Pirates at Rockies
Few teams are as eager to turn the calendar as the Colorado Rockies, who have lost 11 of their last 13 and fallen a season-worst 19 games under .500. Colorado looks to avoid a four-game sweep on Sunday against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates, who recorded 17 hits in Saturday’s 11-4 victory.
Josh Bell, Kevin Newman and Jose Osuna each homered in the victory and Colin Moran extended his hitting streak to 11 games as Pittsburgh won for the seventh time in its last nine contests. Bryan Reynolds added three hits and three RBIs while Jacob Stallings and Adam Frazier were a combined 5-for-9 with four runs scored at the bottom of the order for the Pirates. Colorado finished 9-19 in August while allowing 56 home runs with a team ERA of 6.36 ERA, which is the worst August mark in franchise history. One of the few bright spots has been the play of Ryan McMahon, who hit his 12th home run since the All-Star break on Saturday.
TV: 3:10 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet (Pittsburgh), AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Colorado)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates LH Steven Brault (3-3, 4.06 ERA) vs. Rockies RH Jeff Hoffman (1-4, 7.81)
Brault received a no-decision last Tuesday after allowing three runs over five innings against Philadelphia. The 27-year-old native Californian has gone 2-2 with a 3.55 ERA in 14 starts this season and surrendered just three home runs over 72 1/3 innings in his last 14 appearances. Brault is 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA in two career games (one start) versus Colorado and owns a 3-0 record and 4.50 ERA in 10 appearances (seven starts) on the road this season.
Hoffman is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque to make a spot start with both Kyle Freeland and Jon Gray on the injured list. The former first-round draft pick has had a disappointing campaign at the major league level with a 43-to-18 strikeout-to-walk ratio over nine starts covering 40 1/3 innings. Hoffman pitched two scoreless innings and threw 29 pitches while starting for the Isotopes on Wednesday.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Pirates are 14-4 in their last 18 games at Coors Field dating back to July 27, 2014.
2. Colorado 1B Daniel Murphy snapped a 30-game homer drought with a solo blast on Saturday.
3. Pittsburgh OF Starling Marte is 16-for-43 with one home run and five RBIs during his 10-game hitting streak.