Colorado was 5-2 against Pittsburgh last season with both losses at PNC Park. Despite taking two of three from St. Louis this week, the Pirates (14-20) have lost 13 of their last 16 games.
The Rockies hope to add to the struggles of Pittsburgh’s Paul Maholm (3-1, 4.06 ERA).
Maholm is 0-1 with a 7.13 ERA in his last three starts. He allowed seven runs and 10 hits in five innings of a 10-1 loss to the New York Mets on Saturday.
The left-hander is 1-2 with a 5.00 ERA against the Rockies.
Colorado will start Jorge De La Rosa (0-3, 3.53). The left-hander allowed two runs and four hits while striking out a career-high 12 in eight innings of a 3-1 loss to Florida on Saturday.
De La Rosa is 1-1 with a 7.00 ERA as a starter versus Pittsburgh.
The Rockies fell to 2-4 in rubber games of series with a 5-3 loss to the Astros on Thursday that completed a 3-5 homestand. The Rockies are 7-10 at Coors Field. What looms now is a 10-game road trip to Pittsburgh, Atlanta and Detroit, a trek that could determine the team's fate.
Will the season have any real competitive meaning? Or will the Rockies once again be nothing more than an NL West afterthought?
At 13-20, the Rockies have equaled their season low at seven games below .500. Todd Helton said the trip needs to be .500 or better, which will be a challenge given the Rockies' 6-10 record on the road.
On Thursday, they lost a game in which the Astros hit one ball out of the infield in the first inning and scored three runs on two errors. The Rockies also mishandled a double steal, enabling a steal of home. Manager Clint Hurdle called it the club's worst inning of the year, "no doubt about that."
The Rockies have had one three-game winning streak. They have won two straight two other times. Their offense is unpredictable, and Helton said the offense has been "the confusing part" of the team's struggles.
Before Thursday's game, Hurdle said, "This is an opportunity for a new group of guys to fight their way out of this. I am going to back them and support them. Regardless if people think there is a lack of leadership, this is not a case of a lack of leadership, it's a case of a lack of results.
"If there's fight in these guys, they need to bring it. And I think there's fight in them."
Nine innings later, there was another loss. After getting pounded 15-11 on Wednesday in a game they trailed 15-5, the Rockies committed three errors for the second time this year.
"You're going to get knocked down in this game," Hurdle said. "Your ability to get up and recover is what's critical, and that's where we are right now."
The latest defeat dropped the Rockies' record to 2-12 in games decided by two or fewer runs, including 1-8 in one-run games. That means the Rockies have been close plenty of times but not able to do the things necessary to win tight games.
"We're seven games under right now," Hurdle said. "You got eight one-run losses, a couple of two-run losses (actually four). So you're there, but you got to take the next step."
For the Rockies, the step better come very soon, on the road no less, if they want to avoid a repeat of 2008, when they found themselves buried as May was winding down. Last year, the Rockies finished May at 20-35, 10 games behind, and they fell to 20-38 and 12 games back on June 2.
ASTROS 5, ROCKIES 3: 3B Garrett Atkins made two errors in the first inning, when the Rockies also allowed the Astros to pull off a double steal of home and second base. It was all part of a three-run inning, two of the runs unearned.
Jason Hammel pitched 5 1/3 innings in his longest outing with the Rockies and allowed four runs, one earned. The final unearned run came in the third after SS Clint Barmes' error put runners on first and third with one out.
The Rockies struck out 13 times, 11 in seven innings against LHP Wandy Rodriguez, and didn't get a hit after a run-scoring single by Atkins in the fourth. Following that hit, 15 consecutive Rockies were retired before pinch hitter Seth Smith walked with two outs in the ninth.
NOTES, QUOTES
--1B Todd Helton went 2-for-4 Thursday, leaving him three hits away from 2,000 in his career. The Rockies open a series Friday at Pittsburgh, where Helton made his major league debut Aug. 2, 1997, albeit at Three Rivers Stadium. That day, he singled off RHP Francisco Cordova for his first hit. Helton's first homer came that day against RHP Marc Wilkins.
--3B Garrett Atkins' single in the fourth broke an 0-for-25 slide. It was his first hit since he went 1-for-3 on May 4 at San Diego. Atkins, who is batting .198, went 1-for-22 on the homestand.
--RHP Jason Marquis allowed 10 hits in 3 2/3 innings and LHP Glendon Rusch allowed 12 hits in 2 2/3 innings in a 15-11 loss to the Astros on Wednesday. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Rockies are the first team in the majors to have two pitchers each allow 10 or more hits in the same game since the Twins on Aug. 13, 1999, in a 14-2 loss to the Yankees.
--The Rockies have scored 10 or more runs in five of their seven wins at home this season. They have hit at least one homer in 12 of their 13 wins.
--The Rockies on Tuesday began a stretch of 16 consecutive days before their next scheduled off day May 28. They will then play 17 consecutive days before an off day June 15, meaning they are playing 33 games in 34 days.
BY THE NUMBERS: 54 -- Career wins for RHP Aaron Cook, who had been tied for second place in franchise history with Pedro Astacio and now needs four victories to reach 58 and tie Jason Jennings for the most Rockies wins all-time.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I sleep in it a lot. Until I have to (use the bathroom). And then I get up. It definitely takes away from of the soreness. It definitely doesn't hurt. And I do anything I can to help." -- 1B Todd Helton, 35, on the hyperbaric chamber he has been using since his back surgery in late September.
ROSTER REPORT
--SS Troy Tulowitzki didn't play Thursday after suffering a contusion on his left elbow when Astros reliever Alberto Arias hit him with a pitch in the seventh inning Wednesday. However, Tulowitzki said his elbow wasn't bothering him. It was his left shin, which he hit with a foul ball on his first at-bat. He expects to be back in the lineup Friday.
--CF Dexter Fowler on Wednesday stole his 10th base, tops among rookies. It was his first steal since his five-steal game April 27 against the Padres.
--C Chris Iannetta has hit three of the Rockies' past four grand slams, dating to Sept. 16 of last season. In a span of 35 games since that date, 12 of Iannetta's 25 RBIs have been on grand slams.
--RHP Ryan Speier, who has been on the disabled list since April 19 with a strained left hamstring, pitched one scoreless inning for Class A Modesto on Wednesday, allowing one hit and one walk.
MEDICAL WATCH:
SS Troy Tulowitzki (left elbow contusion, sore left shin) left the May 13 game, and he didn't play May 14. He expects to play May 15.
INF Jeff Baker (sprained left wrist) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 27.
LHP Franklin Morales (strained left shoulder) went on the 15-day disabled list April 22. He threw a bullpen session May 9.
RHP Ryan Speier (strained left hamstring) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 19. He threw a bullpen session April 27, and he began a rehab assignment with Class A Modesto on May 13.
RHP Taylor Buchholz (partial tear in right ulnar collateral ligament) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 27, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on April 22. He was throwing in extended spring training in early May, hoping to avoid season-ending Tommy John surgery.
LHP Jeff Francis (left shoulder surgery in February 2009) went on the 60-day disabled list April 5. He likely will miss the entire season. Recovery time ranges from six to 12 months, meaning it's possible Francis could pitch in September but not very likely.