Red Sox at Rockies
Time is running out for the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox, who visit the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday in the opener of a two-game interleague series. Boston is 7-3 in its last 10 contests after taking two of three in San Diego over the weekend but sits six games behind Tampa Bay and Oakland for the final American League wild card spot with 30 to play.
“Got a long ways to go,” Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. told reporters. “I’m not saying the amount of games, but I’m saying for us as a whole. We feel like we’re not where we want to be. All we can do is control what we can control and continue to play hard, compete and win ballgames and see where we lie at the end.” Boston's J.D. Martinez (.312, 31 home runs, 83 RBIs this season) went 5-for-11 with three homers and eight RBIs in the Padres series and is batting .327 with 13 HRs and 35 RBIs since the All-Star break. Colorado on Monday bounced back from getting swept in a four-game series at St. Louis over the weekend by defeating Atlanta 3-1 on a two-run walk-off homer by Ryan McMahon in a game originally scheduled April 10 that was snowed out. Red Sox right-hander Rick Porcello on Tuesday makes his second career start at Coors Field - the first did not go well - and faces Rico Garcia, who makes his major league debut after German Marquez was placed on the 10-day injured list Monday with right shoulder inflammation.
TV: 8:40 p.m. ET, NESN (Boston), AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Colorado)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox RH Rick Porcello (11-10, 5.49 ERA) vs. Rockies RH Rico Garcia (NR)
Porcello allowed three runs, three hits and four walks with three strikeouts over five innings of an 5-2 loss to Philadelphia on Wednesday. The 30-year-old New Jersey native is 2-3 in his last five starts, defeating Baltimore and Kansas City, since winning four straight games. Colorado's Daniel Murphy is 5-for-9 with a home run, double and four RBIs versus Porcello, who is 2-1 with a 4.76 ERA in three starts versus the Rockies - losing his only game in Denver when he yielded nine runs (six earned) in three innings of a 13-6 loss June 17, 2011 while with Detroit.
Garcia was scratched from his scheduled start with Triple-A Albuquerque on Monday. The 25-year-old Hawaiian was 10-6 with a 4.23 ERA in 25 games between Double-A Hartford and Albuquerque with 132 strikeouts in 123 1/3 innings. Right-hander Joe Harvey and lefty Phillip Diehl were recalled from Albuquerque on Monday to replace Marquez and outfielder Raimel Tapia (hand), giving the Rockies 14 pitchers before Garcia officially joins the club Tuesday.
WALK-OFFS
1. Boston LF Andrew Benintendi is day-to-day after leaving Saturday's game with tightness in his left side and missing Sunday's contest.
2. Colorado RF Charlie Blackmon is hitless in his last four games (0-for-14) - tying the longest stretch of his career, but hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning Monday to make it 1-0.
3. The clubs split a two-game set at Fenway Park in May with both contests going extra innings.