Nationals chase series victory in doubleheader vs. Rockies

After holding on for a wild victory on Saturday, the visiting Washington Nationals will look to clinch the series against the Colorado Rockies in a doubleheader on Sunday.

Following a rainout on Friday, Washington bolted out to a 12-2 lead on Saturday before the Rockies scored eight runs in the seventh inning and one more in the ninth. The Nationals held off Colorado's rally and now have a chance to earn a road series victory for the first time this year.

Right fielder Dylan Crews launched his first two home runs of the season. James Wood and Josh Bell also went deep for the Nationals, who hope to see their positive visit to offense-friendly Coors Field continue.

"I think we did a better job of getting to the ball in the zone and then staying on the baseball," Washington manager Dave Martinez said. "Hopefully these guys learned something today and come out tomorrow and do the same thing."

Right-hander Jake Irvin (1-0, 3.91 ERA) gets the start in the first game Sunday, looking to follow up on tossing seven scoreless innings in a win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday. In two career starts against Colorado, Irvin is 0-0 with a 3.75 ERA.

Irvin matches up against left-hander Kyle Freeland (0-3, 4.88), who is aiming for his first victory of the season for the reeling Rockies. Freeland allowed five runs across five innings in a 6-0 defeat against the San Diego Padres last Sunday.

Freeland is 5-2 with a 2.05 ERA in nine career starts against the Nationals.

The Rockies, who have lost seven in a row, enter play tied with the Chicago White Sox with a majors-worst 16 losses.

Saturday might have been rock bottom for the club, who tied a franchise record with 17 strikeouts at home.

Newly named hitting coach (and former Rockies manager) Clint Hurdle knows that things have to turn around quickly to avoid another hapless season at Coors Field.

"Fans always need to feel what they need to feel," Hurdle said. "I think they're tired of hearing things. We need to give them some action. We need to give them some on-field support, something they can buy into and something they can rally around."

A bright spot on Saturday, Mickey Moniak homered and drove in four runs.

Colorado will hope to see another offensive onslaught in the second game on Sunday when it faces rookie left-hander Brad Lord (0-1, 4.82 ERA).

Lord, 25, is making the third start of his rookie year, but also has made three appearances out of the bullpen. He has yet to face the Rockies in his young career.

On the mound for the Rockies in the nightcap is right-hander Antonio Senzatela (0-3, 5.89 ERA), who allowed four earned runs on nine hits over 4 1/3 innings in Monday's 5-3 road defeat to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Senzatela is 0-1 with a 5.73 ERA in four career appearances (two starts) versus Colorado.