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Padres head into final series against Rockies Friday
The San Diego Padres' offense has been one of the worst in baseball this year - except when they play the Colorado Rockies.
San Diego hopes that trend continues against Colorado on Friday night at Coors Field.
The Padres (69-78) have hit .220 while dropping nine of 13, though they took two of three in Arizona earlier this week. They're looking to reignite their offense in their final series with the Rockies, against whom they're 11-5.
San Diego has averaged 6.1 runs with a .824 OPS in the season series compared to 3.9 and .626 in all other games. On the season, the team's .686 OPS ranks 28th.
It's not just a case of the Padres exploiting Coors Field, as they've posted a .835 OPS at Petco Park against Colorado compared to a .809 mark over their seven games in Denver.
Derek Norris, who is hitting .244 overall, is batting .421 with 11 RBIs in 15 games against the Rockies. His OPS is at just .573 over his last 17 games, with six of his 12 hits in that span coming in these teams' four-game series earlier this month.
Matt Kemp has 19 RBIs while playing in each game against Colorado, homering six times in the last nine, while four of Jedd Gyorko's 14 home runs have come in the season series.
While the Padres are almost assured to miss the postseason for a ninth straight year, Colorado (61-85) will miss out for a sixth straight season.
The Rockies are returning from a 5-5 trip in which they hit .187 with 105 strikeouts and were two-hit Wednesday in a 2-0 defeat to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Ian Kennedy (8-14, 4.28 ERA) gets the nod for San Diego, having gone 0-7 with a 1.3 run-support average in his last eight road starts. He received no support in his last outing but didn't give himself much of a chance either, surrendering seven runs over 4 2-3 innings in an 8-0 loss at San Francisco on Saturday.
Kennedy, whose two strikeouts matched a season-low, only allowed one hit through 3 2-3 innings before unraveling.
"It kind of snowballed on him," interim manager Pat Murphy told MLB's official website.
Kennedy is 6-6 with a 2.96 ERA in 21 starts against Colorado, including a 1-2 record in three matchups this year. He's struck out 40 over 30 2-3 innings in his last five meetings.
Conversely, Chad Bettis (7-5, 4.59) comes off one of his best starts of the year for the Rockies, limiting Seattle to three hits over seven innings in a 4-2 victory last Friday, his fourth outing since returning from the disabled list.
Bettis, who gave up three runs over six innings in Colorado's 5-4 loss at San Diego on July 18, is 1-2 with a 10.13 ERA in his last four home outings.
Colorado's DJ LeMahieu is hitting .400 in 25 at-bats against Kennedy, while Gonzalez is at .143 with 15 strikeouts in 35 at-bats. Gonzalez, who batted .147 on the Rockies' trip, was limited to one pinch-hit at-bat Wednesday. He left in the 16th inning of Tuesday's win after fouling a pitch off his foot.
