a mildly surprising 6-6 record into Monday’s opener of a four-game series with the visiting Colorado Rockies. Rodriguez has been masterful handling the Nats’ very young pitching staff - the team expected that. But his hitting has been more than impressive. Manager Jim Riggleman lauded Rodriguez for what he’s done at the plate several times over the weekend. That’s just a bonus for the team since Rodriguez really does a good job of helping settle down the pitchers. Washington’s starters have not done well this season, but they're slowly coming around. John Lannan gave the Nationals seven good innings in Friday’s win over Milwaukee, and Livan Hernandez went the distance in Saturday’s 8-0 shutout. But Jason Marquis couldn’t even retire a batter as the Brewers scored 10 runs in the first inning Sunday. Still, Rodriguez helped calm his teammates as Washington gave up just one more run the rest of the way in an 11-7 loss. He’ll probably get more playing time than most people realize, even when Flores returns injury. If Rodriguez remains consistent at the plate, than Riggleman will have to keep him in regularly. Colorado comes to town after a tough loss on Sunday to the Atlanta Braves. A strange ninth inning for replacement closer Franklin Morales hurt the Rockies in a 4-3 loss to the Braves. Morales, filling in while Huston Street is on the disabled list, was called for two balks in the ninth. One of those calls was changed and one wasn’t. Plus, he covered first on a possible double play and disagreed with the call that had Troy Glaus beating the throw. Morales is now 2-for-4 in save situations this season. The loss dropped the Rockies to 6-6, and it came just one day after Ubaldo Jimenez no-hit the Braves. Colorado pitchers didn’t do quite as well in this one. They handed out 11 walks, and that’s something the Rockies want to improve upon in Washington as the Nationals have a good hitting lineup.