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Jun 24, 2010 - 6:15 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Boston (43-29) at Colorado (37-33), 8:40 p.m. EDT

Jason Hammel claims a stint on the disabled list gave him a chance to regroup. A career-best scoreless streak is proving he's done more than that.

Hammel looks for another dominant performance Thursday night in order to help the Rockies complete a three-game series sweep of the Boston Red Sox at Coors Field.

Hammel (5-3, 4.03) landed on the DL with a groin injury in April after opening the season with an 0-2 record and 9.16 ERA through four starts. The right-hander is 5-1 with a 2.05 ERA in seven outings since returning, giving him half of his career-best win total from last year and providing the Rockies (38-33) another big arm to go with ace Ubaldo Jimenez.

Hammel has been particularly outstanding in his last five outings, going 4-0 with a 0.78 ERA. He credits his trip to the DL as a major reason for his turnaround.

"With the DL time, I was able to completely get back to what I'm comfortable doing," Hammel told the Rockies' official website. "For some reason, things happen, and fluke-ish things happen and you get away from what's comfortable or try to do too much. I've just got back to being Jason Hammel."

Hammel's is currently riding a streak of 25 1-3 scoreless innings - a run of dominance coming on the heels of Jimenez's club-record 33-inning scoreless streak May 15-June 6. He scattered eight hits in 7 1-3 innings of a 2-0 win over Milwaukee on Friday.

"If this is the guy he's becoming and who he is becoming," manager Jim Tracy said, "this guy can go onward and upward very quickly."

Hammel is 0-2 with a 5.50 ERA in eight career games - two starts - against the Red Sox (43-30), but can now help the Rockies beat them for a fifth consecutive time in the regular season.

Jason Giambi put Colorado in position to record its first sweep of Boston, connecting for a two-run, walkoff homer against closer Jonathan Papelbon in Wednesday's 8-6 win.

"Pap in the ninth with the lead? We figured that should be enough," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said of his closer, who also served up a game-tying homer to Ian Stewart to start the ninth. "Papelbon tried to elevate and it got away and ... Wow!"

The bullpen has plagued the Red Sox during their four-game road losing streak, posting an 0-2 record and 17.18 ERA.

The impending return of Daisuke Matsuzaka (5-2, 4.59) from a right forearm strain could lighten the load on the relief corps.

The right-hander, who was scratched from his last scheduled start June 12 and landed on the disabled list, was 3-1 with a 1.98 ERA in his last four starts prior to the injury.

Matsuzaka's only start against the Rockies came at Coors Field in Game 3 of the 2007 World Series, as he allowed two runs and three hits in 5 1-3 innings to earn the win and set the stage for a Boston sweep.