(SportsNetwork.com) – Jordan Lyles goes after win No. 2 on Sunday when the
Colorado Rockies try to bounce back from their first loss of the season in the
rubber match of a three-game series versus the Chicago Cubs.
Lyles got the better of the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday, as he allowed two
runs and five hits in six innings. He’s faced the Cubs five times and is 2-1
with a 4.34 ERA against them.
The 24-year-old right-hander has had success pitching at Coors Field and is
5-1 there with a 5.00 ERA.
Colorado suffered its first loss of the season on Saturday, as Dexter Fowler
hit a pair of triples and finished with two RBI and a pair of runs scored to
help the Cubs to a 9-5 win.
Jason Hammel (1-0) pitched six innings and allowed three runs on eight hits
for the Cubs.
“I don’t want to give up that many hits or baserunners, especially at this
place,” said Hammel. “A couple of runners can turn into a six-run inning in a
flash. I made some good pitches, we got some double plays that were huge and
it’s nice to pitch with nine runs.”
Kyle Kendrick (1-1) could not build off of his season-opening win as he
surrendered a career-high eight runs on eight hits over five-plus innings.
“He managed the game pretty decent,” Rockies manager Walt Weiss said of
Kendrick. “I still thought he put us in a good position.”
Nolan Arenado homered and knocked in two runs for the Rockies, who were
attempting to go 5-0 for the first time in team history.
Getting the call for the Cubs on Sunday will be righty Kyle Hendricks, who was
terrific in his rookie season a year ago, posting a 7-2 record with a 2.46 ERA
in 13 starts. Hendricks also won his only other start at hitter-friendly
Coors, as he limited the Rockies to just one earned run and five hits in eight
innings of that one.
“I really believe he could pitch well in a phone booth, he’s such a precision
kind of pitcher with good stuff,” Maddon said of Hendricks. “Everybody looks
at him as being a command guy, but his stuff is good too. When he’s executing
his pitches well, it doesn’t matter where he’s pitching.”
Chicago won five of its seven matchups with the Rockies last season.
