Colorado @ Houston preview
Minute Maid Park
Last Meeting ( Sep 24, 2011 ) Colorado 4, Houston 2
THE STORY: Having finally snapped an ugly nine-game losing streak, the Colorado Rockies look to salvage a split of their four-game set in Houston when the teams meet in the series finale on Sunday afternoon. The Rockies needed 13 innings to break the skid Saturday night, pushing the decisive run across on a bases-loaded walk.
TV: 2:05 p.m. ET, ROOT Sports (Colorado); my20 (Houston)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies RH Kevin Millwood (3-3, 4.56 ERA) vs. Astros RH Lucas Harrell (0-1, 2.00 ERA).
Millwood had won three of his last four decisions before being roughed up in Monday's start against the San Diego Padres, allowing seven runs on nine hits in just 3 1/3 innings. He still has a solid strikeout-to-walk ratio of 30-to-7 during his short stint with the Rockies, but Millwood has just three strikeouts and three walks over his last two starts. Millwood is 2-1 with a 2.49 ERA in four road outings this season.
Harrell, who was acquired earlier in the season from the Chicago White Sox, makes his second National League start of the year after three appearances out of the bullpen. His first start was a good one — Harrell pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings without a decision against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sept. 2. This will be his first career appearance against the Rockies.
ABOUT THE ROCKIES (71-87): Colorado pitchers gave up 68 runs during the club's nine-game slide, but the staff came up big on Saturday. It held the Astros scoreless over the final 11 innings and allowed just six hits on the night. Seven different relievers saw action after Jason Hammel pitched the first seven innings. The Rockies still rank last in the National League in team ERA (4.49) and near the bottom of the league in most other pitching categories.
ABOUT THE ASTROS (55-103): Houston was shut down after scoring 21 runs in the first 20 innings of the series, and it wound up being betrayed in the end by a bullpen that has been the least reliable in the major leagues this season. The Astros have converted just 25 of their 48 save opportunities, just pushing their success rate over 50 percent in the second half of September.
FINAL PITCH: Neither team has been faring well in Sunday games this season. The Rockies have lost 22 of their last 27, while the Astros have dropped 21 of 27 on Sunday.