Chris Rusin's great start wasted, but Kyle Kendrick will look to get Rockies back on track

Rockies streak ends with Chris Rusin on the mound after loss to Reds — Denver Post

Rusin's terrific start was wasted by a lackluster offensive performance that failed to capitalize on his seven inning, one run allowed performance. The Reds snapped a nine-game losing streak while the Rockies winning streak ended at three.

After drama, Reds, Rox to settle up in rubber game — MLB

Kyle Kendrick will take on Mike Leake in the final game of the series tonight at Great American Ball Park. Leake is coming off of a brutal start against the Indians in which he lasted just four innings and allowed five runs on seven hits and five walks. Kendrick enters the game with an ugly ERA of 6.58, but has looked decent recently.

Brandon Barnes' positive effect on the Rockies — Mile High Sports

Since being recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque, Barnes has provided his usual solid defense while also demonstrating some new ability at the plate. In a SSS, Barnes has gone 9-for-20 with four doubles. In less than half the at-bats that Drew Stubbs had, Barnes already has three more hits. He seems like a high-energy, positive guy and the Rockies definitely need some more of that, especially when they become mired in a losing-streak as they had been.

The Eddie Butler Strikeout Problem — Rox Pile

It hasn't been the year some were hoping for from Eddie Butler, who's gone just 43 innings over nine starts while posting an ERA of 4.60 and walking more batters than he's struck out. Butler's not demonstrating the ability to miss bats as he did in the minors. His dominant pitch, a fastball, has resulted in a swinging strike just 4.7% of the time. Rox Pile notes that while Butler's pitches aren't poor, they simply aren't fooling batters. Definitely a really good read, and it is worth your time to read the FanGraphs article linked in the Rox Pile piece as well.