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Rockies-Diamondbacks Preview

Jul 3, 2015 - 6:31 AM Chase Anderson and Kyle Kendrick met in Colorado less than two weeks ago and the results were memorable - for the six players who hit home runs off the starting pitchers.

Ballhawks beware: The two share the mound again Friday night in Arizona as the Diamondbacks try to take the first two of a four-game set.

After Thursday's 8-1 win, the Diamondbacks (38-41) have taken six of nine in the season series while scoring 7.6 runs per game with a .338 average.

Paul Goldschmidt is batting .433 in his last 26 games against the Rockies, David Peralta is hitting .407 in the season series and A.J. Pollock is 11 for 26 in the last six meetings.

The Rockies (34-45) seem entirely incapable of keeping up with that given they've scored five runs in four games and are batting .201 in a 1-5 span. Carlos Gonzalez is in a 3-for-24 slump and 3-for-22 rut against Arizona, but Troy Tulowitzki remains on a career-best 15-game hitting streak while reaching base in a career-best 30 straight.

Anderson (4-2, 3.66 ERA) earned the decision in Sunday's 6-4 win in San Diego, but he allowed four runs and five hits in seven innings. Three of those were home runs, and six of the 13 hits he's allowed in the last two games have left the yard. The right-hander had given up three home runs in 79 1-3 innings over his first 13 starts.

"I feel like it was just six bad pitches in the last two outings," Anderson told MLB's official website. "I've just got to learn from the mistakes I made because I know I can pitch at this level and we have a good defense, I need to utilize those guys more than I have."

The first of those came in a 10-5 loss in Colorado on June 23 with Anderson giving up a career-high eight runs in 4 2-3 innings. It dropped him to 3-3 with a 6.00 ERA in six starts against the Rockies with three straight losses and an 11.40 ERA.

Wilin Rosario (6 for 8 with a home run), Tulowitzki (3 for 8 with a home run) and Nolan Arenado (3 for 11 with two home runs) have done the most damage.

Even with all the recent struggles, Anderson's ERA isn't two-thirds of Kendrick's.

Kendrick (3-10, 6.07) is a loss off the major league lead and finds himself back as one of three qualifying pitchers with an ERA over 6.00 after giving up five runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings of Sunday's 6-3 loss in San Francisco.

It followed a victory over Anderson in which he gave up four runs and eight hits - three homers - in six innings. Unlike Anderson, Kendrick can't call it an anomaly. The right-hander has surrendered seven in three starts and 23 for the season, which leads the majors by four. His rate of 2.15 per nine innings is on pace to be the highest since Jose Lima gave up 2.20 in 2000 for Houston.

When he faced the Diamondbacks on April 28, Kendrick matched a career high by allowing eight runs and 10 hits in 4 1-3 innings of a 12-5 defeat at Chase Field to fall to 0-2 with an 8.88 ERA in five career starts at the park.

Aaron Hill (8 for 17), Peralta (4 for 9 with a home run), Pollock (4 for 9 with a home run), Welington Castillo (4 for 10 with a home run) and Goldschmidt (4 for 10) have all hit him well.