Colorado Rockies (51-45, third place in NL West, 8-2 in their last 10 games) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (53-44, second place in NL West, 5-5 in their last 10 games).
The series’ pitching matchups will look like this:
Friday, July 20 at 7:40 pm MT: German Marquez (8-8, 4.81 ERA) vs. Robbie Ray (3-2, 5.03 ERA)
Marquez (6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 8 K) was effective in his last start against the Diamondbacks. He has won his last three starts in a row and has struck out 22 batters in those outings. Marquez is currently tied for first on the team in wins with eight.
Ray (5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 8 K) took the loss in his last start against the Rockies. Ray has seen a significant drop in his ERA from last year’s 2.89 ERA to this year’s 5.03 ERA and has not looked like himself lately.
Saturday, July 21 at 6:10 pm MT: Kyle Freeland (8-6, 3.11 ERA) vs. Zack Godley (11-6, 4.61 ERA)
Freeland (5.1 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 4 K) was left with a no-decision in his last start against the Diamondbacks. Freeland will carry a respectable 8-6 record with a 3.11 ERA and 1.21 WHIP moving forward. His 3.11 ERA ranks best amongst Colorado starting pitchers.
Godley (6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 7 K) was excellent and picked up the win in his last start against the Braves. Godley has gone 6-1 over his last seven starts, giving up two earned runs or fewer in all six of the victorious efforts.
Sunday, July 22 at 2:10 pm MT: Antonio Senzatela (3-2, 5.34 ERA) vs. Zack Greinke (10-5, 3.18 ERA)
Senzatela (6.0 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 2 K) took the loss in his last start against the Mariners. Senzatela has spent most of the year in Triple-A Albuquerque and will be activated from the disabled list (blister) to pitch Sunday.
Greinke (7.2 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 7 K) was dominant and picked up the win in his last start against the Braves. Greinke mowed down the Atlanta lineup and lowered his ERA to 3.18 which leads the Diamondbacks.
Who’s Hot:
Colorado:
- Trevor Story has been a monster for the Rockies lately and sent the team into the All-Star break on a high note with a walk-off home run. Story currently holds a seven-game hit streak and during that time has hit .480 BA, with 8 RBI and 4 HR.
An All-Star walk-off Story! 🌟📚 https://t.co/BR3GRFfKkW
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) July 15, 2018
- Carlos Gonzalez (12/32 H/AB, 12 RBI, 4 HR) has played a big role in the recent success of the Rockies and has rebounded nicely since the start of the season (.280 BA, 11 HR, 41 RBI).
- Charlie Blackmon is has six hits in his last 13 AB and finished the first half with a .287 BA, 19 HR and 45 RBI.
- Paul Goldschmidt (13/39 H/AB, 2 HR, 4 RBI) has been impressive lately for Arizona and has been the catalyst of the Diamondbacks’ offense in 2018.
- Nick Ahmed has played a nice role for Arizona at shortstop in 2018 and has been hot lately, going 10/35 H/AB, with 2 HR and 5 RBI.
- Steven Souza Jr. has been a solid contributor for Arizona lately (3/9 H/AB) and has slowly started to recover from his slow start to the season, but his batting average still sits at a poor .195.
Who’s Not:
Colorado:
- Chris Iannetta is just 2/17 H/AB and has had a rough go of things for the Rockies this year, hitting 233 BA, 7 HR, 22 RBI.
- Pat Valaika (2/9 H/AB, 0 HR, 0 RBI) has struggled for Colorado this year and has not been able to find the same groove that he was in last year (.258 BA, 13 HR, 40 RBI).
- Raimel Tapia is just batting .231 since being called up to the big leagues this year. Tapia hit a respectable .288 last year and unless his 2018 numbers can duplicate that, he may be sent back down to Triple-A.
Arizona:
- Jake Lamb has been ice-cold for the Diamondbacks (4/32 H/AB) and has been unable to contribute offensively this season (.229 BA, 6 HR, 28 RBI). Lamb finished Arizona’s most recent series vs. the Braves 1-for-8.
- John Ryan Murphy is just 2/18 H/AB at the plate and has been unable to find his groove for the Diamondbacks in 2018 (.233 BA, 9 HR, 24 RBI).
- Chris Owings (.194 BA, 3 HR, 18 RBI) has struggled tremendously this season for Arizona after hitting .268 BA, 12 HR, 51 RBI with the club last year.