Sitting in last place in the National League, the Colorado Rockies will look to play better at home as they face the Texas Rangers in the first contest of a three-game set Monday night in Denver.
The Rockies have just one series victory at Coors Field in 2026, a three-game sweep of the Houston Astros from April 6-8.
Manager Warren Schaeffer’s Rockies have dropped six of their last eight games overall and are 9-13 at home this season.
“Specifically at home, we obviously need to get better, and everybody knows it on a consistent basis, one through nine,” Schaeffer said. “Moving the line, putting balls in play, using the vast outfield, taking our walks. We’re all on a mission. All of our guys out there are on a mission to improve.”
Colorado lost two of three games over the weekend against the Arizona Diamondbacks, including an 8-6 setback on Sunday. The Rockies’ ERA is 4.91, worse only than only the Washington Nationals (4.95) in the National League.
Colorado veteran left-hander Jose Quintana (1-2, 3.97 ERA) is slated to start for the eighth time on Monday.
Quintana, 37, failed to finish five innings for the third time in his last start, tossing only four frames in a no-decision against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday. He allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits, walking three and striking out two in the Rockies’ 10-4 win.
In 12 career appearances (10 starts) against the Rangers, Quintana is 2-3 with a 3.75 ERA.
The Rangers enter play Monday after an inconsistent offensive performance in a series loss to the Houston Astros. After scoring just one run across a pair of losses, Texas won 8-0 on Sunday.
Left-hander MacKenzie Gore (3-3, 4.50 ERA) will make his 10th appearance for the Rangers following the longest start of his major league career.
Gore, acquired from the Washington Nationals in a six-player trade in January, tossed eight stellar innings on Tuesday, yielding just one run on three hits in a 7-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Gore had allowed eight runs across his previous two starts.
“I want to go deep in every game,” Gore said. “With the way things had gone the last few outings, there’s been a lot of work to try and get better. Did I think I was going to go eight innings (on Tuesday?), not necessarily. But it was a good time for it.”
For manager Skip Schumaker’s team, which boasts the American League’s second-best ERA (3.54), consecutive quality starts from Gore would be a welcome sight amid a nine-game road stretch.
“To me, the fastball execution was his best of the year,” Schumaker said of Gore’s last outing. “His curveball was excellent. He has a north-south attack, hitting the top rail with the fastball and then the curveball underneath. We needed length. Obviously he did that and more.”
In four career starts against the Rockies, Gore is 2-2 with an 8.84 ERA.
–Field Level Media
