Marlins On The Road Against The Rockies
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DENVER (CBSMiami) - The Marlins have had a day off to recover from a dreadful defeat and will look to turn things around when they begin a three-game series against the host Colorado Rockies on Friday.
The Marlins kicked off their six-game road trip with three straight losses to the Chicago Cubs, none worse than Wednesday's 5-4 defeat. The Cubs rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning and scored the game-winner on a wild pitch, leaving Miami tied with St. Louis for the second wild-card spot in the National League.
The Rockies are three back in that same race after dropping a 4-2 decision to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday. David Phelps will make his first start of the season for the Marlins after 50 appearances out of the bullpen as he opposes Rockies veteran Jorge De La Rosa. Ichiro Suzuki remains stuck on 2,998 career hits after going hitless in three at-bats at Chicago.
PITCHING MATCHUP: Marlins David Phelps (5-5, 2.65 ERA) vs. Rockies Jorge De La Rosa (7-7, 5.51)
Phelps has made 59 career starts but is expected to be limited to two turns through Colorado's lineup as he slowly gets stretched out. His most recent outing resulted in 2 2/3 scoreless innings and a win against St. Louis on Saturday. The Notre Dame product has been hammered for 11 runs and 14 hits in 9 2/3 frames in his career at Coors Field.
De La Rosa earned his 100th career win after limiting the New York Mets to two runs in six innings on Saturday. The 35-year-old has yielded three runs or fewer in eight of nine starts since returning to the rotation in June. Suzuki is 5-for-12 and Marcell Ozuna 4-for-8 with three home runs against De La Rosa, who is 7-5 lifetime with a 5.17 ERA versus Miami.
WALK-OFFS
1. Rockies RF Carlos Gonzalez (ankle) sat out Thursday's contest but has a 15-game hitting streak, his longest of the season.
2. The Marlins are expected to activate 1B Justin Bour (ankle) from the 15-day disabled list.
3. Miami is 38-55 all-time in Colorado.
PREDICTION: Rockies 7, Marlins 5
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