Arizona @ Colorado preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 22, 2010 ) Colorado 1, Arizona 0

Red-hot Carlos Gonzalez continues his Triple Crown and postseason pursuit. He’s also now he’s getting an assist from another power source.

The Colorado Rockies seek their eighth straight victory on Friday as they open a three-game weekend series at Coors Field with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Colorado enters just 3 ½ games behind the National League West-leading San Diego Padres, 3 ½ games back of the Atlanta Braves and 2 ½ behind the San Francisco Giants in the wild card race.

The 24-year-old Gonzalez was a top Arizona prospect dealt to Oakland as part of a trade for Dan Haren after the 2007 season. He was then packaged to Colorado in a deal for Matt Holliday after the 2008 campaign.

Gonzalez has hit .419 (62-148) over his last 38 games with 16 doubles, four triples, 15 homers, 38 RBI and nine steals. For the season, he leads the league in batting (.337), is tied for the lead in RBI (100) and is third in home runs (32), five behind leader Albert Pujols.

The left-handed hitter had his 16-game hitting streak snapped on Thursday, but the Rockies still managed a 6-5 victory to complete the four-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds.

Gonzalez and the rest of the Rockies are getting a huge contribution from Troy Tulowitzki, who is 10-for-28 with 12 RBI during this season-high winning streak. The shortstop has homered six times in seven games, including an eighth-inning solo shot Thursday to tie the game at 5-5.

After tying the contest Thursday, Colorado finished off its 10th straight home win over the NL Central leaders later in the frame when rookie Chris Nelson swiped home for his first career steal.

Jorge De La Rosa (6-4, 4.18 ERA) will be charged with keeping the momentum going for the Rockies, who have won 16 of their last 20 home games. The left-hander beat the Padres 4-2 on Sunday, allowing just a pair of runs and six hits in six innings. It was the 10th straight start that De La Rosa had yielded three runs or fewer.

Arizona, which snapped a four-game losing streak on Wednesday in a 3-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants, will send Joe Saunders (2-4, 4.42 ERA) to the hill. The left-hander, acquired from the Los Angeles Angels on July 25 in another deal involving Haren, will be making his ninth start for Arizona after going 6-10 with a 4.62 ERA in 20 starts for Anaheim.

Saunders received a no-decision on Saturday against the Houston Astros, yielding just a pair of runs and three hits over seven frames, but the bullpen couldn’t hold a three-run lead in the 6-5 loss.