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Storylines heading into tonight....
1) With a win tonight, the Rockies can clinch both a series win against the D'Backs and a winning road trip as they've already taken two of three against the Dodgers over the weekend.
2) Tyler Chatwood takes the mound tonight for the Rockies after a terrible outing in Coors last time out against the Giants in which he struggled to find the plate. He did manage to get through six innings of work, but he had anything but his best stuff.
After Franklin Morales only got through five innings last night, a strong outing from Chatwood would not only be good for a win, but it would also help rest the bullpen as the Rockies work the a 17 stretch without an off day.
3) D'Backs' rookie Mike Bolsinger will be making only his third major league start and first at home. So far the results have been mixed. In his first outing against the Dodgers, he gave up six earned runs in four innings, but last time out against the Cubs, he struck out seven in 6.2 innings of scoreless work. What we'll see from Bolsinger tonight is a big mystery.
4) The Rockies have loaded their lineup with left handed hitters against Bolsinger despite there not being a huge split against him in the minor leagues. In any case, Charlie Blackmon, Carlos Gonzalez, Justin Morneau, and Corey Dickerson will all be in there tonight.
Also of note, for just the second time all season, DJ LeMahieu will bat second. The other game LeMahieu batted second was also against the D'Backs, and the Rockies scored nine runs. So hopefully we'll see something like that again.
The other obvious nugget when looking at the lineup is that Wilin Rosario is still not in it, although right now it sounds like he's improving and will avoid the DL. For now though, fans will have to deal with Jordan Pacheco for at least one more night.
5) Nolan Arenado may be known for his glove, but he also carries an 18 game hitting streak into tonight's contest. We'll see if he can extend it.
6) Troy Tulowitzki's best month by OPS (minimum 50 plate appearances) is September of 2010 when included a stretch in which he hit 14 home runs in a 15 games. With two games left in April, Tulo's OPS currently sits at 1.196, so he's got a good chance to achieve a personal best month here. Last night, he went 3-3 with two doubles, a home run, and a pair of walks. All three of his extra base hits came when the game was tied.
7) Carlos Gonzalez has just a .347 OPS over his last 15 games, but he did have an RBI double which scored Tulo in the first inning last night. Hopefully he's close to breaking out of what's becoming one of the biggest slumps of his career.