Game Preview: Chad Bettis looks for first MLB win

I talked about Chad Bettis, in today's Rockpile, being one of the most interesting aspects remaining in the Colorado Rockies 2013 season.  His pitching has shown flashes of brilliance from pitch to pitch. His fastball has a lot of life and plus velocity, and his slider, when thrown well, is a nasty pitch.

Unfortunately, he spent too much of his first start in Atlanta and the first inning in New York, letting both pitches flatten out and hang in the middle of the plate. He showed great fortitude in regrouping after giving up two-runs in the first inning against the Mets and allowing only one more hit his final four innings pitched. Bettis showed that when his pitches are well located he can be very tough to hit.

The young righty is an interesting project for the Rockies moving forward and the front office and others are surely watching him closely to see how he factors into the future plans. There are some (and I am in this category) who believe he can and will be a useful, maybe even dominant, relief pitcher at some point. Still, you don't want to give up on the possibility that he could be a solid starter as there is always a need for more starting pitching in Colorado.

It'll be very interesting to see his first reactions to pitching at Coors Field.

The Pirates will throw Jeff Locke who is having a great season but has been slightly more hittable in his last three starts giving up 27 hits and 10 walks in 16 1/3 innings. This suggests the Rockies offense will need to be patient, so, well, we will see how that goes.

In a related story, I'm ready for Tulo to get really hot. Who's with me?

2:10 start time. It's another beautiful day for baseball.