(My Sportsbook) - A big reason why the Arizona Diamondbacks have fallen from grace is their poor play on the road.

The Diamondbacks have lost 10 straight as the guest and will put their playoff hopes on the line tonight in the opener of a seven-game trek with the first of three straight meetings against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Arizona is 31-43 away from Chase Field this season and sits 3 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for the top spot in the National League West division.

Arizona kept pace with the Dodgers by posting a four-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants. In Thursday's 3-2 win in the series finale, Adam Dunn put the Diamondbacks ahead for good with an RBI single in the eighth inning while Justin Upton drove in the other two runs in the win.

Juan Cruz collected the win despite giving up one run in an inning of work and starter Randy Johnson permitted one run and eight hits over seven frames in the no-decision. Chad Qualls pitched a perfect ninth for his fifth save.

The D'Backs, who will also visit St. Louis for four games on the swing, will send rookie Max Scherzer to the mound on Friday. Scherzer is 0-2 with a 2.80 earned run average in 14 games, five of which were starts, this season. He last pitched versus Cincinnati on September 14, getting a no-decision for giving up one run in six innings of a 2-1 loss.

The right-hander, whose last decision was a loss on May 17 versus Detroit, has never faced Colorado.

Colorado has won three of its last four games but its hopes of reaching the postseason again have been dashed. The defending National League champions won the last two matchups of a three-game series versus San Diego and notched a 1-0 victory on Wednesday thanks to Joe Koshansky's third career homer, a solo shot in the fourth inning.

Starting pitcher Livan Hernandez tossed five shutout innings for the victory, allowing just three hits with two strikeouts and two walks. Brian Fuentes then tossed a perfect ninth for his 28th save of the season. Rockies All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday is batting .340 with three homers and eight RBI in 12 games versus the Diamondbacks this season.

Taking the ball today for Colorado will be Jorge De La Rosa, who is 8-8 with a 5.38 earned run average. De La Rosa lost his last trip to the mound on Saturday versus the Dodgers in a 5-1 setback. He was roughed up for four runs and seven hits in five frames.

The lefty, who is 5-2 at Coors Field this season, is 0-1 in six lifetime matchups, two of which were starts, with a 2.93 ERA against Arizona. De La Rosa is 0-1 in two appearances with the Diamondbacks in 2008.

Arizona has won 10 of the 12 encounters with Colorado this season and is 5-1 at Coors Field. The D'Backs have won five of the last six meetings.