Colorado @ Florida preview
Sun Life Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jul 20, 2010 ) Colorado 10, Florida 0
With the way the Colorado Rockies have been hitting, Ricky Nolasco may have a difficult time continuing his mastery of them.
Nolasco looks to remain perfect against the Rockies, who take on the Florida Marlins tonight in the third game of their four-game series.
In five career meetings with Colorado, including one relief appearance, Nolasco owns a 4-0 record with a 2.27 ERA. The 27-year old turned in a stellar performance at Coors Field on April 24, limiting the Rockies to one run and seven hits over eight innings while striking out nine in a 4-1 victory.
While Nolasco has been unbeatable against Colorado, he has struggled at home this season, going 3-5 with a 5.26 ERA in nine starts at Sun Life Stadium. On Friday, the right-hander surrendered four runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings of a 4-0 loss to Washington, halting his personal four-game winning streak.
If the Rockies pound the baseball like they did in the first two games of the series, Nolasco's home struggles likely will continue.
After scoring a total of four runs in its three-game set at Cincinnati last weekend, Colorado has crossed the plate 18 times thus far this series. Following a 9-8 loss in the opener on Monday, the Rockies battered Nate Robertson on Tuesday en route to a 10-0 triumph.
Melvin Mora was the offensive star for Colorado, going 3-for-5 with a home run, five RBIs and three runs scored. Mora, who fell a triple shy of the cycle, ripped a three-run double in the Rockies' six-run third inning and belted a two-run homer in the fifth.
The beneficiary of the outburst was Jeff Francis, who allowed just three hits - all singles - and struck out seven in seven innings. Francis threw 73 of his 98 pitches for strikes.
The shutout was Florida's worst at home since a 13-0 drubbing at the hands of the New York Mets on April 2, 2008. The Marlins, who had their three-game winning streak snapped, fell to 45-28 all-time at home against the Rockies.
Colorado, which is 2-3 on its season-high 11-game road trip, will send Jason Hammel to the mound.
In his last start on Friday, Hammel suffered his first loss since May 21 despite yielding just three runs and striking out a season-high 10 in seven innings against Cincinnati, which posted a 3-2 victory. Hammel had gone 6-0 over his previous nine outings.
The 27-year old has not fared well on the road this year, posting a 1-3 record and 5.66 ERA in six starts. Hammel also has had his troubles with the Marlins over his career, going 0-2 with an 8.71 ERA in four appearances - including two relief stints.
Hammel must find a way to retire Hanley Ramirez, who is hitting .833 (5-for-6) with a home run and two RBIs against the right-hander. In addition, Jorge Cantu is 3-for-7 (.429) with a pair of RBIs vs. Hammel.