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Lots of pitchers fare poorly in Coors Field, but few have more trouble there than
San Diego Padres
starter
Woody Williams
.
Williams looks to end his struggles at the hitter-friendly Colorado ballpark and lead the Padres to their second five-game
winning streak this month when they open a four-game set with the Rockies on Thursday.
Major league clubs have compiled a .309 batting average and 6.10 ERA - both the highest of any park - at Coors Field since
it opened in 1995.
Williams (4-2, 3.15 ERA) is 1-2 in six career starts at Coors, with a 15.75 ERA, a .447 opponent batting average and 15 homers
allowed in just 24 innings. The ERA is the highest for any pitcher with at least five starts in the ballpark's history.
In his last start at Coors Field, a 20-1 Padres loss last Sept. 20, Williams allowed nine runs and nine hits in just one inning.
The score was the largest margin of victory in Rockies franchise history.
Colorado left fielder
Matt Holliday
went 4-for-5 with eight RBIs in that contest, and is 6-for-6 with two doubles in his career versus Williams.
Williams lost his last start on Saturday at San Francisco, giving up four runs - one earned - and 10 hits in seven innings
as the Padres lost their fourth straight game, 4-3.
San Diego (54-47) has not lost since, winning its last four contests to improve to 4-3 on its 11-game road trip. The Padres
have scored at least six runs in each game of the winning streak, including a 10-3 victory over the
Los Angeles Dodgers
on Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep.
''It was a good day all around,'' said starting pitcher
Jake Peavy
, who homered, doubled and drove in four runs. ''We work on our hitting and we take pride in going up there and helping yourself
by putting the ball in play.''
First baseman
Adrian Gonzalez
went 2-for-4 with a homer to extend his hitting streak to 17 games. He is batting .432 (32-for-74) with eight homers, 21 RBIs
and 18 runs scored during the run.
The Padres are looking to record their second five-game winning streak in July. San Diego won five in a row, also all on the
road, from July 5-9. The club won a season-high nine straight from April 30-May 8.
Fourth-place Colorado (47-53) fell 6 1/2 games behind the Padres for the NL West lead with its second straight loss on Wednesday,
6-1 to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Rockies managed just one run and 13 hits in their last two games against the Cardinals
- the only run coming on a solo homer by catcher Yorbit Torrealba - while going 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
Despite losing for the 10th time in 13 games and falling below .500 at home (23-24) on the season, Colorado manager
Clint Hurdle
is looking forward to facing the division leaders.
''It doesn't come at a better time,'' Hurdle said. ''We'll have a shot at playing the team that's on top next. It doesn't
get any better than that.''
The Rockies send
Josh Fogg
(7-5, 4.25) to the mound for the series opener. The right-hander has posted quality starts in each of his last four outings
to lower his ERA from 5.08 while posting a 2-0 record. He gave up three runs in six innings at Arizona on Saturday, but did
not receive a decision in Colorado's 4-3 defeat.
Fogg is 2-1 with a 3.57 ERA in four career starts versus San Diego.
The Rockies are 5-4 in the season series, although the Padres took two of three meetings at Coors Field April 17-19.
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