Rockies 2 - 3 Cardinals
Final
  for this game

Rockies-Cardinals Preview

Aug 2, 2015 - 4:17 AM Jaime Garcia's worst career ERA is against the Colorado Rockies mostly thanks to one disastrous outing at Coors Field, though he also has been poor in two home losses to them.

He won't get a victory no matter how well he pitches if the St. Louis Cardinals continue their alarming trend of providing him with no support.

The Cardinals (66-38) have been blanked in half of Garcia's eight starts heading into Sunday's outing as they look to capture a four-game home series from the Rockies.

Garcia (3-4, 2.00 ERA) was activated off the 15-day disabled list Tuesday and gave up three runs in six innings in a 4-0 loss to Cincinnati, and the Cardinals have been shut out in all four of his losses as he's had a 2.67 ERA. He had been out with a left groin strain.

The left-hander is 0-3 with a 10.53 ERA in four outings versus the Rockies, with the bulk of that damage in a career-worst 12-run effort in 3 1-3 innings at Denver in a 15-4 loss May 28, 2011. That doesn't mean it will be easier for him Sunday because since that game, he's faced them twice at home and lost both with an 8.18 ERA. He also received no runs of support in any of those three defeats.

Drew Stubbs is a .310 hitter with a homer and 11 strikeouts in 29 at-bats versus Garcia and Carlos Gonzalez is 6 for 12 with a homer and two doubles.

The Rockies (44-58) are a major league-worst 5-17 against left-handed starters and could give righty-hitting first baseman Kyle Parker his first start after he was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque on Saturday. Parker, who only received 26 at-bats in 18 games for Colorado last year, was batting .280 with 58 RBIs for the Isotopes.

"He'll get an opportunity to get some more consistent playing time than he had in the past," manager Walt Weiss told MLB's official website. "It's always tough when your at-bats are hit-or-miss. He's done a good job this year and he got better as the year went on and put himself in position for this."

St. Louis is seeking to capture its sixth straight home series over Colorado, taking 16 of the last 20 meetings at Busch Stadium despite losing 6-2 on Saturday.

Nolan Arenado went 2 for 5 with a two-run homer to give him a major league-best 80 RBIs after entering in a 5-for-36 slump.

The Rockies will give Yohan Flande (1-1, 3.68) his second start after he yielded one run over five innings Tuesday to earn a 7-2 road victory over the Chicago Cubs. He went 0-6 with a 5.77 ERA in his first 10 starts - all last year.

The left-hander's only start against the Cardinals was his big-league debut June 25, 2014. He was charged with four runs over five innings and did not receive a decision in a 9-6 defeat.

Stephen Piscotty is 5 for 11 in this series for St. Louis and batting .435 during a seven-game hitting streak.

"It's like a dream," said Piscotty, who was recalled from Triple-A Memphis on July 21. "This has been the best two weeks of my life."

Jhonny Peralta seeks to homer in three consecutive games for the first time since May 10-13, 2011, with Detroit.






Related News