Rockies at Phillies
The National League East-leading Philadelphia Phillies rebounded from a rough three days with a big victory and attempt to clinch a series victory when they host the Colorado Rockies on Saturday afternoon. The Phillies were outscored 22-6 in three straight losses to Milwaukee before getting key hits from Andrew McCutchen and Bryce Harper to pull out a 5-4 victory over the Rockies on Friday.
McCutchen homered and Harper was just 4-for-27 over an eight-game stretch without an RBI before Friday, but his two-run double in the fifth inning gave Philadelphia the cushion it needed to beat Colorado for just the second time in the last nine meetings. The Phillies will send ace Aaron Nola, who struck out a season-high nine against the Rockies earlier this season, to the mound against fellow right-hander Antonio Senzatela in a rematch of Philadelphia’s 8-5 victory on April 20 in Denver. Ian Desmond belted a two-run homer Friday to pull Colorado within one in the sixth inning, but the Rockies did not manage another baserunner the rest of the contest as they began a six-game run in the state of Pennsylvania. Nolan Arenado had a hit for Colorado on Friday and is 22-for-55 this month with five homers, while teammate Charlie Blackmon has hit safely in 23 of his last 25 contests and owns 10 career homers against the Phillies - tied for the most against any non-division team.
TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network, AT&T SportsNet - Rocky Mountain (Colorado), NBCS Philadelphia
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies RH Antonio Senzatela (3-2, 5.35 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Aaron Nola (3-0, 4.86)
Senzatela has allowed three or fewer runs in four of his six starts this season, including Sunday when he held San Diego to three across 6 2/3 innings to earn a win. The 24-year-old Venezuelan has been much better on the road (2-0, 3.31 ERA) than at home (1-2, 7.27) in the early going. Maikel Franco is 2-for-3 with a triple versus Senzatela, who gave up four runs on seven hits over six innings of the loss to Philadelphia last month.
Nola has not pitched as well overall as he did last year (17-6, 2.37 ERA), but the 25-year-old is receiving strong run support to remain unbeaten. The LSU product, who owns three quality starts in nine outings, gave up three runs over just three innings Monday in a 7-4 victory over Milwaukee. Blackmon is 6-for-10 with a homer and three doubles against Nola, who is 2-0 with a 2.79 ERA in three career starts versus Colorado after permitting three runs - two homers - over 5 2/3 innings last month.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Rockies activated LHP Jake McGee (knee) for the first time since early April and sent RHP DJ Johnson to Triple-A Albuquerque.
2. Philadelphia SS Jean Segura had three hits Friday and is 13-for-34 during his current eight-game hitting streak.
3. Colorado 2B/SS Brendan Rodgers, the third pick in the 2015 draft, was 0-for-4 with an RBI in his major league debut Friday.