DENVER - Rookie Jeff Francis looks to rebound from a
rare bad start at home Tuesday when he takes the ball for the
Colorado Rockies in the second contest of a three-game set
against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Francis (11-8, 5.77 ERA) has fared quite well in 12 home starts,
going 8-3 with a 4.44 ERA despite pitching in the
hitter-friendly confines of Coors Field. The lefthander owns a
10-3 lifetime record with a 4.17 ERA at home, but is just 4-7
with a 6.97 ERA on the road.
However, Francis was tagged for eight runs in a career-low 3 1/3
innings here Thursday in an 11-3 loss to Pittsburgh. He looks
to rebound against a team that he struggled against in his only
career start, as he yielded six runs in 5 1/3 innings of a 6-1
loss on May 24.
Milwaukee counters with Victor Santos (3-11, 4.18), who has not
won back-to-back decisions yet this year and finds himself one
loss shy of tying his career high, set last season.
The Brewers need Santos to give them a better outing than the
one they received from ace Ben Sheets in Monday's series opener.
The righthander was blasted for season highs of 10 runs and 13
hits as Milwaukee dropped a 12-2 decision.
Todd Helton had three hits, including a two-run homer, and
scored three runs for Colorado, which snapped its four-game
losing streak.