The Colorado Rockies have the worst record in the National League but have played their best against the best this month. They swept the Texas Rangers in Denver, did the same on the road against the San Diego Padres and just took two of three against the hottest team in the majors.
Colorado gets another test after slowing down the Philadelphia Phillies when it hosts the surging Cleveland Guardians on Monday for the first of three games.
The Rockies will send lefty Austin Gomber (1-2, 2.76 ERA) against Cleveland’s Xzavion Curry (0-0, 1.93) in the matinee opener.
Curry will try to add to the Guardians’ winning streak, which reached nine after they completed a road sweep of the Los Angeles Angels with a 5-4 win on Sunday. Cleveland has won 12 of its past 13 contests to remain within one game of the New York Yankees for the best record in the American League.
Curry has one career appearance against Colorado, and it came in relief. He didn’t allow a run in 3 1/3 innings. He was recalled from Triple-A on Tuesday and started that night against the New York Mets. He was pulled after giving up two runs and tossing 66 pitches in 4 1/3 innings in the Guardians’ 7-6 win.
Though Cleveland has enjoyed good pitching, Jose Ramirez has been the catalyst for the franchise’s longest streak since winning an AL-record 22 straight seven years ago. Ramirez hit two home runs on Friday night, another on Saturday and has 10 in May. He leads the majors with 52 RBIs.
He had No. 11 of the month taken away when Los Angeles right fielder Jo Adell made a leaping catch in the eighth inning on Sunday.
“He’s the goat. The goat,” Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee said of Ramirez. “It’s simple, that’s all I have to say. He’s the goat.”
Ramirez will face a Rockies rotation that has a streak of its own — six straight quality starts. Gomber has been one of the best pitchers this month with an ERA of 0.68 in May, and his 2.76 mark leads Colorado. Those numbers have not transformed into wins for him, but he has spearheaded a resurgence for the club that struggled out of the gate this year.
The rotation has been a major factor in the Rockies going 10-6 since beginning the year 8-28 and slowing down the better teams in the majors.
“Good starting pitching is the lifeblood, backbone, the heart and soul of an organization that consistently wins,” Rockies manager Bud Black said after Colorado’s 5-2 win over Philadelphia on Sunday. “We’re trying to get there. This group here has pitched really well, and they’re the reason why these games have been really close to the end.
“The guys think you’re going to win when you’re pitching well. It’s good to win a series; it’s uplifting for the guys.”
Gomber will try to keep it going Monday in his sixth appearance against the Guardians. In his previous five times facing them — two of them starts — he is 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA.
–Field Level Media
