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Rockies-Nationals Preview

Aug 17, 2009 - 7:43 PM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

Colorado (65-53) at Washington (43-75), 7:05 p.m. EDT

Before starting a pivotal stretch, the wild card-leading Colorado Rockies would seem to catch a break with three games against the majors' worst team.

However, the Washington Nationals have played their best baseball of the season this month and will try for a ninth consecutive home win when they face the Rockies on Tuesday night.

Colorado (65-53) follows this series with a 10-day span that includes seven games against one of its closest pursuers for the wild card, San Francisco, and three with the team it's chasing for the NL West lead, Los Angeles.

Since winning five straight, the Rockies have split their past 12 games. They are coming off a series loss with another of their top threats for the wild card following a doubleheader split with Florida on Sunday.

Carlos Gonzalez homered in both games, giving him four in six contests, and he's batting .359 with nine RBIs in 10 games since taking over the regular starting job in left field. Clint Barmes homered for the fourth time in nine games Sunday in the series-ending 7-3 victory, which prevented Colorado from suffering its first sweep since May.

"Every win we can get is a big win," Barmes said. "There is no game we can give away at this point."

The Nationals haven't given one away at home recently. Their eight-game home winning streak is the team's longest since 2007 and they haven't had a longer one since a 12-game run from June 2-25, 2005.

They've won 11 of 14 overall.

After a three-game slide in which it scored a combined three runs, Washington (43-75) rebounded to win the final three of a four-game set in Cincinnati by scoring 17 runs.

Josh Willingham hit a two-run homer in Sunday's 5-4 comeback victory, giving the Nationals a split on their six-game trek.

"The road trip could have been a lot worse," he told the Nationals' official Web site. "It's really nice to split."

Willingham has batted .368 with seven home runs and 23 RBIs in his last 24 games. Ryan Zimmerman has hit .443 in his last 17 contests with six homers and 17 RBIs.

Nyjer Morgan has hit .375 with an NL-high 14 stolen bases since the All-Star break, helping Washington overcome the NL's worst pitching staff (4.99 ERA).

Craig Stammen (3-6, 5.24 ERA) hasn't helped lately, going 0-1 with a 10.57 ERA in his last four outings, but goes to the mound Tuesday coming off his best performance during that span. He pitched a combined 9 1-3 innings in his previous three games before lasting six Wednesday, allowing two runs and four hits without getting a decision in a 6-2 loss at Atlanta.

One of the rookie right-hander's best starts came against Colorado even though he lost, giving up five hits over seven innings in a 1-0 defeat July 6.

The Rockies counter with Ubaldo Jimenez (10-9, 3.47), who will try to earn a career-high fifth straight win and fourth in as many starts. Jimenez, who won four consecutive outings last July 17-Aug. 1, is coming off arguably his best outing of the year.

The right-hander yielded three hits over eight innings of Wednesday night's 8-0 win over visiting Pittsburgh. Jimenez, who has a 1.19 ERA in three starts this month, is 1-1 with a 4.76 ERA in three outings against the Nationals.

The Rockies have won six straight over Washington, including a three-game home sweep July 6-8. They are 10-4 in the nation's capital.