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Nats hope to leave Coors Field with sweep of Rockies

Jul 23, 2014 - 2:46 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Washington Nationals try to beat the Colorado Rockies for the sixth straight time and complete a three-game sweep at Coors Field.

Washington has won the first two matchups in this series and on Tuesday, Adam LaRoche belted the tie-breaking three-run homer in the seventh inning to lift the Nationals to a 7-4 win.

Wilson Ramos drove in two runs for the NL East leaders, who posted their fourth straight overall victory. Anthony Rendon went 3-for-5 with two runs scored.

Nolan Arenado and Corey Dickerson homered for the Rockies, who lost their seventh in a row. DJ LeMahieu had three hits and an RBI in defeat.

The Rockies are in a stretch of games without shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who is hitting a major-league best .340 while collecting 21 home runs and 52 RBI. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday due to a left hip flexor strain.

Getting the call for the Nats on Wednesday will be righty Stephen Strasburg, who has just one win since June 9. Strasburg lost to Milwaukee on Friday, as he surrendered four runs and seven hits in seven innings to fall to 7-7 to go along with a 3.55 ERA.

"Maybe I'm throwing too many strikes," Strasburg said after his start on Friday. "Maybe I need to be a little bit more effectively wild."

Strasburg's lone win in that stretch, though, came against Colorado and he is 2-2 in four starts against them with a 2.36 ERA.

Colorado will counter with lefty Jorge De La Rosa, who is 10-6 on the year with a 4.39 ERA. De La Rosa's unbeaten streak hit four games on Friday in Pittsburgh, although, he did not get a decision, despite a terrific outing that saw him allow just a run and four hits in six innings.

De la Rosa has faced the Nats seven times and is 4-2 with a 4.57 ERA.

Washington has won nine of its last 11 matchups against the Rockies.