Colorado Rockies game no. 159 thread: Paolo Espino vs. Peter Lambert

After last night’s 3-1 victory, the Rockies now prepare to wrap up their final homestand of the year in an afternoon game against the Nationals. At 47-33 at home, the Rockies have played spectacularly all year long at Coors Field. A 48th win would give them a nice bookend to another season at Coors. We’d also be remiss to not acknowledge that today’s game could be Trevor Story’s final home game as a member of the Colorado Rockies.

What we do know for sure is that the right hander Paolo Espino (5-5, 4.01 ERA) is set to make his 19th start of the season for the Nationals. Although Espino is 34-years-old, this will be only be his first near (he was sent down for a handful of days early in the year) full season in the big leagues. Espino began the year out of the bullpen but has been making regular starts since the All-Star break. In just his 18 starts, Espino has posted a 4.18 ERA with opponents hitting .268 against him, compared to the .198 they hit against him as a reliever. The Rockies saw Espino just ten days ago when he threw 5 ²⁄₃ shutout innings against them with seven strikeouts en route to a Nationals win.

For the Rockies, it’ll be the young right hander Peter Lambert (0-0, 4.91 ERA). This will be Lambert’s second major league start since coming off of Tommy John surgery. His first start was a tough matchup against the team who may finish the year with the best record in the sport, the San Francisco Giants. The Giants hit two home runs off of Lambert in just 3 ²⁄₃ innings. In what will most likely be his final start of the year, Lambert will look to finish his short season strong and have something to build off of in the offseason.

First Pitch: 1:10 P.M. MDT

TV: AT&T Sports Net Rocky Mountain; MLB Network; MLB.TV (Free Game of the Day!)

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

Lineups: