Rockies vie for rare series win at home as injury-plagued Rangers await rematch

The Texas Rangers and Colorado Rockies began a three-game series in Denver on a cold, damp night on Monday.

More of the same is forecast for the second game on Tuesday night.

Fresh off a 7-6 victory, Colorado will try to make it two straight triumphs on Tuesday and win a home series for the first time since sweeping Houston in early April.

The Rockies are expected to turn to left-hander Sammy Peralta (0-1, 7.59 ERA in 2025) to make his season debut on Tuesday.

Peralta, who was called up from Triple-A Albuquerque on Friday, will serve as the opener on Tuesday. He has a 6.23 ERA without decision in three career relief appearances against the Rangers.

Texas will send right-hander Kumar Rocker (1-4, 4.34 ERA) to the mound for his first appearance against Colorado.

The Rangers, who have lost three of their last four games, are dealing with an injury to star shortstop Corey Seager. He was placed on the 15-day injured list on Monday due to lower back inflammation.

Seager, who has not played since going 0-for-4 against Arizona on Wednesday, has struggled with injuries the last three seasons. He missed most of 2025 after an appendectomy and has not played in more than 123 games since his first season with Texas in 2022.

"Backs are tricky. I'm not going to push this thing to where we'll then miss a significant amount of time," Texas manager Skip Schumaker said. "But hopefully it's pretty quick."

The Rangers also are without second baseman Josh Smith, who went on the 10-day IL on May 5 because of lower body and wrist injuries but was diagnosed with viral meningitis on Friday. He was hospitalized, likely for at least a week.

With Seager out, Michael Helman was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock and made his season debut against the Rockies, going 1-for-2.

Colorado also placed a player on the injured list on Monday.

Outfielder Jordan Beck, who had a breakout season in 2025 with 16 home runs in 148 games, is out with a left hamstring strain sustained during a recent workout. He was scratched from Saturday's lineup and didn't play in the series finale against Arizona on Sunday.

Beck is batting .183 with just one home run in 30 games and has more strikeouts (22) than hits (15).

"Jordan just hasn't gotten the opportunities he wants so far, but he's still a really good baseball player in my opinion -- not a platoon player over the long course of the future," Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said. "It's just where it's at right now. Things could always change.

"I see a guy that's taking solid at-bats against left-handed pitching, struggling against right-handed pitching. Honestly, it's kind of a Catch-22, because he's not getting a ton of at-bats against right-handed pitching -- to be fair, because of how our roster is constructed this year.

Beck's struggles and trip to the IL gave Sterlin Thompson an opportunity to make his major league debut, which he did Friday with a pinch-hit appearance. He got his first big-league hit in Monday night's win, a leadoff single in the fourth inning.

Colorado has played well against American League West teams, improving to 5-2 with Monday night's victory. Overall, the Rockies are 7-3 against the AL, including series victories against the Astros and the Toronto Blue Jays.

--Field Level Media