• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Rockies aim for sweep of Cubs

Sep 27, 2012 - 1:56 PM (Sports Network) - Venezuelan right-hander Jhoulys Chacin can follow a teammate's gem with one of his own Thursday when the Colorado Rockies host the Chicago Cubs to wrap up a three-game series at Coors Field.

The Rockies made it two straight in the series behind the mound work of Drew Pomeranz on Wednesday on the way to a 6-0 win.

Pomeranz (2-9) hurled five scoreless innings of three-hit ball and struck out three while also walking three to earn his first victory since July 6, snapping a 14-start winless drought in the process.

"He threw strikes down in the zone. He threw strike one, and as a result of throwing strike one and sending that message, he got himself a couple of first-pitch outs," Colorado manager Jim Tracy said.

Charlie Blackmon belted a solo home run and Chris Nelson added a two-run single for the Rockies, who have won three straight games after dropping nine in a row.

Jason Berken (0-2) was pegged with the loss after giving up all six runs on nine hits and two walks over four innings.

"Everything was belt high, not much of a breaking ball at all. He was in a fist fight right from the beginning," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said.

Dave Sappelt registered two of Chicago's five hits, as the Cubs lost their fourth straight game.

The Cubs took two of three over the Rockies at home from Aug. 24-26.

Chacin is winless himself in four starts since Sept. 1, when he beat the San Diego Padres, 9-1, with seven innings of seven-hit ball with four strikeouts.

In four outings since, he's 0-1 with three no-decisions while allowing nine runs on 25 hits in 16 1/3 innings.

The 24-year-old has faced the Cubs five times in his career, with the most recent coming Aug. 26 at Wrigley Field, where he dropped a 5-0 verdict after surrendering a run on five hits in five innings.

He's 1-3 in those five lifetime meetings with a 3.71 earned run average across 26 2/3 innings.

For the Cubs, righty Chris Volstad can continue a hot streak that began in late August.

The 26-year-old was 0-9 in this season after a 10-1 loss to Houston on Aug. 14, but has since won three of four decisions in seven starts while dropping his ERA slightly from 6.96 to 6.22.

He was a 5-0 winner over Chacin and the Rockies on Aug. 26 after tossing 6 2/3 scoreless innings of three-hit ball to even his career record against them at 3-3 in six meetings.

Volstad is 1-5 in eight road starts in 2012.