Rockies At Padres, September 14 2012: Game Time, Lineups, And Preview

Colorado Rockies vs. San Diego Padres, 8:05 P.M. MT

Rutledge continues his work at second base tonight in San Diego. Image: Daniel Shirey-US PRESSWIRE

Battered and bruised in the last week, the Colorado Rockies head out to the west coast to start a road trip against the San Diego Padres. The Padres come into this series playing great baseball, having won their last three series, all against teams that are over .500 for the season. Most recently they swept the St. Louis Cardinals, who would make the playoffs as the second wild card if the season ended today. Any notion that the Rockies might catch them for 4th place in the NL West is long gone, leaving us with the hopes of player development and perhaps another glimpse of franchise player Troy Tulowitzki to cheer for this season.

Tyler Chatwood takes his turn in the 4 5 man rotation paired pitching piggyback system, looking to improve on his recent struggles. He pitched fine in his last start against the Philadelphia Phillies, but he still needs to cut down on his walks. He had 4 BB last game and 5 the outing before that. Whatever the Rockies want to call their rotation, it relies on efficiency from its starters. Early walks are dangerous for any team, and they are that much more of a problem for the Rockies.

Here is the lineup behind Chatwood for Friday night’s game:

Dexter Fowler CF
Josh Rutledge 2B
Carlos Gonzalez LF
Wilin Rosario C
Jordan Pacheco 1B
Tyler Colvin RF
Chris Nelson 3B
DJ LeMahieu 2B
Tyler Chatwood P

I am interested to see Rutledge getting more time at second base. Between that and regular appearances by Pacheco at 1B and Nelson at 3B, it’s almost like Jim Tracy is making moves that make sense. To my eyes this represents their deepest lineup, given the fact that Tulowitzki, Todd Helton, and Michael Cuddyer are all out.

The Padres will have fire-baller Andrew Cashner on the mound. This will be just his second start since being re-inserted into the rotation September 7th. Here is the rest of manager Bud Black’s lineup:

Everth Cabrera SS
Will Venable RF
Chase Headley 3B
Yasmani Grandal C
Yonder Alonso 1B
Logan Forsythe 2B
Cameron Maybin CF
Alexi Amarista LF
Andrew Cashner P

Even with Carlos Quentin out of tonight’s lineup, the Rockies have their work cut out for them considering how well the Padres have been playing. With San Diego having home series with the Giants and Dodgers this month, what this might become is a preview of the team that is truly dangerous as a spoiler this time of year.