Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez is out of the lineup on Friday as the Rockies prepare to begin a three-game series against the Braves at Turner Field in Atlanta.
Gonzalez also sat in the Rockies' series finale against the Giants at Coors Field on Thursday because of an inflamed left index finger. CarGo was bothered by the injury earlier in the season and missed some time. And, of course, he was out for the majority of the second half in 2013 with a different finger ailment.
Justin Morneau will take Gonzalez's spot in the lineup, batting behind Troy Tulowitzki. Corey Dickerson will man left field in place of the three-time Gold Glove winner.
Jordan Lyles looks to bounce back from his first real poor start of the season. He lasted only 3⅓ innings against the Padres on Saturday night and allowed six runs on five hits and a career-high six walks. His ERA jumped from 2.66 to 3.50. Lyles will obviously have to exhibit much better control tonight, but it helps him that the Braves are filled with at times overly aggressive hitters. If he can stay low in the zone like he's done so successfully throughout most of the early part of this season, he should be good enough to allow the Rockies' offense some room to work.
That unit struggled mightily during most of the Rockies' three-game set against the Giants, and going on the road to face Mike Minor and Julio Teheran certainly isn't going to help them come out of their funk. Colorado's best shot of scoring a sufficient number of runs in this series comes tonight against Gavin Floyd. The 31-year-old right-hander has been good in three starts, posting a 2.41 ERA through 18⅔ innings, but he's making only his ninth start since the end of the 2012 season and has been, if nothing else, fairly hittable thus far.