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Rockies eye another win in Arizona

Jun 5, 2012 - 2:51 PM (Sports Network) - Colorado right-hander Jeremy Guthrie makes his first career start against the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight when the Rockies play the middle test of a three-game set at Chase Field.

A veteran of 185 major-league appearances with three teams, Guthrie was drafted by the Cleveland Indians and played there through 2006, was selected off waivers by the Baltimore and stayed through 2011, then came to Colorado in a Feb. 6 deal.

He lost three of his initial five decisions in the National League, but got back to .500 in his last start on May 31 after scattering 12 hits and allowing five runs in seven innings of an 11-5 defeat of Houston.

He is 2-1 in four road starts this spring with a 2.22 earned run average.

The Rockies broke out on top of the series on Monday, when starter Christian Friedrich tossed seven shutout innings on the way to a 4-0 victory.

Friedrich (4-1) scattered four hits and fanned four while issuing just two walks to earn the win. Matt Belisle worked a scoreless eighth and Adam Ottavino closed it out in the ninth.

"For a young kid where it wasn't quite right early on, it's a really good sign and it's really good to see," Colorado manager Jim Tracy said.

Wilin Rosario went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and two RBI and Marco Scutaro added an RBI on a sacrifice fly for the Rockies, who have won seven of eight.

Aaron Hill, Paul Goldschmidt and Gerardo Parra ripped doubles for the Diamondbacks, but they were unable to push across a run as their modest two- game winning streak came to an end.

Joe Saunders (3-4) allowed four runs - three earned - on 11 hits and one walk while striking out three over 6 2/3 innings in the loss.

Arizona sends righty Ian Kennedy to the mound for his 12th start of the season.

The former first-round pick of the New York Yankees has struggled to find the formula that provided a breakout season in 2011 - when he went 21-4 in 33 starts and posted a 2.88 ERA across a career-high 222 innings.

He was fourth in the National League's Cy Young Award voting, trailing only Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay and eventual winner Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The California native opened 2012 with three victories in four starts, but fell below .500 with a five-start losing streak that stretched from May 3-25 and saw his ERA swell from 3.38 to 4.65.

He ended the skid in his last start in San Francisco, tossing 7 2/3 innings of five-hit, one-run ball in a 4-1 defeat of the Giants.

Kennedy is 1-1 in eight starts against Colorado and 2-2 in five home starts this season.

The Rockies have won four of six over the Diamondbacks so far this season and the clubs are meeting for the first time in Arizona this year. The D-Backs won seven of nine at home over the Rockies in 2011.