Padres Vs. Rockies: Colorado Begins Last Leg Of Homestand With Series Against San Diego

After the supreme ecstasy of defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks on a Todd Helton walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning on Saturday night, the Colorado Rockies fell back to earth on Sunday with a 5-2 loss, letting the possibility of a sweep dissipate. On Monday night, the Rockies will look toward the San Diego Padres to find new momentum.

At 4-5 (3-3 at home), the Rockies are tied for third with the San Francisco Giants in the National League West. That has created a 4.5 game lead for the 9-1 Los Angeles Dodgers, but only the Padres are farther behind (seven games).

Losers of their last four games, including three straight to the Los Angeles Dodgers on the road, the Padres will put Cory Luebke on the mound. Luebke, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound lefty, is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA after two starts. He began the season by allowing six runs to the Dodgers over 4.2 innings while also striking out six batters. After taking a loss in that game, Luebke came up with a no-decision against the Arizona Diamondbacks, surrendering one run, walking four and striking out five in 5.1 innings.

The Rockies counter with Jeremy Guthrie (1-0, 7.84 ERA), who will make his third start. After a solid seven-inning performance on Opening Day against the Houston Astros, Guthrie struggled last Wednesday against the Giants. He was able to get through just 3.1 innings, allowing six of seven runs in the fourth inning. Luckily for Guthrie, the Rockies wound up winning the game, 17-8.

Game time/date: 6:40 p.m. MT, Monday, April 16, 2012

Location: Coors Field, Denver, CO

TV/Radio: ROOT Sports/850 KOA

For more on these teams, visit Rockies blog Purple Row and Padres blog Gaslamp Ball. For more news and notes around the league, check out Baseball Nation and MLB Daily Dish.