José Ureña is looking to bounce back from a rough 2023 debut when he takes the mound for the second game in a four-game series vs. the Nationals at Coors Field tonight.
On April 1, Ureña gave up four runs on five hits with four walks in 2 1⁄3 innings vs. the Padres. Two of those runs came on a homer by Xander Bogaerts in the first inning. Three of Ureña’s four walks came in that first inning, which could have been worse, but he was able to strand two runners on base.
For Ureña to give the Rockies a chance to win, he needs to return to 2022 form when he posted a 50.5% ground-ball rate.
Even though the Rockies out-hit the Nationals 9-6 on Thursday, the Rockies only managed one run. Kris Bryant, who has a seven-game hitting streak with a hit in each game so far this season, and Ezequiel Tovar both doubled, but every other hit in the game was single.
On Friday, they’ll face 24-year-old lefty MacKenzie Gore. Gore pitched for the Padres in his rookie 2022 campaign, going 4-4 in 16 games (13 starts) with a 4.50 ERA. He went to the Nationals in the Juan Soto trade. Gore hasn’t fared very well against the Rockies, posting a 19.98 ERA in 6 1⁄3 innings over two starts. In his only game at Coors Field, he gave up three homers for a total of eight runs in four innings. Two of those homers came off the bat of C.J. Cron, including a 486-foot blast.
Gore got off to a good start this season, giving up one run on three hits with four walks and six strikeouts in 5 1⁄3 innings against the Braves to win his first start of the year.
First Pitch: 6:40 p.m. MDT
TV: AT&T Sports Net Rocky Mountain; MLB.tv
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)
Lineups:
MacK attacK#NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/2KCTL9dt4t
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) April 7, 2023
Friday night, under the lights pic.twitter.com/HKPRhv7Mpw
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 7, 2023
★ ★ ★
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