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Phelps hopes to get off schneid vs. Rockies

Jun 11, 2015 - 11:26 AM (SportsNetwork.com) - David Phelps tries for his first win in six starts on Thursday when the Miami Marlins open a four-game series with the Colorado Rockies at Marlins Park.

Phelps was awful on Saturday in Colorado, as the Rockies reached him for nine runs and 11 hits in just 3 2/3 innings. He is 0-3 over his last five starts and 2-3 on the year with a 4.68 ERA.

"I think I made three quality pitches all day," Phelps said. "I wasn't getting ahead of guys. I wasn't hitting my spots. I was up in the zone, and it was really just a terrible game."

Phelps has faced the Rockies twice and is 0-1 with a 10.24 ERA.

He'll be trying to help Miami bounce back from a sweep at the hands of the Toronto Blue Jays that culminated with a 7-2 setback on Wednesday.

Marcell Ozuna homered for the Marlins, while Tom Koehler (4-4) allowed six runs on eight hits in 6 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts in the loss.

"They're a real quality lineup," said Koehler. "I left a couple pitches up in the zone, and they punished them pretty good."

Colorado, meanwhile, was denied a sweep in its series with the St. Louis Cardinals, as it dropped the finale, 4-2, on Wednesday.

Chad Bettis (2-1) suffered his first loss of the season after allowing three runs on six hits and two walks in five innings. The Rockies had won each of his first five starts after he was called up from the minors last month.

"I felt out of whack the whole day," said Bettis. "It was one of those days where it just didn't seem like anything was right. Those days come and go."

It was just the sixth loss in the last 18 games for the Rockies since they fell a season-worst 10 games under .500 on May 23.

Hoping to get them back on track today will be lefty Chris Rusin, who is 2-0 and has pitched to a 1.45 ERA on the year. Rusin won his second straight start on Saturday against the Marlins, holding them to two runs and seven hits in seven innings.

"He's got deception, he's got command and he's got a feel for pitching," Colorado manager Walt Weiss said. "I think those three things are his greatest strengths. He knows how to pitch and how to put sequences together and how to finish an at-bat."

Miami took two of three from the Rockies last weekend.