St. Louis @ Colorado preview
Coors Field
Last Meeting ( May 19, 2016 ) Colorado 7, St. Louis 13
The St. Louis Cardinals haven’t missed the postseason since 2010, and they’re trying to make sure that streak stays alive. The Cardinals look to continue their push for one of the National League wild-card berths when they open a three-game road series against the Colorado Rockies on Monday.
The Cardinals split a four-game series in San Francisco over the weekend and remain one game behind the Giants for the second wild card. The Rockies are seven games back of San Francisco and clinging to slim playoff hopes after sweeping a three-game series from visiting San Diego. St. Louis, which took two of three from Colorado at home in May, will send Carlos Martinez to the mound in the series opener. Martinez will have to deal with a Rockies lineup that includes National League home run leader Nolan Arenado (38) and red-hot DJ LeMahieu, who is riding a nine-game hitting streak and tied with Washington’s Daniel Murphy in the batting title race with a .348 average.
TV: 8:40 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), ROOT (Colorado)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Carlos Martinez (14-8, 3.15 ERA) vs. Rockies LH Tyler Anderson (5-5, 3.65)
Martinez won four straight decisions before taking the loss Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs, as he allowed four runs and eight hits over six innings. The outing snapped a streak of six straight quality starts for the 24-year-old Dominican. Martinez has made two starts and four relief appearances against the Rockies in his career, going 1-0 with an 8.04 ERA.
Anderson had a rough outing Monday at Arizona, giving up six runs - five earned - and nine hits over 4 1/3 innings in a no-decision. The 26-year-old rookie was terrific in his previous two starts, allowing two runs over 13 2/3 frames. Anderson has been solid at Coors Field, where he is 5-1 with a 3.04 ERA in 11 starts.
WALK-OFFS
1. St. Louis C Yadier Molina is 7-for-19 during his six-game hitting streak.
2. Colorado 2B DJ LeMahieu has reached base in a career-high 34 consecutive games, the longest streak by a Rockies player since Troy Tulowitzki reached in 41 straight last season.
3. The Cardinals are 18-23 in games against left-handed starting pitchers.
PREDICTION: Cardinals 7, Rockies 4