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Rockies welcome D'backs to snowy Coors

Apr 4, 2014 - 1:22 PM (SportsNetwork.com)- Although it may not feel quite like baseball season in Colorado, the Rockies are ready for their home opener Friday as they take on the Arizona Diamondbacks at Coors Field.

The weather was no concern for the Rockies earlier this week when they opened the season in Miami, however they dropped three of four against the Marlins and gave up plenty of runs in the process. Meanwhile, Denver got hit with snow on Thursday, but Friday's forecast called for temperatures in the 50s.

"I know it's going to be cold, so I'm already set mentally. If it's warm, it's a gift for us," center fielder Carlos Gonzalez said. "But I always get mentally prepared for that. I know there are going to be some cold games there. Night games, especially, are really hard. But that's what we have and what we have to deal with."

The Diamondbacks opened their season with a pair of losses to the Los Angeles Dodgers a few weeks ago in Australia, then lost three of four at San Francisco. First basemen Paul Goldschmidt extended his hitting streak to 25 games, but the pitching has left much to be desired.

In fact, pitching has been a concern for both of these teams in the early going. The D-backs gave up 23 runs in the four-game set with San Francisco, and none of their four starters made it past the seventh inning in that series.

"(Starting pitching) is important," manager Kirk Gibson said. "We've got to get to the point where our starters are eating innings in general. "We have an extra pitcher now, and when Cody (Ross) comes back, we're probably going to have to go back to a regular amount of pitchers. So we're going to need more contributions by then."

Gibson will turn to right-hander Randall Delgado, who won the fifth starter's job after going 5-7 with a 4.26 ERA in 20 games last season (19 starts). He came out of the bullpen to record a pair of outs against the Dodgers on March 23.

Colorado's rotation is minus two members with Jhoulys Chacin and Tyler Chatwood on the disabled list, and the rotation entered Friday with a collective 6.53 ERA. Rockies manager Walt Weiss pegged righty Juan Nicasio for the home opener over southpaw Franklin Morales because of Nicasio's experience inside Coors Field. However, Nicasio has an 8.05 career ERA against the D' backs, and he had an 8.06 ERA over his final six starts of last season.

Still, the Rockies are happy to be home.

"It's good to get home. I like the weather [in Miami] a lot better, so that'll be a shock," Weiss said. "I got a text this morning, a picture out the window, and there was a lot of snow at our place. But it'll be a great atmosphere and we play well at home. I look forward to it."

Arizona went 12-7 against Colorado last season.