The Rockies are home and more rested than the Cardinals having played yesterday afternoon, while the Cardinals had to play the Sunday night game arriving into Denver in the wee hours of the morning.




St. Louis starter John Lackey has had problems away from Busch going 0-4 with a 5.15 ERA in his last eight road starts going back to last September. St. Louis is 1-8 (11 percent) in Lackey's past nine road starts.




The right-hander hasn't fared well at Coors either with an 0-1 mark and 6.39 ERA in two starts. The Rockies are 9-4 in their last 13 games versus a righty starter.




David Hale is set to make his third start for Colorado. Hale showed promise with Atlanta last year, but was squeezed out by the Braves' many good pitching candidates. Hale hasn't walked a batter this season in 12 2/3 innings.




The Rockies' offense usually is keyed by Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez. Both are coming on after slow starts. Gonzalez is 9-for-20 in his last five games while Tulowitzki has a seven-game hitting streak.




Colorado has won nine of the last 13 times it has been an underdog.