St. Louis @ Colorado preview
Coors Field
Last Meeting ( Sep 27, 2009 ) St. Louis 3, Colorado 4
Matt Holliday returns to Colorado this week trying to rediscover his home run stroke. What better place to do that than Coors Field?
Holliday hasn’t gone deep in his last 12 games after homering in four straight for the St. Louis Cardinals, who enter the three-game series with the Rockies fresh off a four-game split of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Holliday and Albert Pujols will both be representing the National League in the All-Star Game next week, joining catcher Yadier Molina and pitchers Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter.
Holliday and Pujols have been the clear power supply, combining for 31 homers and 99 RBIs during the first half of the season.
Pujols, strangely, has struggled to homer in Denver’s thin air lately. The nine-time All-Star hasn’t homered in his last eight games at Coors Field since May 30, 2007. He’s batting just .250 with four RBIs over that span.
This might be the week that all changes. Pujols has five homers and 10 RBIs in his last eight games.
Blake Hawksworth, who was recently shifted to the rotation from the bullpen, will get the start on Tuesday. Despite his 5.02 ERA, Hawksworth has pitched much better as a starter than he did as a reliever.
In two starts against the Kansas City Royals and Milwaukee Brewers, Hawksworth has allowed a total of four runs in 11 innings. He struck out seven in a loss to the Brewers on July 1, but also allowed a pair of homers.
The Rockies will counter with Jeff Francis, who is coming off his worst start of the season. Francis was ripped for eight runs in just three innings at the San Diego Padres on June 30, and has just one victory since May 22.
Still recovering from shoulder surgery that forced him to miss all of last year, Francis enjoyed his best career outing against the Cardinals four years ago when he threw a two-hit shutout. He’s 4-1 against the Cardinals lifetime with a 2.61 ERA in seven starts. He hasn’t faced them, though, since May 2008.
Colorado is coming off an impressive 15-inning win over the San Francisco Giants on Sunday, but luckily had a day to rest between series.
Infielder Clint Barmes is the Rockies’ hottest hitter, batting .408 during a 12-game hitting streak that has raised his average to .257. Three of his seven homers this season have come during the streak.
Barmes can match the longest hitting streak of his career with a hit on Tuesday.