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Pirates-Rockies Preview

Aug 13, 2009 - 6:37 AM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

Pittsburgh (46-66) at Colorado (62-51), 3:10 p.m. EDT

Jason Marquis had little trouble becoming the first in the majors to a dozen victories, but win No. 13 is proving to be quite elusive for the All-Star.

Marquis again seeks his first victory in 3 1/2 weeks when he takes the mound for the Colorado Rockies in the finale of a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday at Coors Field.

By allowing one run over eight innings in a 6-1 victory over San Diego on July 19, Marquis (12-8, 3.65 ERA) notched his major league-leading 12th win, surpassing the 11 he had in all of 2008 with the Chicago Cubs.

Marquis, who was traded from the Cubs to the Rockies (63-51) on Jan. 6, then missed his next start with a blister on his right middle finger, and is 0-2 with a 4.74 ERA in three starts since returning to the rotation. The right-hander is now tied with nine other pitchers for fourth in victories, trailing Boston's Josh Beckett (14), St. Louis' Adam Wainwright (13) and the Mets' Johan Santana (13).

Marquis wasn't sharp against his former team on Saturday, yielding five runs, eight hits and a season-high five walks in six innings of a 6-5 loss to the Cubs.

While he has been struggling, Marquis was in control against the Pirates on June 19, allowing three runs and eight hits in 8 2-3 innings of a 7-3 victory. He is 4-1 with a 2.77 ERA in his last six starts against Pittsburgh (46-67).

The Rockies lost Tuesday's opener against the Pirates 7-3 , before bouncing back with an 8-0 victory Wednesday, their ninth win in 14 games.

Center fielder Carlos Gonzalez hit a two-run homer after connecting for a solo shot Tuesday, and is batting .412 with 13 runs in 20 games since the All-Star break.

While Gonzalez helped lead the offense, Ubaldo Jimenez and reliever Franklin Morales combined on a four-hitter for Colorado, which remained one-game up on San Francisco in the wild-card race.

Jimenez went eight innings, giving rest to a bullpen that had to pitch 6 1-3 innings Tuesday after spot starter Jhoulys Chacin left with one out in the third.

"A performance like that from Ubaldo will straighten out the bullpen situation in a hurry," Colorado manager Jim Tracy said.

With Jimenez silencing Pittsburgh's bats, the Pirates were shut out for the fifth time in 17 games, falling to 3-14 in that span.

Despite Wednesday's loss, Pittsburgh could still win its first series on the road since taking three of four against Washington from May 18-21. The Pirates are 10-27 away from PNC Park since then.

Paul Maholm (6-6, 4.76) takes the ball for Pittsburgh in the finale, trying to shake his recent slump.

After allowing one run and four hits in eight innings of a 2-1, 14-inning win over San Francisco in his first start after the break, Maholm is 0-2 with a 7.13 ERA in his last four. The left-hander gave up four runs and nine hits - including two homers - in seven innings of a 6-4 loss to St. Louis on Friday, but did not receive a decision.

Maholm was sharp in his first start of the season against the Rockies on May 15, allowing five hits and one walk in seven shutout innings of a 3-1 loss. He wasn't as strong against them on June 21, giving up five runs and eight hits in five innings of a 5-4 defeat at Coors Field. He is 1-3 with a 5.87 ERA in four starts in Colorado.