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Red-hot Rockies continue series with Cubs

Apr 16, 2011 - 2:55 PM (Sports Network) - Right-hander Jason Hammel takes another step toward a third straight 10-win season tonight when the streaking Colorado Rockies host the Chicago Cubs in the middle test of a three-game series at Coors Field.

On Friday, Jhoulys Chacin threw 114 pitches to record his first major league shutout, as the Rockies picked up their seventh win in a row, 5-0.

Chacin (3-0) allowed six hits with seven strikeouts and yielded two walks as the Rockies continued their impressive start to the season, moving to a major league-best 11-2.

Colorado's offense gave him support early, plating four runs on a Chris Iannetta triple in the second, in which Iannetta scored thanks to a Cubs throwing error.

Matt Garza (0-2) took the loss for allowing five runs on seven hits while striking out five. Aramis Ramirez finished 3-for-4 with a double in the loss, Chicago's fourth in six games.

The Rockies have won six straight as the host in this series.

Hammel, a 2002 draft choice of Tampa Bay, came to Colorado prior to the 2009 season and went 10-8 with a 4.33 earned run average in his initial National League stint - making 30 starts in 34 appearances.

He was 10-9 a season later in another 30 starts, allowing 201 hits and striking out 141 batters in 177 2/3 innings.

Hammel's gotten 2011 under way with a win and a no-decision in two starts, allowing 12 hits and six earned runs in 11 innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets.

The 28-year-old is 1-0 in two lifetime starts against Chicago with a 5.11 ERA in 12 1/3 innings.

He's opposed by 23-year-old youngster Casey Coleman, who's making his second start of the season during a rotation stint prompted by multiple injuries to the Cubs' starting staff.

The Fort Myers, Fla. native reached the big leagues and appeared in 12 games at the end of 2010, going 4-2 with a 4.11 ERA across 57 innings with 27 strikeouts.

He debuted for 2011 on April 10 at Milwaukee and allowed nine hits and four runs in five innings while picking up a no-decision in a game the Cubs lost, 6-5.

Coleman, who attended fledging Florida Gulf Coast University, has never faced the Rockies.