As All-Star festivities approach, the Rockies will try to put a bow on the first half of the regular season with the most unfathomable of concepts - a road series victory.
Yesterday, Germán Márquez silenced the Padres’ bats effectively throughout his start. Jon Gray (5-6, 3.94 ERA) will try to achieve similar success on Sunday. In his last outing, Gray tossed six innings against the Diamondbacks and did not factor into the decision. He allowed three runs and walked just one while striking eight hitters. Historically, the “Gray Wolf” feasts upon the Friars, as he owns a lifetime record of 10-6 with an ERA of 3.06 with 148 strikeouts in his 23 appearances versus San Diego. Recall that his first career complete game was a 16-strikeout masterpiece of a shutout in 2016. The Rockies hope Gray can put together a similar start on Sunday.
The Padres counter with Ryan Weathers (4-2, 3.02 ERA). His last start wasn’t great, as he allowed four runs on seven hits during his 5 1⁄3 innings while striking out just two. The runs came by way of two homers - a three-run blast from Josh Harrison and a solo shot from Juan Soto. In this, his rookie season, Weathers is allowing 7.5 hits per nine, so the Rockies will have opportunities to strike, if they can buck their offensive woes on the road.
No Rockie has more than two at-bats versus Weathers, though C.J. Cron is 1-for-1. The Padres have a much more extensive history against Gray, leading to some high and low averages. Jake Cronenworth is hitting .571 in his 7 at-bats, and both Manny Machado and Wil Myers have seen Gray well, hitting at or above .333 (both have over 25 at-bats). Fernando Tatis, Jr. is hitting .231 in 13 attempts, and Tommy Pham is 1-for-11.
Sunday will also mark the 2000th game of Bud Black’s managerial career, making him the 62nd manager in MLB history to reach that mark. A win would be a very nice way to cap off this achievement for Black.
Start Time: 2:10 p.m. MDT
TV: AT&T SportsNet, MLB.TV
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)
Lineups:
Looking to take the series in SD pic.twitter.com/zCTQDTzS6E
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) July 11, 2021
First half finale.#HungryForMore pic.twitter.com/r6IRLrdDb0
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 11, 2021