Rookie Jon Gray will look to extend his streak of four straight quality starts when the Rockies open a weekend series vs. the Marlins, but instead of matching up against Jose Fernandez -- whose start was skipped to conserve his innings -- Gray will face off against Adam Conley in Friday's opener at Marlins Park.
Since allowing nine runs in 3 1/3 innings in St. Louis on May 19, Gray has been on a tear, allowing only seven earned runs over 27 1/3 innings to lower his ERA from 6.75 to 4.70.
Gray has had more success on the road than at home (4.40 ERA vs. 5.02), but he doesn't like to change his approach away from the hitter-friendly confines of Coors Field, even at a pitcher's haven like Marlins Park.
"It's more of a comfortable feeling pitching in a place like that," Gray said. "But other than that, I can't think about changing anything or taking a pitch off or thinking it's going to be easier. I can get into pretty tough spots. I think not changing anything at all is going to be the best thing for me."
Three things to know about this game
• Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton should start after begnning Wednesday's game on the bench to do side work in an attempt to get out of his slump. He entered the day batting a career-low .194/.303/.418 before hitting into a fielder's choice as a pinch-hitter in the ninth.
• No Rockies have faced Conley before. The team is hitting .254 against left-handers this season, which is 17th in baseball, although its 24 home runs against left-handers ranks sixth.
• Marlins infielder Derek Dietrich, who is dealing with a bruised left foot, will be available to pinch-hit, but needs a couple of extra days off before he is ready to start. Dietrich was hit by a pitch on his foot Monday in San Diego.
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