The Rockies and the Cardinals are queued to face off at Busch Stadium to open a four game series in St. Louis, the final set between the two teams in the 2015 regular season.
Chris Rusin will take the mound for the Rockies, currently holding a rotation-best 4.13 ERA in just over 65 innings of work. Rusin is 3-4 in twelve appearances since joining the Rockies. The southpaw relies primarily on a high-80s slider and cutter. His slider, along with his fastball and a mixed in change have a tendency to produce groundballs. Cardinals outfielder, Jon Jay, has the best career numbers against Rusin -- .800 over two seasons -- though he currently remains on the disabled list with a wrist injury.
Rusin will be opposed by Carlos Martinez, the Cards’ lights out 23-year old right hander. Martinez, too, boasts the lowest ERA of his peers, though his is a bit more daunting at 2.34. Martinez threw eight shutout innings in his last outing, notching the win for the Cardinals’ over the Atlanta Braves. Left handed batters have been marginally more successful off of Martinez this year, batting .239 compared to right handers’ .223. Martinez brings a devastating mix of heat and movement in his arsenal, a high-90s fastball in tandem with a sharp sinker/slider combination. Martinez will also throw a changeup in the mid-80s -- his most dominant strikeout pitch.
Though not in tonight’s starting lineup, Daniel Descalso is back at Busch Stadium for the first time since signing with the Rockies in the offseason. Descalso played in parts of five seasons with the Red Birds -- four of which extended into the postseason -- including a World Series title team in 2011. Descalso is available tonight off the bench.
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<h3>Today's Lineups</h3>
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<th align="left">COLORADO ROCKIES</th>
<th align="left">ST. LOUIS CARDINALS</th>
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<tr><td class="td-last td-name">Charlie Blackmon - CF</td><td class="td-first td-name">Matt Carpenter - 3B</td></tr><tr><td class="td-last td-name">Jose Reyes - SS</td><td class="td-first td-name">Randal Grichuk - CF</td></tr><tr><td class="td-last td-name">Carlos Gonzalez - RF</td><td class="td-first td-name">Kolten Wong - 2B</td></tr><tr><td class="td-last td-name">Nolan Arenado - 3B</td><td class="td-first td-name">Jhonny Peralta - SS</td></tr><tr><td class="td-last td-name">Corey Dickerson - LF</td><td class="td-first td-name">Jason Heyward - RF</td></tr><tr><td class="td-last td-name">DJ LeMahieu - 2B</td><td class="td-first td-name">Yadier Molina - C</td></tr><tr><td class="td-last td-name">Ben Paulsen - 1B</td><td class="td-first td-name">Mark Reynolds - 1B</td></tr><tr><td class="td-last td-name">Nick Hundley - C</td><td class="td-first td-name">Stephen Piscotty - LF</td></tr><tr><td class="td-last td-name">Chris Rusin - LHP</td><td class="td-first td-name">Carlos Martinez - RHP</td></tr></tbody>
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Tune in!
TV: ROOT
Radio: KOA
First pitch scheduled for 5:15MT