Series Preview: Padres Head to Coors Field for Four

Apr 12, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; General view of Coors Field during the fourth inning of the game between the Chicago Cubs against the Colorado Rockies. The Cubs defeated the Rockies 6-5. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The San Diego Padres (8-5) head to the second and last destination of their road trip for a four-game set with the Colorado Rockies in Denver (7-5). The Rockies just finished a rough trip to Los Angeles where they got swept by the Dodgers. They started off hot and had a 6-game winning streak before coming back down to earth.

The Padres and Rockies are both tied for 6th best in hitting with a .271 average. The Padres do have the upper hand in home runs 12 to 11. This will be the first meeting between these two division rivals this year. The Friars were 9-10 last year against Colorado. They struggled at Coors Field however, going 2-7.

The Padres are coming off of their 3rd straight series win. They have taken down the San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs. They are now in second place to the Dodgers. The hot hitters on the Padres are Will Middlebrooks (2 HR, a double and 5 RBI in Chicago series) and Matt Kemp (6 hits, 5 runs and a home run in last 5 games).

The Rockies have been swinging hot bats lately but it has been their pitching that has failed them. The Rockies are 1-2 at home and the Padres are 3-3 on the road.

Next: Game 1

Apr 9, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres relief pitcher Odrisamer Despaigne (40) pitches during the third inning as San Francisco Giants right fielder Nori Aoki (23) breaks for second at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Game 1, Monday 5:40pm

Odrisamer Despaigne (1-0, 0.77 ERA) vs. Jorge De La Rosa (First start of 2015)

Despaigne will get what is likely to be his last start until the return of Ian Kennedy at Coors Field, his first ever visit to the cavernous hitter’s wonderland. In 2 appearances so far, he has only allowed one earned run in almost 12 innings. He has also just allowed 2 hits and 2 walks in that span. He only has one career start against the Rockies and it was a good one. He pitched 7 shutout innings while striking out 8.

De La Rosa is entering his 12th season in the big leagues and his 8th with Colorado. He is second on their franchise wins list. He has plenty of experience against the Padres, 19 starts to be exact. He is 8-3 with a 4.41 ERA and 107 strikeouts. He actually has more strikeouts against the Padres than any other team.

Matt Kemp has had great success against De La Rosa, hitting .385 with 3 home runs in 42 plate appearances. Another Padre who has good numbers against the veteran lefty is someone who really needs a break-out series, Jedd Gyorko. He is 10 for 15 off of De La Rosa.

Next: Game 2

Apr 15, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Brandon Morrow (21) pitches during the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Game 2, Tuesday 5:40pm

Brandon Morrow (0-0, 1.29 ERA) vs. Tyler Matzek (1-0, 1.80 ERA)

Morrow has started out great for the Padres. In his first 14 innings as a Padre, he has only allowed 2 runs and struck out 12. He has faced two good lineups in the Giants and D-backs and has performed well. In 2 starts against the Rockies in his career, he has only allowed 2 earned runs in 9 innings with 10 strikeouts. Both of those starts came at Coors Field, so he knows how to pitch well in that ballpark.

Matzek has faced the Padres 4 times. He is 1-3 with a 3.67 ERA. He has thrown a complete game shutout against the Friars, but this is hardly the 2014 Padres lineup. Matzek is a lot better at home with a 3.51 ERA rather than 4.16 ERA on the road. The 24 year-old Mission Viejo, CA native is starting his second season in the major leagues.

The advantage in this match-up goes to Morrow because hardly any of the Rockies lineup have seen him because of his time spent in the American League, most recently in the AL East.

Next: Game 3

Apr 12, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Tyson Ross (38) pitches during the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Game 4, Thursday 12:10pm

Tyson Ross (1-0, 4.08 ERA) vs. Jordan Lyles (1-1, 3.50 ERA)

Ross has yet to win a game against the Rockies in 5 starts. He is 0-4 with a 3.16 ERA. His ERA is slightly higher at 3.79 at Coors. He has 21 strikeouts in his first 3 starts. He needs to work on getting the walks down, as he gave 5 free passes his last time out and he has 12 so far this season.

Lyles has not fared well against the Padres, with a career 6.30 ERA. He has pitched 6 innings in his first three starts. He got roughed up a bit in his last start, against the Dodgers. He gave up four runs and walked five.

Coors Field has historically not been kind to the Padres, mostly because the Padres have not had the lineup to keep up with the offensive output that Coors can yield. Now they do. The Padres are hot right now. I predict this series will be split two games each. It is always a tough draw to play a 4-game series on the road. However, perhaps the Mile High City is exactly what some slumping Padres (see Jedd Gyorko) need.

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