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Pirates-Rockies Preview

Aug 11, 2009 - 5:51 AM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

Pittsburgh (45-66) at Colorado (61-50), 8:40 p.m. EDT

The Colorado Rockies' offense is clicking and Troy Tulowitzki is coming off the best performance of his career.

This does not bode well for the slumping Pittsburgh Pirates.

Tulowitzki, who has feasted on Pittsburgh pitching in his career, looks to help the Rockies continue their surge Tuesday night when they meet the Pirates at Coors Field.

After scoring one run in losing the final two games of a series at NL East-leading Philadelphia last week, Colorado (62-50) bounced back with 33 runs in taking three of four from the Chicago Cubs at home.

The Rockies, who defeated the Cubs 11-5 in each of the final two meetings, took a one-game lead over San Francisco in the wild-card race with Monday's victory.

Tulowitzki led the charge Monday, hitting for the cycle while driving in a career-high seven runs. He finished with five hits in as many at-bats.

"That's a pretty good career for some guys," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. "Just a tremendous offensive performance."

While Tulowitzki had a career night, he always seems to have a strong showing against Pittsburgh (45-66).

Tulowitzki has hit safely in all 16 games he has played against the Pirates, batting .475 with three home runs, seven doubles and seven RBIs. He went 5 for 9 with a homer, two RBIs and four runs in a three-game home sweep over Pittsburgh from June 19-21.

The Rockies scored 21 runs in that series and have outscored the Pirates 49-23 in winning the last seven meetings in Colorado.

Coors Field isn't the only stadium that has caused problems for Pittsburgh.

The Pirates, opening a six-game road trip, have scored four runs in losing their last five road games and are 3-17 away from Pittsburgh since June 18. The Rockies are 21-8 at home since June 12.

Playing in front of the home crowd hasn't been much better for the Pirates, who arrive in Colorado after losing the final eight of a 10-game homestand. They suffered a 7-3 loss to St. Louis on Sunday, their 13th defeat in 15 games.

"We've got a lot of work to do as a staff to make sure we keep them focused and try to turn the page the next day," manager John Russell told the Pirates' official Web site. "It's not just one guy. It seems to have hit everybody."

In the opener of this series, Russell gives the ball to Ross Ohlendorf (9-8, 4.29 ERA), who again tries to go a little deeper into the game.

Ohlendorf has yielded three runs or fewer in seven of his past eight starts but has pitched less than seven innings in six of those outings.

The right-hander was effective at times Wednesday against Arizona but ran his pitch total to 104 and had to be removed after six innings. He did not receive a decision after allowing one run, four hits and five walks in a 4-3 loss.

"I think the next step now is just try to get a little more efficient," Russell said. "He gets that mastered, then I think he's going to be very good for us for a long time."

While Ohlendorf has been solid lately, he didn't have much success in his only career start against the Rockies on June 19, allowing six runs and nine hits in five innings of a 7-3 loss.

Colorado counters with rookie Jhoulys Chacin (0-0, 1.80), who takes the place in the rotation of injured staff ace Aaron Cook (toe).

This will be the first career start for the right-hander, who has allowed one run and two hits in five innings over four appearances since being called up from Double-A Tulsa on July 24.