Atlanta @ Colorado preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 22, 2013 ) Atlanta 0, Colorado 0

It seems Mother Nature is more concerned with fixing potential drought conditions this summer in Colorado than allowing baseball to be played in April on a consistent basis. The Rockies and Atlanta Braves, who share the best record in baseball at 13-5, will play a day-night doubleheader Tuesday after Monday's game was postponed because of snow. It was the third game postponed at Coors Field in the last eight days as spring storms continue to pepper Denver.

After 2-to-5 inches was expected to fall Monday night, Tuesday's forecast calls for partly cloudy skies with a high temperature of 34 degrees. The Braves, who got off to a 12-1 start, lost three straight to end a four-game series in Pittsburgh and scored three runs during that span. The Rockies had their eight-game winning streak snapped with Sunday's 5-4 loss to Arizona, which also marked their first setback at home this season after eight victories.

TV: 3:10 p.m. ET, Fox Sports South (Atlanta), ROOT Sports (Colorado)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves LH Mike Minor (2-1, 0.95 ERA) vs. Rockies LH Jeff Francis (1-1, 8.25)

Minor has yielded five hits in each of his three starts and issued one walk in 19 innings. He was a tough-luck loser Wednesday against Kansas City when he allowed a run in six innings of a 1-0 setback. The 25-year-old was reached for a career-high eight runs on a career-high 10 hits and four walks in five innings of a wild 13-9 victory in his Coors Field debut May 5 of last season, but limited the Rockies to a single in seven scoreless innings in a rematch in Atlanta on Sept. 5.

Francis has been pounded for 15 runs -10 earned - on 16 hits in six innings over his last two starts and has a .382 batting average against in 2013. Once a stalwart of the Colorado rotation in the middle of the last decade, Francis has struggled at Coors Field since returning to the Rockies. In 14 starts at home over the past two seasons, he is 4-5 with a 6.82 ERA. Justin Upton is 8-for-22 with two home runs against Francis, while B.J. Upton is 0-for-6 with four strikeouts.

WALK-OFFS

1. Atlanta has won nine of the last 12 meetings.

2. Rockies CF Dexter Fowler did not start Sunday after being hit in the hand by a pitch the night before. He pinch hit and drew a walk in the ninth. Fowler missed four games last week because of a bruised foot.

3. Atlanta 1B Freddie Freeman (oblique) is expected to be activated from the 15-day disabled list prior to Tuesday's opener.

PREDICTION: Braves 9, Rockies 8