TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

ROCKIES VS. DIAMONDBACKS

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 11, 2007

SCHEDULE

Today: Colorado (Jeff Francis 17-9, 4.22) at Arizona (Brandon Webb 18-10, 3.01), 8:37 p.m.

Friday: Colorado (Ubaldo Jimenez 4-4, 4.28) at Arizona (Doug Davis 13-12, 4.25), 10:18 p.m.

Sunday: Arizona (Livan Hernandez 11-11, 4.93) at Colorado (Franklin Morales 3-2, 3.43), 8:37 p.m.

Monday: Arizona (Micah Owings 8-8, 4.30) at Colorado (Josh Fogg 10-9, 4.94 or Aaron Cook 8-7, 4.12), 10:18 p.m.

Wednesday: Arizona at Colorado, 8:37 p.m.*

Oct. 19: Colorado at Arizona, 8:37 p.m.*

Oct. 20: Colorado at Arizona, TBD*

All games on TBS

*-if necessary.

SEASON SERIES: Colorado won, 10-8

PROJECTED LINEUPS

ROCKIES

Colorado won six of the final eight meetings with the Diamondbacks. ... Helton batted .375 (24-for-64) against Arizona. ... Hawpe hit three homers and had 18 RBIs. ... Francis was 1-1 with a 2.64 ERA. Reliever Brian Fuentes pitched 9 2/3 shutout innings, and Jimenez struck out 16 in two starts. ... Diamondbacks starters went 4-6 with a 3.93 ERA against Colorado this year. ... Webb made six starts against the Rockies, going 1-3 with a 5.77 ERA. ... Arizona closer Jose Valverde had seven saves in nine chances against the Rockies.

BIG PICTURE

ROCKIES: Colorado stumbled to a 17-25 start and spent most of the season looking up at the Diamondbacks, Padres and Dodgers in the NL West before winning 14 of their final 15 regular-season games. ... Once in the postseason, Manager Clint Hurdle's team pitched extremely well in a sweep of Philadelphia. ... Manny Corpas inherited the closer's role after Fuentes, an All-Star, blew four straight save chances in June and then went on the DL. Fuentes returned with a vengeance, becoming a solid eighth-inning setup man. ... Helton was the subject of trade discussions in the offseason, but Boston wouldn't part with pitching prospects Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen, so Rockies owner Charlie Monfort pulled the plug on a deal that would have sent the franchise's most accomplished player packing. Helton is in the playoffs for the first time in his 11-year career. ... Holliday led the league in several important offensive categories. He's just the fifth player since 1949 to lead the league in batting average and RBIs.

DIAMONDBACKS: They are making the fourth playoff appearance of their 10-season history, but their first since winning the 2001 World Series. The Rockies were impressive in sweeping the Cubs in the first round. ... Unlike Arizona's earlier playoff teams, this one is almost entirely homegrown, the result of what has been arguably the best farm system in baseball. ... Despite starting four rookies and having the worst batting average in the league (.250), the Diamondbacks had the NL's best record at 90-72 and earned the homefield advantage. ... Outscored by 20 runs this season, Arizona is the first team in 101 years to have the best record in the league despite the worst batting average - the 1906 Chicago White Sox (.246) was the only other club to do it. ... The Diamondbacks batted .266 in the first round against the Cubs. Arizona had more strikeouts (35) than hits (25), but 11 of those hits were for extra bases.

WATCH FOR

Following a trend set during the regular season, the Diamondbacks' bullpen pitched well in the first round. Arizona used four relievers: Valverde, Brandon Lyon, Jose Cruz and Tony Pena. They tossed 8 1/3 shutout innings, allowing five hits and two walks while striking out eight. Meanwhile, the Rockies had a 2.33 overall team ERA in the first round and limited Philadelphia's high-powered offense to a .172 batting average. Corpas saved all three games.

Arizona and Colorado went 50-31 at home during the regular season, just behind Milwaukee (51-30) for the best mark in the league. The Diamondbacks won twice at Chase Field in the first round of the playoffs; the Rockies won their lone game at Coors Field in the division series.

Many of Arizona's inexperienced players delivered in the first round. Now, they'll be tested again. Upton, barely 20 years old, started the season at Class-A Lancaster - but he could be tough to keep out of the lineup. He went 3-for-5 with a stolen base and an RBI against Chicago. He also had three walks and no strikeouts, a key improvement for him.

The Associated Press

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT