The Colorado Rockies returned home to Coors Field on Friday night, but it wasn't a warm homecoming, losing to the Cincinnati Reds, 3-0. Shortly after the game ended, the club announced that Marco Scutaro had been traded to the San Francisco Giants for a 23-year-old second baseman, Charlie Culberson. The Rockies are selling off parts as the July 31 trade deadline approaches.
On Saturday night, however, the Rockies will look to stem the tide against the Reds. They will have rookie Christian Friedrich (5-7, 5.71 ERA) on the mound for his second career start against the Reds. Friedrich picked up his second career win in a May 25 6-3 game against the Reds at the Great American Ball Park. He allowed three runs in five innings and struck out six. Friedrich has been allowed to go into the 80s with his pitch count over the month of July, but in only one of those starts has he gone past the fifth inning.
Johnny Cueto (12-5, 2.23 ERA) was Friedrich's opponent back on May 25, allowing five runs on 11 hits in 4.2 innings. In July, Cueto has pitched against mostly the National League West, picking up victories over the Padres and the Diamondbacks, but losing to the Dodgers. His most recent start came against the Brewers, throwing seven innings of one-run ball. For the month, Cueto is 3-1 with a 2.10 ERA.
Game time & date: 6:10 p.m. MT, Saturday, July 28, 2012
Location: Coors Field, Denver, CO
Broadcast Info: ROOT Sports/850 KOA
For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more in-depth coverage of this series, visit Rockies blog Purple Row and Reds blog Red Reporter. And for more news from around baseball, check out Baseball Nation and MLB Daily Dish.