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Rockies-Angels Preview

Jun 22, 2009 - 5:35 AM By BRETT HUSTON STATS Writer

Colorado (35-33) at Los Angeles (36-30), 10:05 p.m. EDT

The Los Angeles Angels cooled off slightly over the weekend after their longest winning streak of the season was snapped.

The Colorado Rockies have yet to show any signs of slowing down.

Two of baseball's hottest teams will kick off a three-game set Monday night at Angels Stadium as the surging Rockies try to win for the 17th time in 18 games.

The Angels' (36-31) won seven in a row from June 12-19, but that streak has hardly made them the most impressive team over the past three weeks.

That would be Colorado (36-33), which has vaulted from 12 games below .500 on June 3 to three over heading into Anaheim for the first time since 2006. The Rockies had their 11-game run snapped Tuesday against Tampa Bay, but have won their last five contests, including a three-game home sweep of Pittsburgh over the weekend.

Perhaps no player has meant more to Colorado this month than Clint Barmes. Barmes is hitting .365 with three homers and 18 RBIs since June 3 after going deep and driving in two Sunday in a 5-4 win over the Pirates.

His average has risen from .222 to .290 since May 15.

"Clint Barmes is thriving where he's hitting in our lineup right now," said manager Jim Tracy, who's led the Rockies to an 18-5 record since taking over on May 29 for the fired Clint Hurdle. "He's giving us everything we need from him at the plate and he's making the plays in the field."

While the Rockies spent the weekend dominating an NL opponent, strong play against the AL has helped carry them to baseball's best record in June. Colorado is 7-2 in interleague play, a sharp contrast to last season when it dropped its final six games against AL opponents.

Aaron Cook (6-3, 4.23 ERA) made his 2009 interleague debut in his latest start, and won his third consecutive outing. Cook gave up three runs and eight hits over seven innings Wednesday in a 5-3 victory over the Rays, and tying him with Jason Jennings for the Rockies' franchise lead in wins with 58.

"It's something pretty special, but I don't want it to end there," Cook told the team's official Web site.

Cook gave up three runs over seven innings in a 12-4 win in Anaheim on June 27, 2006, his only career start against the Angels.

Los Angeles, meanwhile, will be trying to avoid losing three straight for the first time since being swept at Texas from May 15-17. The Angels took the series opener from the crosstown rival Dodgers on Friday, but fell in the final two games.

They left 12 runners on base Sunday in a 5-3 loss that dropped the Angels to 9-3 in interleague play.

"We just couldn't get that hit that could have changed the complexion of the game, and we were playing catch-up pretty must the rest of the way after that," manager Mike Scioscia said.

The Angels should feel good about their chances of bouncing back with Matt Palmer (6-0, 4.13) on the hill. Palmer has won just once in his last five outings after winning his first five starts, but he was solid Wednesday at San Francisco, allowing three runs over 6 1-3 innings.

"I thought Matty did what he's been doing all season," Scioscia told the Angels' official Web site. "He changed speeds, made pitches, kept us in the game."

Palmer gave up five runs - four earned - and walked six over 4 1-3 innings in a 7-2 loss to Colorado on Aug. 26 with San Francisco.