Rockies look to keep streak going at Mets (May 05, 2018)

NEW YORK -- The Colorado Rockies hope they obtained some momentum by scoring a bunch of early runs Friday night and then hanging on for the win. The New York Mets hope the equation for some much-needed positive energy involves a late rally in a narrow loss.

The Rockies will look to lock up a series win Saturday night, when they visit the Mets for the second game of a three-game set at Citi Field. Colorado right-hander Chad Bettis (3-1, 2.43 ERA) is scheduled to oppose New York left-hander Steven Matz (1-2, 4.98 ERA).

The Rockies earned their third straight win Friday, when they raced out to a big early lead before edging the Mets, 8-7. Colorado (18-15) scored five times in the first and once more in the second and carried an 8-2 lead into the eighth on a night in which four players (Charlie Blackmon, Gerardo Parra, Nolan Arenado and Ian Desmond) had two hits apiece.

"Overall, our at-bats were pretty good all night," Rockies manager Bud Black told reporters afterward. "Hopefully, that's a sign of more to come."

The Mets nearly came all the way back over the final two innings, when Todd Frazier hit a two-run homer in the eighth and Amed Rosario, Asdrubal Cabrera and Frazier had RBI hits in the ninth.

"It got a little hairy there at the end," Black said. "The big thing is that the game went our way. Sometimes those types of games can go the other way."

The Mets (17-13) have lost four straight and 12 of 18 since an 11-1 start, but they took some solace Friday in climbing back after right-handed pitcher Zack Wheeler struggled against the Rockies.

"Mickey told me after the first inning you've got to go out there and you've got 105 pitches tonight, try to bear down and give the team some innings so we can sort of save the bullpen," said Wheeler, who pitched six-plus innings. "These guys did a nice job battling back and hopefully we can keep that momentum going forward, even though we did lose."

The Mets entered Friday fresh off a three-game sweep at the hands of the Atlanta Braves in which they were outscored 21-2.

"That's the one thing throughout this real rough patch we're in -- and it's rough, it's tough -- the energy's always been there," Mets manager Mickey Callaway said.

Bettis took the loss in his most recent start on Sunday, when he allowed two runs over seven innings as the Rockies fell to the Miami Marlins, 3-0.

Matz hasn't pitched since April 25, when he took the loss after giving up seven runs (three earned) over 3 1/3 innings as the Mets were routed by the St. Louis Cardinals, 9-1. The southpaw had his scheduled start earlier this week skipped due to minor back stiffness.

Bettis is 0-0 with a 6.23 ERA in three career games (two starts) against the Mets. Matz is 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in three career starts against the Rockies.