The Colorado Rockies have gotten minimal production from one of the majors' best hitters, but they still find themselves with baseball's best record.
A visit from the Pittsburgh Pirates seems unlikely to slow them down -- and it could get Carlos Gonzalez going.
8:40 PM ET, April 29, 2011
Coors Field, Denver, Colorado
Gonzalez has tormented Pittsburgh lately, a pattern he'd love to keep up Friday night as the Rockies welcome in the Pirates and former manager Clint Hurdle for a three-game set.
Colorado has cooled off after its 11-2 start but still owns the majors' best road record and top overall mark at 16-7 even without a win from ace Ubaldo Jimenez, who finished third in the 2010 NL Cy Young Award voting.
Also underachieving is the outfielder who finished third in the NL MVP race. Gonzalez is hitting .214 with one homer, hardly the start the Rockies expected from a player who tied for the major league lead in total bases last season.
Starting Pitchers
Pittsburgh: Correia (3-2, 3.48 ERA)
Colorado: Chacin (3-1, 2.67 ERA)
Manager Jim Tracy held Gonzalez out of the starting lineup in Tuesday's 4-3 win over Chicago. His first chance to get back in the lineup and snap an 0-for-22 drought was pushed back after Wednesday's game was rained out.
"It's going to come," Gonzalez told the Rockies' official website. "I'm really glad it's still April, and I'm really glad the team is playing well. It's not like a lot of pressure, because the team's not winning. ... We're lucky."
Facing the Pirates (11-14) could help. Gonzalez is hitting .405 (17 for 42) with four homers and 10 RBIs in his last 10 games against Pittsburgh, including a three-hit performance at PNC Park on April 9.
He's 4 for 11 with a pair of homers against Kevin Correia (3-2, 3.48 ERA), who looks to bounce back from his worst outing in a Pirates uniform. The right-hander followed a complete game at Cincinnati on April 18 by giving up 11 hits -- two homers -- and five runs over 4 2/3 innings Monday in a 6-3 loss to Washington.
"He was battling," Hurdle told the Pirates' official website. "But he was working uphill most of the day. They were able to extend and drive some balls out of the ballpark."
Correia is 0-3 with an 8.10 ERA in his last eight outings against Colorado.
Hurdle already faced his former club when the Rockies took three of four at Pittsburgh earlier this month, but this is his first visit to Coors Field since being fired and replaced by Tracy on May 29, 2009. The Rockies finished fourth or worse in five of Hurdle's seven full seasons but went to the World Series as the wild card in 2007.
If Pittsburgh keeps hitting the way it has lately, his new club figures to be on its way to finishing in the bottom half of the NL Central. The Pirates have hit .202 in losing six of nine and couldn't score more than two runs in three games this week against San Francisco.
They managed four singles in Thursday's 5-2 loss.
Colorado's Jhoulys Chacin (3-1, 2.67) is 1-1 with a 6.55 ERA away from home after allowing four runs over five innings Friday in a 4-1 loss to Florida. His other road outing was a 6-5 win against Pittsburgh on April 10, as he surrendered five runs in six innings.
At home, however, Chacin is 2-0 and hasn't allowed a run in 16 innings.
A visit from the Pittsburgh Pirates seems unlikely to slow them down -- and it could get Carlos Gonzalez going.
8:40 PM ET, April 29, 2011
Coors Field, Denver, Colorado
Gonzalez has tormented Pittsburgh lately, a pattern he'd love to keep up Friday night as the Rockies welcome in the Pirates and former manager Clint Hurdle for a three-game set.
Colorado has cooled off after its 11-2 start but still owns the majors' best road record and top overall mark at 16-7 even without a win from ace Ubaldo Jimenez, who finished third in the 2010 NL Cy Young Award voting.
Also underachieving is the outfielder who finished third in the NL MVP race. Gonzalez is hitting .214 with one homer, hardly the start the Rockies expected from a player who tied for the major league lead in total bases last season.
Starting Pitchers
Pittsburgh: Correia (3-2, 3.48 ERA)
Colorado: Chacin (3-1, 2.67 ERA)
"It's going to come," Gonzalez told the Rockies' official website. "I'm really glad it's still April, and I'm really glad the team is playing well. It's not like a lot of pressure, because the team's not winning. ... We're lucky."
Facing the Pirates (11-14) could help. Gonzalez is hitting .405 (17 for 42) with four homers and 10 RBIs in his last 10 games against Pittsburgh, including a three-hit performance at PNC Park on April 9.
He's 4 for 11 with a pair of homers against Kevin Correia (3-2, 3.48 ERA), who looks to bounce back from his worst outing in a Pirates uniform. The right-hander followed a complete game at Cincinnati on April 18 by giving up 11 hits -- two homers -- and five runs over 4 2/3 innings Monday in a 6-3 loss to Washington.
"He was battling," Hurdle told the Pirates' official website. "But he was working uphill most of the day. They were able to extend and drive some balls out of the ballpark."
Correia is 0-3 with an 8.10 ERA in his last eight outings against Colorado.
Hurdle already faced his former club when the Rockies took three of four at Pittsburgh earlier this month, but this is his first visit to Coors Field since being fired and replaced by Tracy on May 29, 2009. The Rockies finished fourth or worse in five of Hurdle's seven full seasons but went to the World Series as the wild card in 2007.
If Pittsburgh keeps hitting the way it has lately, his new club figures to be on its way to finishing in the bottom half of the NL Central. The Pirates have hit .202 in losing six of nine and couldn't score more than two runs in three games this week against San Francisco.
They managed four singles in Thursday's 5-2 loss.
Colorado's Jhoulys Chacin (3-1, 2.67) is 1-1 with a 6.55 ERA away from home after allowing four runs over five innings Friday in a 4-1 loss to Florida. His other road outing was a 6-5 win against Pittsburgh on April 10, as he surrendered five runs in six innings.
At home, however, Chacin is 2-0 and hasn't allowed a run in 16 innings.
