For the first time this season, the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres will square off as they begin a four-game set at Coors Field.

The Rockies hosted the Seattle Mariners over the weekend, narrowly winning one of the three games in the series courtesy of a game one victory in Sunday’s doubleheader. Wins have been hard to come by for the Rockies as they own the worst record in the National League, have yet to win consecutive games this season, and have not won a single series. While the pitching hasn’t been elite, it has been serviceable enough that it stands to reason that the Rockies could have more wins if not for an anemic offense that hasn’t found its footing as a unit.

They will face a tough customer in the Padres who spent the offseason making a handful of meaningful changes to the roster to combat the Los Angeles Dodgers and the rest of a competitive division. The Padres sit just one game behind the Dodgers in the division and have lost three of their last four games, including two games at home against the Toronto Blue Jays. Still, they have a strong pitching and an offense capable of doing plenty of damage.

Here are a few things to watch in Colorado.

Pitching Probables

4/22: Austin Gomber (0-1, 4.95 ERA) vs. Dylan Cease (2-1, 1.99 ERA)

4/23: Ryan Feltner (1-2, 5.06 ERA) vs. Michael King (2-1, 3.33 ERA)

4/24: TBD vs. Matt Waldron (0-2, 4.74 ERA)

4/25: TBD vs. Randy Vásquez (0-1, 1.80 ERA)

Colorado’s rotation uncertainty

The Rockies were dealt a huge blow over the weekend when it was revealed that Kyle Freeland would be placed on the injured list with an elbow strain in his throw arm. The injury has reportedly been bothering him since Opening Day, but even more so during his last start in Toronto. Over the last two weeks, the starting rotation has been relatively serviceable thanks to a slew of quality starts. However, the team is facing its first test of depth. The Rockies moved Peter Lambert to the rotation, but he struggled in his first start against the Mariners. They also selected the contract of Ty Blach for the fourth time in his three seasons with the team to work out of the bullpen and as a starter. The team has yet to announce starters for games three and four of this series but it’s likely a bullpen game will come into play somewhere.

My kingdom for an offense

Before scoring twice in the bottom of the tenth in a game one victory on Sunday, the Rockies had gone 19 1/3 innings without a run. Following the Mariners series, the Rockies now rank 15th in team batting average (.242) and are tied for 14th in total hits (179) but also rank 25th in runs scored (80). They have the fifth most strikeouts in baseball (217) and are tied for the second-fewest walks in the league (59) while also having the fourth-fewest home runs (16). The Rockies’ last home run came one week ago when Michael Toglia hit a home run against Aaron Nola. Only three regular position players have an average over .300 with the rest hitting .250 over lower. Only three players have at least 10 RBI, showing that as a whole the Rockies’ offense is about as threatening as a baby with an inflatable bat.

Cease and desist

The last-minute trade of Dylan Cease before the end of Spring Training has proved to be a fruitful one for San Diego. The former White Sox ace has allowed just five earned runs over 22 2/3 innings in his four starts. Opponents are hitting just .130 against him and he has 27 strikeouts against 11 walks. He has given up just 10 hits this season and is looking to go the distance against a struggling Rockies offense. He frontlines a rotation that has seen plenty of strong performances and is backed up by a bullpen that can rank as one of the best in the league.

Star power

The Padres are not devoid of star talent as Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. have been doing what they do best at the plate. Machado leads the team with 25 hits while Tatis is right on his heels with 24, but he also leads the team with six home runs and 15 RBI. The duo provides plenty of pop in the lineup but they are also supported by the strong starts of Ha-Seong Kim, Jake Cronenworth, and former Rockie Jurickson Profar. Perhaps the most pleasant surprise for the Padres has been the rise of rookie center fielder Jackson Merrill who has a .792 OPS to begin his young career.