Apr 6, 2013; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin (46) pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1st inning at Miller Park. Image Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Well the Colorado Rockies offense was rolling against the San Francisco Giants, but none of the pitchers they faced during the weekend had the stuff of Patrick Corbin and he helped Arizona defeat Colorado 5-1.

Corbin was extraordinary once again, and showed once again why he is the best left-handed starter in all of baseball. Corbin threw a complete game, gave up three hits, one run, walked one, and struck out ten.

The offense for Arizona continues to improve, and Didi Gregorius was once again the main reason they were able to score runs in this game. They scored their first run in the second inning from Miguel Montero grounding into a force out.

The third inning they scored two more runs from singles by Paul Goldschmidt and Eric Chavez. Gregorius continued his strong start on offense by hitting a double in the fourth inning that scored a run and a single in the sixth that brought one more run home.

Rockies starter Jon Garland did not have a good start in this game, and he allowed base runners in every inning that he pitched. Garland went six innings, gave up eleven hits, five runs, and walked one batter.

Colorado did have some momentum from their previous series with the offense clicking on all cylinders, but they were shut down in this game. Their lone run in the game came from a double by Jordan Pacheco in the eight inning.

Corbin has accomplished plenty in his starts this season, but this performance put him in an elite class of pitchers. He became just the third visiting pitcher to record a complete-game win with at least ten strikeouts at Coors Field. The only other pitchers that can lay claim to accomplishing this are Kevin Brown and Pedro Martinez.

Another reason why Corbin has been successful this season is because of his breaking pitch. He has 39 strikeouts this season with that pitch and this is the third-most of any pitcher in the NL. He only trails the Pittsburgh Pirates A.J. Burnett with 44 strikeouts and Los Angeles Dodgers Clayton Kershaw  who has 42 strikeouts in this category.

He also has the highest miss rate in the majors at 58 percent. The Diamondbacks are 9-0 in Corbin’s starts this season. Corbin extended his streak to nine starts where he has pitched at least six innings and allowed no more than two runs.

The statistics that I provided about Corbin’s success with his breaking pitch were from ESPN Stats and Info.

Apr. 28, 2013; Phoenix AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin (46) throws a pitch during the first inning against Colorado Rockies at Chase Field. Image Credit: Jennifer Hilderbrand-USA TODAY Sports Images

The Colorado Rockies (24-20) just played a great series this past weekend against the San Francisco Giants, and now find themselves just one game back from leading the NL West division. They took advantage of a struggling Giants team that was playing sloppy defense and their pitching was below average at best.

Arizona (25-19) just finished a series with the Miami Marlins where they won two out of three games, and the starting pitching is the main reason they have been playing some of their best baseball this season. The starters for the Diamondbacks have the 4th best ERA in the NL at 3.47.

This is the third time that Arizona will face Rockies this season. Arizona is 4-3 against Colorado this season.

Game 1 (Monday): Patrick Corbin (6-0, 1.52 ERA) vs. Jon Garland (3-4, 4.89 ERA)

The best story this season has been the performance of young lefty Patrick Corbin. He has been the model of consistency in each start this season, as he has thrown at least six innings and has not allowed more than two runs in any of his eight starts this season. He also has the 3rd best ERA in all of baseball behind only Matt Harvey and Clayton Kershaw.

Garland has thrown the ball great in his last three starts, but has only one win to show for it. He has the most experience of any starter in the Rockies rotation, and this has helped the younger members of their rotation. Though, he has had success in his past three starts he has only went five innings in those starts.

Game 2 (Tuesday): Ian Kennedy (2-3, 4.88 ERA) vs. Jhoulys Chacin (3-3, 4.07 ERA)

Kennedy earned a win in his last start against the Atlanta Braves, and this was first victory since Opening Day. Kennedy is 0-1, with 4.50 ERA against the Rockies this year. Kennedy has had success this season when he has been able to pound the strike zone with his fastball. The troubles for him occur when his command is less than stellar.

Chacin will hope to rebound after his last start, where he squandered a six-run lead given to him by Colorado. The biggest reason why he struggled was that he lost his aggressiveness and command of all his pitches.

Game 3 (Wednesday): Trevor Cahill ( 3-4, 2.48 ERA) vs. Jorge De La Rosa (5-3, 3.58 ERA)

Cahill has been great over his past five starts, compiling a  1.36 ERA to go with a 3-1 record. The only concern is that command has been inconsistent as he’s walked 16 batters in that span.

De La Rosa has at times pitched terrific for Colorado this year, and then there are other times where he has had problems locating his pitches.

May 3, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Wade Miley (36) throws during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Image Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The Braves (21-16) just lost three out of four games to the San Francisco Giants over the weekend, and will now start a three-game series with Arizona. One of the reasons why they struggled against the Giants is that their offense was non-existent and their pitching gave up too many runs.

Arizona (21-17) had a chance to earn a series victory against the Philadelphia Phillies, but a mistake by manager Kirk Gibson cost them a victory. The starter for the Diamondbacks Brandon McCarthy pitched a great game, and had only thrown 88 pitches going into the ninth inning.

Gibson opted to use the bullpen, and they blew another save opportunity for the team, this is the 11th save the bullpen has blown this season.

This was a bad loss for Arizona, but now they will face a very good Braves team and they also will see their former franchise player Justin Upton return to Chase Field.

This is the first time that Arizona will face the Braves this season. Arizona went 2-5 against the Braves last season.

Game 1 (Monday): Mike Minor (4-2, 2.96 ERA) vs. Wade Miley (3-1, 2.93 ERA)

Mike Minor has pitched great this season for Atlanta, and looks to continue his success against Arizona. Minor in his last start against the Cincinnati Reds gave up one run, walked three, struck out seven batters in seven innings. Arizona will struggle on offense once again because Minor is another left-handed starter they have to face.

Wade Miley rebounded from his last two starts where he had issues with his command. He went seven innings did not issue a walk, and threw more strikes against the opposition. Miley has been one our most dependable starters this season and needs to have great command in this start against the Braves.

Game 2 (Tuesday): Julio Teheran (2-0, 4.84 ERA) vs. Patrick Corbin (5-0, 1.75 ERA)

Julio Teheran has been pitching better in recent starts for Atlanta, and one of the reasons is that he has changed the grip on his change up. He has just allowed two runs or less in each of past three starts.

Patrick Corbin has pitched excellent in each start he has made this season. He has pitched at least six innings, and has given two earned runs or less in each start. He will need to have his best stuff once again against a Braves team that can score runs in bunches, though they are struggling to hit. Corbin has faced the Braves only once in his career, he threw three shut-out innings in relief last June.

Game 3 (Wednesday): Tim Hudson (4-2, 4.70 ERA) vs. Ian Kennedy (1-3, 4.83 ERA)

Tim Hudson has not pitched great this season for the Braves, as he has thrown fewer than five innings in three of his eight starts this season. The positive for Hudson is that  he is 4-0 in his career against Arizona with a 0.94 ERA in five starts.

Ian Kennedy did not have have a good beginning to his last start, but managed to pitch better as the game went on. The key for him was that he was able to throw more strikes, and he used his fastball more than he used his breaking pitches.