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DENVER -- Colorado Rockies starter Tyler Chatwood will have his first opportunity Monday to atone for his 2016 missteps at Coors Field.
He will face the San Diego Padres, who were forced to tinker with their rotation for the Monday series opener.
The Padres originally were scheduled to start Trevor Cahill. However, they put him on the 10-day disabled list Sunday, retroactive to Thursday, due to a strained back. Reliever Jarred Cosart will start in place of Cosart.
"He wanted to go, fought me relatively hard in the office today about wanting to be on the mound tomorrow, taking a ton of pride in making every one of his starts," Padres manager Andy Green told MLB.com on Sunday. "I just thought the prudent path was to slow it down for one start and give that start to Jarred Cosart."
Cosart is 0-1 with a 12.27 ERA in one start against the Rockies. In that outing last season on Sept. 18 at Coors Field, he gave up five runs on five hits and four walks in 3 2/3 innings.
Chatwood struggled in Denver last year, too. Overall, he was 12-9 with a 3.87 ERA, but at Coors Field, he finished 4-8 with a 6.12 ERA in 14 starts. By contrast, he went 8-1 with a 1.69 ERA in 13 road starts.
Chatwood said he knows he can succeed at Coors Field and has the statistics to prove it. Despite his trouble there last season, Chatwood is 14-12 with a 4.85 ERA at Coors Field in 36 games, 32 starts.
In nine career games, seven starts, against the Padres, Chatwood is 4-0 with a 4.23 ERA.
This season, Chatwood is 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA. He lost his first start 6-1 Wednesday at Milwaukee, where he allowed four runs on seven hits and one walk in six innings.
Cosart is 0-0 with a 27.00 ERA this season, having allowed two runs on one hit and three walks in two-thirds of an inning Thursday at Dodger Stadium while throwing just 11 of 26 pitches for strikes.
The Padres (3-4) dropped three of four at Dodger Stadium to open the season but began their home season by winning two of three from the San Francisco Giants.
The Rockies (5-2) activated long reliever Chris Rusin from the disabled list on Sunday, giving them a third left-hander in the bullpen to go along with Jake McGee and Mike Dunn. Rusin made his 2016 debut in a 10-6 loss to the Dodgers on Sunday, allowing one unearned run and four hits in two innings. He threw 35 pitches, so he likely won't come into play for at least one game and maybe two against the Padres.
Having three lefties in the bullpen "gives you options to get certain matchups that on a given night you might want to get to," Rockies manager Bud Black said. "Again, it all comes down to availability of the guys that night, and what you're looking for. I hate saying it, but every game is different based on what's happened the previous nights and how guys feel and how their stuff is and all that.
"But on a given night, you'd like to think with three lefties and five righties you can do some things on a matchup side that might give you an in-game advantage. And you hope it works out."
