Colorado Rockies game no. 64 thread: Chad Kuhl vs. Triston McKenzie

Trailing the American League Central-leading Minnesota Twins by 2.5 games, the Cleveland Guardians (31-27) have upped their candidacy in arguably the easiest AL division. Interleague play has not treated the Rockies well to this point in the three-game set, and Colorado will look to avoid a sweep before hosting the Padres to conclude the homestand.

Chad Kuhl goes to work this afternoon against a Guardians squad that has scored 11 runs in their past 18 innings at Coors Field. Kuhl’s last start, a 4 ¹⁄₃-inning, five-run showing against the Padres, tied his shortest start of the season thus far. It came on the heels of six shutout innings against the Braves, so Kuhl will look to regain that momentum against a slightly-above-average wRC+.

Triston McKenzie takes the hill for the Guardians, equipped with a standard mix of approximately 60% curveballs, 20% sliders and 20% curveballs. His last outing was a six-inning showing against Oakland where he allowed two runs in two innings, A sub-one WHIP has allowed McKenzie to control a lot of damage in 2022, and a 15th-percentile barrel percentage has done wonders for limiting hard contact. He does this with 32nd-percentile fastball velocity, and that heater is his most-used pitch when he’s both ahead and behind in counts.

Colorado’s bullpen will feature Daniel Bard, Robert Stephenson and Alex Colomé available again after pitching on Tuesday. Bud Black will have reason to use Lucas Gilbreath in relief, having not pitched since Sunday.

First Pitch: 1:10 p.m. MDT

TV: AT&T Sports Net Rocky Mountain; MLB.tv

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

Lineups: