Colorado @ Arizona preview
Chase Field
Last Meeting ( Aug 10, 2014 ) Colorado 5, Arizona 3
Colorado dropped out of National League West contention long ago, but it might wind up staging its own race on an individual level. The Rockies conclude their seven-game road trip with three against the Arizona Diamondbacks beginning Friday as Justin Morneau and Corey Dickerson continue their quest for the NL batting title. Dickerson is hitting .315 - one point higher than Morneau - but must average better than four plate appearances per game the rest of the way to qualify.
"He swings the way I remember myself swinging when I was younger," Morneau, the 2006 American League MVP, told the Denver Post about the 25-year-old Dickerson, who is in his second season. "He's aggressive. It looks like every time he swings he believes he should hit a homer." Arizona, which leads the season series 7-5, owns an NL-worst 27-42 home record while Colorado fell to a major league-low 19-47 on the road after dropping three of four in San Francisco. Rockies rookie Christian Bergman is coming off his first major-league victory and opposes Josh Collmenter, who snapped a four-game winless streak in his last start.
TV: 9:40 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona, ROOT (Colorado)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies RH Christian Bergman (1-0, 6.75 ERA) vs. Diamondbacks RH Josh Collmenter (9-7, 4.05)
Bergman allowed four runs and nine hits in 6 1/3 innings of a 7-4 victory over Miami on Sunday in his fourth major-league start and first since breaking his hand during his June 20 outing. "I just had to get a little bit of that extra energy out in the first inning," the 26-year-old Californian told reporters. "I wouldn't say I was nervous, just kind of the excitement of being back out there. And once I got that out, I just kind of settled in and tried to attack the strike zone and get some quick innings." Bergman's only career road start was a 5-4 loss in San Francisco on June 14 when he permitted three runs and eight hits in six innings.
Collmenter went 8 1/3 innings and yielded an unearned run and four hits while matching a career high with eight strikeouts in a 5-1 victory over San Diego on Friday. The 28-year-old Michigan native has allowed three runs or fewer in seven of his last 10 turns - including five games in which he yielded one run. Collmenter, whose season high for victories is 10 set in 2011, is 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA in a pair of no-decisions against Colorado this season and 2-1, 4.39 in 17 games (seven starts) lifetime.
WALK-OFFS
1. Milwaukee claimed Morneau (14 home runs, 69 RBIs) off waivers from Colorado, but the two teams reportedly could not agree on a deal.
2. Arizona RHP Addison Reed has coverted 10 consecutive save situations - matching a career high - and is one shy of 100.
3. Rockies players have won eight batting titles in the 21-year history of the franchise, including Michael Cuddyer (.331) last season.
PREDICTION: Diamondbacks 9, Rockies 8