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Looking for their third straight win, the Colorado Rockies will, weather permitting, open a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs tonight at Coors Field.
Antonio Senzatela, the NL Rookie of the Month for April, will make his seventh start of the season. He has posted a 2.84 ERA and 1.03 WHIP with 20 strikeouts in 38 innings so far. He will be looking for his fifth win of the season, which would tie him with Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw for the NL lead.
Senzatela will face a Cubs team that lost to the Yankees in 18 innings last night at Wrigley Field, finishing a sweep at the hands of the Bronx Bombers. Jason Heyward is still out for the Cubs with an injured hand, which means Kris Bryant will play right field tonight, with Tommy La Stella playing third base and batting sixth.
Jake Arrieta, the 2015 NL Cy Young winner, will be on the mound for Chicago tonight. Arrieta has struggled a bit to start the season, with a 4.63 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. He has been especially prone to the long ball in 2017, having given up six home runs already, compared to the 16 he gave up in all of 2016. This will be just Arrieta's second career start at Coors Field, and his first did not go well, as he gave up nine runs on 13 hits in five innings of work in a 13-4 Rockies win.
One player Arrieta will not face, at least to start the game, is Ian Desmond, who is not in the Rockies lineup tonight with Gerardo Parra getting the start in left field and Mark Reynolds at first base. Ryan Hanigan gets the call behind the plate tonight.
As of now, first pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. Mountain time, but stay tuned for weather updates.