Rockies at Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks look to continue their recent dominance over the visiting Colorado Rockies on Wednesday afternoon, when they aim for a sweep of their three-game series. Arizona has won seven of its last eight meetings with Colorado, including five in a row at home.
Nick Ahmed homered, Eduardo Escobar drove in three runs and David Peralta recorded three hits in Tuesday’s 8-7 victory as Arizona moved a game over .500 and pulled within four of the second National League wild-card spot. Archie Bradley notched his sixth save but could be unavailable Wednesday after appearing in each of the Diamondbacks' last three games and five of their last seven. Colorado suffered its second straight loss following a four-game winning streak despite the play of Trevor Story, who went 4-for-4 with three RBIs. Nolan Arenado belted his 31st home run and has gone deep five times in his last six games for the Rockies, whose 20-game stretch without an off-day continues through Sept. 4.
TV: 3:40 p.m. ET, YouTube
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies RH Jon Gray (11-8, 3.84 ERA) vs. Diamondbacks RH Mike Leake (9-9, 4.64)
Gray turned in another strong outing on Friday, tossing eight scoreless innings with seven strikeouts while throwing 100 pitches in a 3-0 win over Miami. The 27-year-old Oklahoman has allowed three earned runs or fewer in five of his seven starts since the All-Star break. Peralta is 9-for-21 against Gray, who is 3-4 with a 4.77 ERA in 10 career starts versus Arizona – including a 3-2 record and 3.54 mark in five outings at Chase Field.
Leake struggled in his second straight start on Friday, giving up four runs over six innings in a no-decision against San Francisco. The 31-year-old is 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA in three turns since being acquired from Seattle at the July 31 trade deadline. Leake owns a 2-2 record and 4.86 ERA in six career starts versus Colorado and has struggled to contain Arenado (5-for-10, two home runs) and Ian Desmond (10-for-28).
WALK-OFFS
1. Escobar has collected six home runs and 20 RBIs in his last 16 games.
2. Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland exited Tuesday’s start in the sixth inning due to a groin strain and is expected to be placed on the injured list.
3. Arizona recalled INF Ildemaro Vargas from Triple-A Reno and optioned RHP Bo Takahashi to Double-A Jackson.