Rockies turn to Michael Lorenzen in bid for series win vs. Reds

The Cincinnati Reds will face a familiar pitcher on Thursday afternoon when they host the Colorado Rockies in the rubber match of a three-game series.

Rockies right-hander Michael Lorenzen (2-2, 5.97 ERA) spent the first seven seasons (2015-21) of his career with the Reds. He'll look to lead Colorado to a series win after the Rockies recorded a 13-2 victory on Wednesday.

Hunter Goodman homered twice and drove in three runs for the Rockies, who bounced back from a 7-2 loss in the series opener. Brett Sullivan doubled twice among his three hits and had three RBIs on Wednesday.

Cincinnati had won eight of its previous 10 games before the loss.

Mickey Moniak is riding a 13-game hitting streak for Colorado, which has won four of its last five games. Manager Warren Schaeffer said Moniak has been an invaluable part of the team's early success.

"Behind closed doors, he's part of what keeps everything around here loose and keeps everybody ready to play," Schaeffer said. "What he provides off the field is just as big as what he's providing on the field, but he's in a really good place offensively, too."

Moniak doubled in a run on Wednesday, when the Rockies led 8-0 before adding five runs in the ninth against position player Jose Trevino.

Cincinnati will look to bounce back against Lorenzen, who recorded his best start of the young season last Friday. He allowed one run over seven innings in a 4-3 road win over the New York Mets.

"(Lorenzen) picked up the boys," Schaeffer said. "(The bullpen) was light, for sure. That's how a teammate steps up for his team. It was big. It was huge for us."

Tyler Stephenson is 5-for-8 with a home run against Lorenzen, who is 1-2 with a 6.48 ERA in three career starts vs. his former team.

Cincinnati will counter with left-hander Andrew Abbott (0-2, 6.59 ERA), who allowed five runs over four innings in a no-decision against the Detroit Tigers last Friday in a game the Reds won 9-8.

Abbott has given up a total of 16 runs (15 earned) over his last three starts covering 11 2/3 innings.

"I've never struggled for this long in my life," the 26-year-old said. "It's foreign to me. We're trying different drills. We're focusing on one thing, then the next. I don't really know what to label as the reason. It could just be, I think it's as simple as pitches over the middle of the plate. It could be something else behind the scenes."

Brenton Doyle is 4-for-8 with a home run against Abbott, who is 2-0 with a 3.91 ERA in four career starts vs. Colorado.

The Reds could use a lengthy outing from Abbott after Wednesday starter Brandon Williamson lasted just three innings before exiting with left shoulder fatigue.

Williamson, who will have an MRI on Thursday, said the fatigue could be related to his 15-month layoff while recovering from Tommy John surgery in September 2024.

"I feel like I'm to the point where I'm just catching up to a lot of, not rehab but just not playing for so long," Williamson said. "Feel like I've just been trying to grind through it. It's kind of caught up to me a little bit. I'm still just trying to figure it out."

--Field Level Media