The Rockies have inauspisciously collected eight straight wins and 10 of 11, but of the three games this weekend, this one should prove most difficult.
Naturally, the storyline is Esmil Rogers, who will be making his MLB debut in his fourth season afer converting from shortstop. Rogers started the season as a #12 PuRP and vaulted himself into the top five with fifteen sterling starts in AA, paving the way for his promotion to AAA before Jhoulys Chacin or Texas League Pitcher of the Year Samuel Deduno.
There, his season completely fell apart, as he went 3-5 with a 7.42 ERA, due in part to skyrocketing walk rates and a .366 BABIP (.434 at home). If he can avoid a Chacin debut and just throw strikes in PetCo, he should be fine
He will be opposed by Tim Stauffer, whose name yields a rather unfortunate anagram. He has been a nice little surprise for Bud Black, allowing more than three runs only twice in eleven starts (and he allowed four in both of them). His stuff is nothing spectacular though, and he's dealt with pitch count issues, going past the fifth inning just twice in the last seven starts. But while patience could yield results, the key could be striking early and taking the lead (if this team is capable of it still), so that Esmil Rogers can pitch with more confidence.
