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Rockies-Brewers Preview

Jun 9, 2009 - 12:34 AM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

Colorado (24-32) at Milwaukee (33-24), 8:05 p.m. EDT

Milwaukee will look to gain some momentum at home after an inconsistent road trip. A surprisingly strong weekend series by the Colorado Rockies, though, helped the Brewers keep their lead in the NL Central.

The Brewers look to solve one of the majors' hottest pitching staffs as they open a three-game set with the surging Rockies on Tuesday night.

Milwaukee (33-24) missed a chance to sweep a three-game series at Atlanta for the first time, dropping the finale 8-7 on Sunday. The Brewers opened their road trip with three losses in four games against Florida.

Still, after holding a one-game lead over second-place St. Louis following a loss in that trip's opening contest, Milwaukee now has a 2 1/2-game edge after Colorado (25-32) swept a four-game series from the Cardinals.

The Rockies now have a chance to win six straight for the first time since an 11-game streak in September 2007 that helped spur a run to the NL pennant. They won 5-2 on Monday for their first sweep at St. Louis and first overall this season.

Colorado outscored St. Louis 33-9, improving to 7-4 under manager Jim Tracy after going 18-28 for Clint Hurdle, who was fired May 29.

"You can't put your head way down when things start going bad, because they're going to change," Rockies first baseman Todd Helton said. "You just keep working and focusing on the process, not the result."

Colorado has been paced by its starting pitchers, who totaled 29 1-3 innings with a 2.45 ERA in winning all four games against the Cardinals. Rockies starters have pitched at least six innings in all eight games this month.

Jason Hammel (2-3, 4.50 ERA) takes the mound for Colorado. He's 2-1 with a 1.86 ERA in four starts and two relief appearances on the road this season and has allowed three runs or fewer in four of his last five starts overall.

The right-hander surrendered two runs and four hits in seven innings to earn a win in Colorado's 10-3 victory at Houston on Thursday night.

This will be Hammel's first appearance versus the Brewers.

He'll be facing a Milwaukee lineup that had a strong finish to its series with Atlanta, getting a pair of two-run homers from Ryan Braun. The left-fielder has 12 homers on the season and nine career multihomer games, including two this year.

Braun continues to see good pitches batting ahead of cleanup hitter Prince Fielder, who is coming off an outstanding road trip. He hit .462 (12 for 26) with three homers and six RBIs in seven games.

"I'm really just trying to see the ball and get good pitches to hit," Fielder told the Brewers' official Web site. "It helps my team, obviously. Any time you're in the middle of the lineup and you're hitting, it helps the team."

Braun hit a two-run homer in Braden Looper's last outing to help Milwaukee beat Florida 9-6 on Wednesday night. Looper struggled, though, giving up five runs and seven hits in 4 2-3 innings.

The veteran right-hander is 3-2 with a 6.00 ERA in his last six starts. He's 2-2 with a 5.28 ERA in 19 appearances, two starts, against Colorado.

Looper has never faced the Rockies as a member of the Brewers.

Colorado went 4-3 against Milwaukee last season.