Colorado @ Atlanta preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 16, 2016 ) Colorado 4, Atlanta 3

The Colorado Rockies have their work cut out for them in order to get in the wild-card race, but its pursuit toward that goal figures to be aided by the ineptitude of their upcoming opponents. The Rockies attempt to match their longest winning streak in Atlanta in over 18 years Sunday, when they try to complete a three-game sweep of the Braves.

Colorado, which sits six games behind the New York Mets and Miami for the last wild-card spot in the National League, is 72-115 against its former division rival but has held the upper hand recently, winning 10 of the last 11 meetings after scoring all of its runs after the seventh inning in Saturday's 4-3 victory. The triumph gave the Rockies their fourth straight win over the team with the worst record in the majors in the Braves (31-60), who will visit Colorado for four games next weekend. Atlanta was its own worst enemy over the last two innings of Saturday's defeat, as its bullpen unleashed three wild pitches and the defense committed two errors to ruin a strong start from Mike Foltynewicz. The Braves have dropped seven of their last nine games in Atlanta and own the majors' worst home mark at 15-33.
TV: 1:35 p.m. ET, ROOT (Colorado), FSN South (Atlanta)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies RH Jon Gray (5-4, 4.67 ERA) vs. Braves RH Julio Teheran (3-8, 2.96)
Gray avoided giving up a home run for the first time in nine starts against Philadelphia on July 8 but settled for a no-decision despite allowing two runs and striking out eight over 6 1/3 innings. Despite struggling to keep the ball in the yard during that time, the 24-year-old rookie has lowered his ERA from 6.75 by logging a quality start seven times over that stretch. Gray is holding opposing hitters to a .225 average away from home, but he only has a 2-4 record and 4.63 ERA to show for his troubles.
Teheran will return for the first time since ending the first half with a thigh infection that led to two of his worst three outings of the season, as he was tagged for a total of 10 runs and 20 hits over 12 2/3 innings. The Braves' lone All-Star representative took the loss in his last trip to the mound in Chicago against the White Sox on July 9, giving up five runs over six frames. Teheran has enjoyed much more success in five starts versus the Rockies, however, going 4-1 with a 3.41 ERA.

WALK-OFFS
1. Colorado's rotation has posted a 3.73 ERA over its last 21 road games and allowed three runs or fewer in 18 of those outings.
2. Atlanta C A.J. Pierzynski's two-run homer in Saturday's loss gave the team 29 home runs over its last 27 contests - two more than the Braves recorded over their first 64 games.
3. Rockies RF Carlos Gonzalez struck out in his first at-bat Saturday, ending a streak of 21 plate appearances in which he failed to do so.

PREDICTION: Rockies 3, Braves 2