Rockies start second half against another last-place team

The Colorado Rockies (39-59) open the second half Friday night at Coors Field against a Cincinnati Reds team (43-52) that are also in last place.

The Reds limped into the All-Star break having won just four of their last 14, sitting last in the NL Central, 15.5 games back, with ESPN projecting a 71-91 finish and essentially zero playoff odds. The Athletic’s midseason assessment was blunt: “broken and boring.” Cincinnati ranks tied for 27th in batting average (.230) and 22nd in runs per game (4.16).

The Rockies will hand the ball to rookie right-hander Gabriel Hughes in Friday’s opener. The 2022 first-round pick has been a revelation since his July 1 call-up — three shutout innings of relief for his first MLB save against the Giants, then a quality start against the Dodgers in LA where he struck out seven over six innings, including punching out Shohei Ohtani. He hasn’t gotten a result beside one save yet but has a 3.00 ERA in his two appearances. It’s early. It’s a tiny sample, but so far it’s been solid from Highes.

The pitching matchups:

Friday, 6:40 p.m.: Brady Singer (3-9, 4.72 ERA) vs. Gabriel Hughes (0-0, 3.00 ERA)
Saturday, 1:10 p.m.: Rhett Lowder (3-6, 5.05 ERA) vs. TBD (expect Tomoyuki Sugano, per Thomas Harding)
Sunday, 1:10 p.m.: Hunter Greene (1-1, 6.97 ERA) vs. Ryan Feltner (3-3, 4.55 ERA)

Colorado’s offense should like what it sees. Singer and Lowder have combined for a 6-15 record and neither has an ERA under 4.72. Greene has electric stuff but has been limited this season and is sitting on a 6.97 ERA. Meanwhile, the Rockies’ bats have been surging since we flipped to June and the club leads all of baseball with 132 runs scored in the eighth inning or later.

All-Star Hunter Goodman and twice Rookie of the Month TJ Rumfield give Colorado a lineup two-some that can do damage against shaky pitching — and that’s coming to Colorado this weekend.

Both clubs are playing for 2027 and beyond at this point.