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Brewers-Rockies Preview

Jun 17, 2010 - 11:42 PM By BRETT HUSTON STATS Writer

Milwaukee (28-38) at Colorado (33-32), 9:10 p.m. EDT

The Colorado Rockies know by now what they're getting every fifth day from ace Ubaldo Jimenez, who's having one of the best first halves in baseball history.

They're starting to get a similar idea about what to expect from Jason Hammel.

The man that follows Jimenez in the rotation has the majors' longest active scoreless streak for a starter, and Hammel will be seeking his third straight victory in Friday's series opener against the visiting Milwaukee Brewers.

Jimenez already owns scoreless streaks of 33 and 25 1-3 innings, with the former the longest in the majors this season. He gave up one run in eight innings Thursday afternoon in Colorado's 5-1 victory at Minnesota, where the right-hander became the second pitcher in the last 80 years to win 13 of his first 14 starts.

"What a performance, again," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said.

Colorado (34-32) is only two games above .500 despite Jimenez's dominance, but it may have found a solid No. 2 pitcher behind the ace. Hammel (4-3, 4.53 ERA) is 3-0 with a 0.99 ERA in his last four starts, and he extended his scoreless streak to 18 by holding Toronto to three hits over eight innings in Saturday's 1-0 victory.

"Ubaldo's setting a pretty high bar, and we're all just trying to keep up," said Hammel, who was 0-2 with a 9.16 ERA in his first four starts. "... It really does help to have somebody at the front setting the bar, because everybody else wants to continue that good feeling."

Hammel is 4-1 with a 3.35 ERA in six starts at Coors Field.

He's 2-0 with a 4.91 ERA in two starts against Milwaukee (28-28), but he'll have to be careful against a Brewers lineup that thrives away from home. Milwaukee's .268 average and 44 homers on the road are both NL bests.

The Brewers' bats were hot Monday and Tuesday in Anaheim, piling up 19 runs and 24 hits in a pair of routs against the Los Angeles Angels. They couldn't get anything going in Wednesday's finale against Joel Pineiro, however, managing three hits in a 5-1 defeat.

Milwaukee hands the ball to Manny Parra (1-4, 4.04), who's coming off arguably his best performance since joining the rotation late last month. Parra gave up two first-inning runs but only allowed one more, lasting six innings Saturday in a 4-3 loss to Texas.

"I was efficient with my pitches, and I thought I gave us a chance to win," Parra told the Brewers' official website. "... That's the benefit of being a starting pitcher, you can give up a couple runs early and still turn it into a positive."

Parra has made one disastrous start against Colorado. The left-hander allowed six hits, five walks and five runs over 2 2-3 innings in a 9-2 loss at Coors Field on Oct. 1.

Troy Tulowitzki had two hits off Parra that day, but Parra may not have to worry about facing the Rockies shortstop after Tulowitzki left Thursday's game in the eighth inning after being hit in the left wrist. A preliminary X-ray revealed no break, but Tulowitzki will be re-examined Friday.

"It's just a normal, getting-hit-by-a-pitch soreness, so hopefully it's nothing more than that," said Tulowitzki, a career .456 hitter with five homers in 15 games against Milwaukee. "We'll see how it feels (Friday)."