Rockies' Dakota Hudson hopes for first win with team vs. Rays

Home wasn't sweet for the Colorado Rockies in 2023, as the team finished with a 37-44 record in Denver.

But Sunday, the Rockies have a chance to get above .500 at home in the early season when they host the Tampa Bay Rays to wrap up a three-game series.

The Rockies will send Dakota Hudson (0-1, 0.00 ERA) to the mound against fellow right-hander Ryan Pepiot (0-1, 9.53).

Colorado won Friday's home opener 10-7 on Ryan McMahon's walk-off grand slam, and it looked as if the Rockies would take the first two games of the series after building a 6-1 lead Saturday night. The Rays, however, scored seven unanswered runs to win 8-6 and rob the Rockies of a chance for a sweep.

Hudson was signed to a one-year deal in the offseason after spending six seasons with St. Louis and earned a spot in the Colorado rotation, in part because German Marquez and Antonio Senzatela are recovering from Tommy John surgery. Marquez is expected back this year while Senzatela is likely to miss the entire season.

With that scenario, the Colorado front office went looking for a stopgap arm and found Hudson. He made his Rockies debut at the Chicago Cubs on Monday and was tagged for the loss despite a solid start. He allowed three runs -- all unearned -- in 5 1/3 innings, but Colorado couldn't muster any runs in a 5-0 loss.

The veteran wasn't disappointed with his first outing in a Rockies uniform.

"Good to get out there," he said after the outing. "Just trying to eat up some innings and keep the ball on the ground the best I could."

Hudson is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in two career starts against the Rays.

Colorado hopes Kris Bryant can play in the series finale. He sat out Saturday's game with a stiff lower back, but manager Bud Black said he expects Bryant, who hit his first homer of the season on Friday, to play.

Tampa Bay is off to a sluggish start to the season, and Pepiot was roughed up in his only start, allowing six earned runs over 5 2/3 innings in a 9-3 setback to the Texas Rangers on Monday.

Pepiot has faced the Rockies twice in his career -- one start -- and is 1-0 with a 1.64 ERA, all while playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Rays acquired him in the offseason in a trade that sent starter Tyler Glasnow to the Dodgers.

Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash was happy with Pepiot's start against the Rangers -- other than his four walks. Pepiot was stung by a three-run homer in the first inning by Josh Jung and left with two outs in the sixth after giving up an RBI single to Jung.

"That was a little bit of an odd outing," Cash said. "He really threw the ball well. You take away the walks and I think we're all pretty pleased with the stat line."

The teams are hoping for a little more favorable weather for Sunday's game. Strong winds and cold temperatures were a departure from the sunny and warm opener on Friday. The 40 to 80 mph wind gusts impacted flights out of Denver International Airport as well as baseball played at Coors Field.

The forecast calls for continued wind but with less ferocity and temperatures reaching the mid-to-high 50s.