Walt Weiss had a successful return to Coors Field on Friday, and the Atlanta manager hopes to make it two straight wins there when the Braves play the second of three games against the Colorado Rockies in Denver on Saturday night.
Atlanta will send left-hander Chris Sale (5-1, 2.31 ERA) to the mound, while Colorado has not named a starter.
The Braves rallied from a 6-0 deficit to win the opener 8-6 on Friday night.
Weiss, who took over as Atlanta’s manager when Brian Snitker retired in the offseason, led the Rockies for four seasons (2013-16) before the organization replaced him with Bud Black.
Weiss spent 15 years in the Colorado organization as a player (1994-97), special assistant to the GM (2002-08) and manager, compiling a 283-365 record in the latter position.
“I’ve seen a lot of games in this park, and I’m not going to sit here and say I got the secret sauce, but we all know the game is a little different here,” Weiss said before Friday’s game. “But at the same time, I don’t think you can make too much of it. You got to go out and play the game.
“But obviously, big outfield, a lot of first-to-thirds, a lot of balls drop in. And there’s a lot of traffic throughout a game on the bases. You have to take care of the ball.”
Weiss is leading the top team in the majors after a losing 2025 season. Atlanta has won 13 of its last 16 games and embarked on a tough road trip that will continue in Seattle and Los Angeles against the Dodgers.
Sale has faced Colorado five times in his career — three starts — and is 1-1 with a 1.48 ERA in those outings. His last start against the Rockies was a 2-1 loss on April 30, 2025, when he allowed just two runs and fanned 10 over seven innings.
Colorado has dropped three of its last four games after sweeping a road series from the New York Mets last weekend. Friday’s loss came when the usually reliable bullpen allowed seven runs over the last three innings to turn a 6-1 lead into a loss.
Even with the disappointment, the Rockies had more bright spots in the game. Mickey Moniak, who missed the first six games of the season, had two hits, including his ninth homer of the season, and catcher Hunter Goodman continues to be impressive.
Goodman, Colorado’s lone representative at the 2025 All-Star Game, is tied with Moniak for the team lead in home runs with nine.
Goodman was 0-for-5 in a 6-4 loss at the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday to wrap up a 4-2 road trip, which came after a two-homer performance in Wednesday night’s 13-2 victory over Cincinnati. He has worked at not chasing pitches out of the strike zone to improve his at-bats.
“It’s just some things with my approach, thinking a little bit differently and trying not to be so focused on the internal,” Goodman said. “Be more focused on the external stuff.”
–Field Level Media
