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Rockies-Diamondbacks Preview

Sep 17, 2009 - 7:16 PM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS Writer

Colorado (83-64) at Arizona (64-83), 9:40 p.m. EDT

The Colorado Rockies managed to avoid a three-game sweep by their closest pursuer for the wild card. Now they'll try to widen their lead in that race against a team well out of playoff contention.

Colorado goes for its fifth straight win over the Arizona Diamondbacks when the NL West foes open a three-game set at Chase Field on Friday night.

After dropping the first two games of a series with San Francisco, the Rockies (83-64) regained a 3 1/2-game edge over the Giants for wild card with a 4-3 victory Wednesday.

"Three-and-a-half definitely sounds a lot better in your head than 1 1/2," first baseman Todd Helton said after Colorado snapped a four-game slide. "It was a big game tonight and we were able to get a win."

Jorge De La Rosa pitched eight scoreless innings with nine strikeouts and Rafael Betancourt earned his first save since being acquired in July.

Betancourt allowed two inherited runners to score in the ninth after an ineffective Franklin Morales gave up one run, but Betancourt managed to hold on.

"We had drama, obviously, in the ninth inning," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. "Maybe the save of his career. The start of a career and the save of a career."

Tracy will give the ball to Jason Marquis (15-11, 3.78 ERA) in the opener of this series.

In his first attempt at a career-high 16th win, Marquis allowed five runs in 5 2-3 innings of a 7-3 loss at San Diego on Sunday.

Marquis, 1-3 with a 6.00 ERA in his last four outings, is 0-4 with a 4.50 ERA in seven games at Chase Field. He lost 6-3 there April 20, giving up six runs and nine hits in five innings.

One of those hits was a solo homer by third baseman Mark Reynolds, who has batted .326 with six homers and 11 RBIs against Colorado this season.

Reynolds, second in the NL with 42 home runs, struck out four times in Wednesday's 6-5, 10-inning loss to the Padres to reach 200 for the second straight season. He set a major league record with 204 strikeouts in 2008.

"He's not an all-or-nothing guy," Arizona manager A.J. Hinch said. "It looks like that way sometimes; he'll have nights that it's like that. But over the course of his complete work, his complete season, he's been very productive in times where he's not hitting a home run and he's not striking out."

Diamondbacks right fielder Justin Upton looks to build on a career-high five-hit effort Wednesday when he was a homer shy of the cycle.

"If you're trying to hit a home run, you're probably not going to do it, so I was just letting things come to me," he said.

Upton has gone 5 for 42 against Colorado this season.

Kevin Mulvey (0-1, 9.00) makes his second career start Friday as Arizona (64-83) opens its final homestand of the season. The right-hander pitched four innings and allowed six runs and 11 hits in a 9-2 loss to Milwaukee on Saturday.

Colorado has taken nine of 15 from Arizona this season.