NewsRockies must keep moving forward
Colorado (77-60) vs. Cincinnati (63-73), 1:10 p.m. MT
By Thomas Harding / MLB.com
09/06/09 9:35 PM ET
DENVER -- The Rockies' opponent the last three games, the D-backs, wore red, but there was a black-and-orange tint to the whole series. The Rockies earned a three-game sweep. Thanks to the Brewers beating the Giants in 12 innings on Sunday, Colorado has a two-game lead over San Francisco in the National League Wild Card race. The vivid red of Cincinnati will be on display at Coors Field for a four-game series starting Monday. The Rockies will focus on not being blinded by other colors -- not only the Giants' combination, but Dodger blue. The Rockies are within striking distance of the NL West-leading Dodgers, but they can be caught from behind if they aren't careful. The last time the Rockies turned their focus to the Dodgers, they suffered a three-game sweep at the hands of the Giants and wound up tied for the Wild Card lead. "We'll look forward," said third baseman Ian Stewart, who homered in Sunday's 13-5 victory over Arizona. "We know we get another chance at [the Giants] on our next road trip. Right now, we're worried about Cincinnati coming in." Just a week ago, Colorado was trying to fix a near-complete offensive outage. In losing five straight to the Dodgers and Giants, the Rockies were outscored, 25-11, with eight of the runs coming in the final two games. But offense hasn't been a problem for the Rockies, who scored 38 runs in going 5-1 against the Mets and D-backs. Seth Smith, who is 13-for-24 on the homestand, Carlos Gonzalez, the new leadoff man, and Yorvit Torrealba, who is on a 15-game hit streak, are leading an offense that has plenty of weapons. "That's a championship club -- that's what they do," Smith said. "You don't want to rely on one guy. That's baseball. You can't be successful every day. We need other guys to step up, and these guys are good at that." Pitching matchupCOL: RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (13-10, 3.28 ERA)
Masterful performances are becoming the norm for Jimenez, who held the Mets to two runs in eight innings during the Rockies' 5-2 victory on Wednesday. After giving up a solo shot to Jeff Francoeur on a first-pitch breaking ball in the fourth inning, Jimenez was as close to 100 percent as possible in terms of throwing quality pitches the rest of the night. Jimenez is 7-1 with a 2.44 ERA in his past 10 starts. CIN: RHP Homer Bailey (5-4, 5.90 ERA)
In his past three starts, Bailey is 3-0 with a 1.69 ERA, eight walks and 19 strikeouts over 21 1/3 innings. During Wednesday's 5-3 win over the Pirates, he worked his third straight quality start as he pitched 6 1/3 innings with three earned runs and seven hits allowed. He walked three and set another career high with eight punchouts. Two of the runs crossed on solo homers, and Bailey was successful at avoiding any big innings or scoring situations. Tidbits
The Rockies have won eight of their past nine games against the Reds, including all three at Great American Ball Park this season. ... Torrealba's 15-game hit streak is the second-longest for a Rockies player this year. Todd Helton had a 16-gamer. The 15 games is a franchise record for a catcher. Joe Girardi had a 14-game run in 1995. ... Closer Huston Street, who hasn't pitched since Tuesday because of soreness in his right biceps tendon, did exercises on Sunday and is expected to play "light catch" -- 15-20 throws from 50-60 feet on flat ground, according to Rockies head trainer Keith Dugger. Also, Dugger is shooting for the middle of this week to early next week for a bullpen session for right-handed starter Aaron Cook, who is suffering from soreness in his throwing shoulder. Tickets
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• Tuesday: Rockies (Jason Marquis, 14-10, 3.75) vs. Reds (Matt Maloney, 0-3, 6.46), 6:40 p.m. MT
• Wednesday: Rockies (Jason Hammel, 8-7, 4.41) vs. Reds (Bronson Arroyo, 12-12, 4.23), 6:40 p.m. MT
• Thursday: Rockies (Jose Contreras, 6-13, 5.19) vs. Reds (Kip Wells, 1-3, 4.85), 1:10 p.m. MT
Thomas Harding is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
