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Rockies face Tigers in start of nine-game homestand (Aug 28, 2017)
DENVER -- The Colorado Rockies begin their longest homestand of the second half of the season Monday when they play the Detroit Tigers. The three-game series will conclude interleague play this year for both clubs.
The Rockies are 9-8 against the American League and in search of their first winning interleague record since 2011 (8-7). The Tigers are 6-11 in interleague games.
The Monday starters will be Antonio Senzatela (10-4, 4.52 ERA) for Colorado and Jordan Zimmermann (7-11, 6.11) for Detroit.
Zimmermann is 6-0 with a 2.48 ERA in 10 career starts against the Rockies, whom he last faced Aug. 18, 2015, while pitching for Washington. He is 3-0 with a 4.23 ERA in five starts at Coors Field.
Colorado, which will begin a nine-game, 10-day homestand that also includes series with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Francisco Giants, is coming off a 3-3 road trip thanks to victories Saturday and Sunday at Atlanta. By taking two of three from the Braves, they won a road series for the first time since winning two of three at Washington on July 29-30.
The Rockies (71-59) won consecutive games for the first time since they won three straight Aug. 3-5.
On their six-game trip, the Rockies produced a total of 21 runs, only once scored more than four runs in one game and went 7-for-41 (.171) with runners in scoring position. But Colorado starting pitchers went 1-2 with a 3.89 ERA on the trip, and the relievers, with the exception of struggling Greg Holland, combined to pitch 16 scoreless innings. Moreover, the Rockies are 38-25 at Coors Field.
Colorado, a loser in five of its past eight games and 12 of its past 19, is 1 1/2 games behind Arizona in the race for the top National League wild card. The Rockies lead the Milwaukee Brewers by 3 1/2 games and the Miami Marlins by 4 1/2 games in the hunt for the second wild-card spot.
"We've kind of got this little dog-days-of-summer funk out of the way, and we're getting to September," Rockies first baseman Mark Reynolds said Sunday after his two-run homer helped beat the Braves 3-0. "Get some crisp air, hit some homers and let them boys go out there and pitch."
The Rockies, who are 11-13 in August, will need to sweep Detroit to avoid their first losing month of the season. Colorado is 14-13 against the Tigers, whom they haven't played since 2014. The teams last played in Coors Field in 2011.
Senzatela, who has never faced the Tigers, went back in the rotation Wednesday at Kansas City and didn't figure in the decision. He gave nine hits and two runs in five innings with one walk and two strikeouts in Colorado's 6-4 loss.
It was the first start since Aug. 9 for Senzatela, who took the turn after Jeff Hoffman was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque. The Rockies are 12-7 in starts by Senzatela.
The Tigers (56-73) are 9-16 this season in starts by Zimmermann, who is 0-2 with a 13.83 ERA in his past three starts. In that span, he has yielded 27 hits and 21 runs in 13 2/3 innings with four walks and six strikeouts.
Detroit went 1-2 against the White Sox in Chicago over the weekend to start a six-game road trip that ends at Colorado. The Tigers have lost nine of their past 10 road games, leaving them 25-41 away from home.
The Tigers are awaiting more news on designated hitter Victor Martinez, whom they placed on the 10-day disabled list Sunday after he developed a rapid heartbeat following his final at-bat Saturday night.
It is the second time in three months that Martinez has experienced atrial fibrillation. Doctors were able to regulate Martinez's heartbeat, but he was kept in a Chicago hospital Saturday night. He was due to be driven back to Detroit on Sunday.
"You don't mess around with the heart," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said before Detroit lost 7-1 to the White Sox on Sunday. "That's just obvious. We're not talking about a sprained ankle or something minor like that. This is something you take very serious, because it could be life-threatening, and that's what we're going to do."
