(Sports Network) - Venezuelan right-hander Jhoulys Chacin can follow a
teammate's gem with one of his own Thursday when the Colorado Rockies host the
Chicago Cubs to wrap up a three-game series at Coors Field.
The Rockies made it two straight in the series behind the mound work of Drew
Pomeranz on Wednesday on the way to a 6-0 win.
Pomeranz (2-9) hurled five scoreless innings of three-hit ball and struck out
three while also walking three to earn his first victory since July 6,
snapping a 14-start winless drought in the process.
"He threw strikes down in the zone. He threw strike one, and as a result of
throwing strike one and sending that message, he got himself a couple of
first-pitch outs," Colorado manager Jim Tracy said.
Charlie Blackmon belted a solo home run and Chris Nelson added a two-run
single for the Rockies, who have won three straight games after dropping nine
in a row.
Jason Berken (0-2) was pegged with the loss after giving up all six runs on
nine hits and two walks over four innings.
"Everything was belt high, not much of a breaking ball at all. He was in a
fist fight right from the beginning," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said.
Dave Sappelt registered two of Chicago's five hits, as the Cubs lost their
fourth straight game.
The Cubs took two of three over the Rockies at home from Aug. 24-26.
Chacin is winless himself in four starts since Sept. 1, when he beat the San
Diego Padres, 9-1, with seven innings of seven-hit ball with four strikeouts.
In four outings since, he's 0-1 with three no-decisions while allowing nine
runs on 25 hits in 16 1/3 innings.
The 24-year-old has faced the Cubs five times in his career, with the most
recent coming Aug. 26 at Wrigley Field, where he dropped a 5-0 verdict after
surrendering a run on five hits in five innings.
He's 1-3 in those five lifetime meetings with a 3.71 earned run average across
26 2/3 innings.
For the Cubs, righty Chris Volstad can continue a hot streak that began in
late August.
The 26-year-old was 0-9 in this season after a 10-1 loss to Houston on Aug.
14, but has since won three of four decisions in seven starts while dropping
his ERA slightly from 6.96 to 6.22.
He was a 5-0 winner over Chacin and the Rockies on Aug. 26 after tossing 6 2/3
scoreless innings of three-hit ball to even his career record against them at
3-3 in six meetings.
Volstad is 1-5 in eight road starts in 2012.
The Sports Network