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Astros-Rockies Preview

Jun 10, 2010 - 5:36 AM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Houston (23-36) at Colorado (30-28), 3:10 p.m. EDT

If the Colorado Rockies are late into a tight game with the Houston Astros on Thursday, they might not want to turn to reliever Matt Belisle.

After seeing their normally solid bullpen falter in two straight losses because of Belisle, the Rockies look to salvage a split of a four-game set with the Houston Astros at Coors Field.

Colorado (30-29) features one of the top bullpens in baseball with a 3.31 ERA, but Belisle has suffered back-to-back losses. The reliever failed to protect a one-run lead in the eighth inning and was charged with a 4-3 loss Tuesday and yielded Carlos Lee's grand slam in the 10th on Wednesday in a 6-2 loss.

"No excuse," Belisle said. "Just didn't execute a pitch. Put it in a guy's wheelhouse at a bad time."

The Rockies bullpen entered this series having worked 13 2-3 scoreless innings in a row at home. It has allowed seven runs in 6 2-3 innings in this set - six by Belisle, who came into the series with 11 consecutive scoreless innings.

Belisle is not the only usually reliable Rockies player enduring a rough stretch.

Slumping Todd Helton was benched by manager Jim Tracy on Wednesday. Helton popped out as a pinch hitter and is mired in a 3-for-38 skid that has dropped the career .326 hitter to .239 this season.

Although Houston starter Roy Oswalt (3-8, 3.22 ERA) is one loss behind Pittsburgh's Charlie Morton for the most in the majors, the right-hander has excelled against Colorado in his career.

Oswalt is 7-2 in 11 outings against the Rockies with a 1.88 ERA - his lowest against any NL opponent - and 3-0 with a 2.17 ERA in four career starts at Coors Field.

One of those defeats, though, came May 20 as he gave up three runs over six innings and was outdueled by Ubaldo Jimenez in a 4-0 loss.

Oswalt allowed a season-high six runs over seven innings in an 8-5 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.

Houston (24-36) is playing possibly its best baseball of the year, winning seven of nine. That run has coincided with a surge by Lee, who is batting .325 with 13 RBIs during a 10-game hitting streak and made up for four hitless at-bats through nine innings Wednesday with his 15th career grand slam.

"He had hit the ball hard a couple times and hadn't gotten much for it and was getting a little frustrated," manager Brad Mills said. "I think he got all his frustration out on one swing."

Colorado rookie Jhoulys Chacin (3-4, 3.77) will face the Astros for the first time. He went 2-0 with 17 1-3 scoreless innings in his first two starts this year before going 1-4 with a 5.86 ERA in the last five.

Chacin pitched 5 2-3 innings and gave up four runs in a 4-3 loss at Arizona on Saturday.

The right-hander may want to pitch carefully to Rockies right fielder Brad Hawpe, who has seven hits in this series. Hawpe is batting .476 during a 17-game hitting streak against the Astros.