Rockies host Rangers in quest for first series win

The Colorado Rockies finally put together a winning streak but have yet to win a series this season.

They will have a chance to accomplish the second feat Saturday night when they host the Texas Rangers in the second game of a three-game set in Denver.

Colorado followed a 9-1 win over the San Francisco Giants on Thursday with a comeback 4-2 victory over the Rangers on Friday night to get two straight wins — finally — in their 38th game of the season.

The Rockies can extend the streak to three and take a series from the reigning world champion on Saturday when they send right-hander Ryan Feltner (1-3, 5.54 ERA) to the mound against Rangers left-hander Andrew Heaney (0-4, 4.50).

Feltner, who has never faced the Rangers, is coming off a tough outing in Pittsburgh on Sunday when he allowed five runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings in a 5-3 loss to the Pirates. In his previous start — April 30 in Miami against the Marlins — he tossed a career-best eight innings and had a chance for a complete-game shutout but gave up three runs in the ninth in what became an extra-inning loss for Colorado.

Charlie Blackmon rescued the Rockies from another loss on Friday night. He scored from first on a two-out error to tie the game in the seventh and then ripped a two-run, tie-breaking double in the eighth.

"Charlie was running on the pitch and kept going," Rockies manager Bud Black said of the tying run. "We caught a break, and Charlie kept going, and he was hustling all the way.

"And Charlie doesn't stop. He keeps fighting from the first pitch to the last, and he plays the game the right way."

What adds some sweetness to Friday's win is it came in a game that former Colorado ace Jon Gray started. He pitched well and left with a one-run lead, but the bullpen couldn't hold it.

Heaney, still looking for his first win of the season, hopes to find it against the Rockies. He has faced Colorado six times (five starts) in his career, going 3-2 with a 3.22 ERA. He last opposed them on May 21, 2023, when he allowed a run on six hits over six innings in a win at Texas.

Heaney has been a rare entity for Texas this season — one of the few pitchers who have been healthy. The Rangers placed reliever Josh Sborz on the 15-day injured list with a right rotator cuff strain before the series in Colorado.

Sborz joins a long list of injured pitchers — Max Scherzer, Nathan Eovaldi, Dane Dunning and Cody Bradford among them — that has kept the shuttle from Triple-A Round Rock busy. It has put a strain on the team, but Texas is in first place in the American League West.

"There's no way around it," manager Bruce Bochy said. "We're thin. We have to work around it. We don't have a choice. Obviously, we have to be concerned about taking care of our guys right now. We've got two starters that are out, and guys have to step up."

—Field Level Media