Florida @ Colorado preview
Coors Field
Last Meeting ( Aug 16, 2009 ) Colorado 7, Florida 3
The Colorado Rockies and the Florida Marlins get the honor of being the answer to an obscure trivia question when they square off on Saturday night in the second game of the first doubleheader of the 2010 season.
The teams were the first of the 2010 campaign to suffer a rainout when Friday's contest was washed away. It was the latest Major League Baseball had lasted into a season without a postponement since 1985.
So after Greg Smith and Ricky Nolasco kick things off in the opener, Aaron Cook and Nate Robertson will get their chance in the nightcap.
Cook has been the most stable member of the Colorado rotation over the past two seasons, making the All-Star Game in 2008 and compiling an 11-6 mark with a 4.16 ERA in 27 starts last season. He has yet to find his groove in 2010, however.
The veteran sinker-baller has yielded 12 earned runs and 18 hits in 14 1/3 frames so far and has been done in by a lack of command, issuing nine walks. Cook has thrived in the thin air of Colorado in the past because of his ability to limit walks and keep the ball on the ground. The right-hander yielded only 47 walks in 2009.
Cook is coming off a loss against the Washington Nationals on Monday in which he surrendered five runs and seven hits while walking four in three innings.
Robertson has been the complete opposite in the early going, coming in to the season with fairly low expectations and pitching very well. Acquired from the Detroit Tigers at the end of spring training, the left-hander is coming off a two-season stretch in which he was bounced from the rotation to the bullpen while going 9-14 with a 6.14 ERA.
Beaten out for the final spot in the Detroit rotation by Dontrelle Willis, Robertson was basically dropped on the Marlins in exchange for a minor league reliever, with the Tigers picking up the bulk of Robertson’s $10 million salary.
But Robertson has proven to be a strong investment in the National League, going 2-2 with a 2.20 ERA through three starts.
The Rockies will be playing with heavy hearts on Saturday as they visit Coors Field for the first time since the tragic death of club president Keli McGregor. The 48-year-old, who had been with the team since 1993, was found dead in his hotel room on Tuesday.
A Colorado native, McGregor played football at Colorado State and was drafted by the Denver Broncos. A memorial service will be held for him at Coors Field on Sunday.