Colorado Rockies game no. 28 thread: Germán Márquez vs Zac Gallen

Thanks to the late game heroics of Yonathan Daza and the offense, the Colorado Rockies have earned themselves a rubber match against the Arizona Diamondbacks. A win this afternoon means a third series win on the road and a second series win against a divisional foe to hang tough in the NL West race. The Rockies will need an offense that didn’t score a run in 16 ²⁄₃ innings before last night’s rally to come in hot and back up the pitching.

Toeing the rubber for the Rockies is Germán Márquez, who has been on a painful slide for the last four games. Márquez has an ERA of 6.92 through 26 innings pitched and has been frequently roughed up. Over his last four starts he’s given up at least seven hits and four earned runs in each game. His last time out against the Washington Nationals he allowed seven runs on ten hits, including two home runs. The Rockies need Márquez to be much sharper than he has been and to locate his fastball well.

On the bump for the Diamondbacks is right-handed pitcher Zac Gallen. Gallen is off to a very strong start in the desert with a 1.27 ERA through 21 ¹⁄₃ innings. The Rockies have historically struggled against Gallen, who has held them to a slash of .266/.329/.364 in seven starts and 40 innings. Gallen has a career ERA of 2.48 against the Rockies with 50 strikeouts. Though he throws the hardest of any Diamondbacks starter we’ve seen during this series, Gallen is another one of Arizona’s dangerous finesse pitchers. He relies on a four seam fastball averaging 94.1 mph, a cutter, and his two most dangerous pitches: a 12-6 curveball and a changeup.

First Pitch: 2:10 PM MDT

TV: AT&T Sports Net Rocky Mountain; MLB.tv

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

Lineups:

Roster notes: Following last night’s game, the Rockies optioned RHP Justin Lawrence to Triple-A Albuquerque and recalled LHP Lucas Gilbreath. Lawrence has been a solid contributor from the pen so far this season, but the Rockies needed another left-handed pitcher in the mix.