DENVER -- As the Rockies attempt to avoid a three-game sweep on Sunday against the Marlins, manager Clint Hurdle would like to see his underachieving offense come to life.

"I think that's one staple we could have in place," Hurdle said, "and I still believe we will."

Hurdle highlighted a theme in his team's offensive struggles.

"Our numbers against right-handed pitching," Hurdle said, "those baffle me because you're going to face more righties than left-handers."

The Rockies will be facing Florida right-hander Chris Volstad on Sunday. The Rockies are currently hitting lefties at a .284 clip, but against right-handers they are batting .245.

On Saturday night against hard-throwing right-hander Josh Johnson, the Rockies netted one run and seven hits.

That's the bad news. The good news Hurdle pointed to has been the consistency of Hawpe and first baseman Todd Helton. Hurdle said Hawpe has grown and matured as a hitter.

"The offensive game is about driving in a run or scoring a run," Hurdle said. "He just found ways to do that with more consistency than he has in the past."

Hawpe was flattered about Hurdle's comments but said all he's doing is driving balls into the middle of the field and trying not to do too much.

"It's a hard play to defend," Hawpe said. "There's no one standing in the field but the pitcher and he's worried about throwing a pitch."

Since returning to starting duties on May 2, Hawpe has hit .348 (8-for-23) and leads the team with 19 RBIs.

Rockies starter Aaron Cook rebounded from a 10.22 ERA in his first three starts to post a 3.00 ERA in his last three starts.

Hurdle credited Cook's resurgence to his ability to repeat his delivery, pitching with more confidence and finishing pitches like he did last season when he was a first-time All-Star.

Pitching matchup
COL: RHP Aaron Cook (1-1, 5.67 ERA)
In his last three starts, Cook has regained the form that made him an All-Star in 2008. He demonstrated savvy in his last start, when he held the Padres to one run and five hits in eight innings on Tuesday night. That's a team he has beaten repeatedly because hitters feel compelled to pound his sinker into the turf. This time, they laid off, so Cook threw 20-25 breaking and offspeed pitches. However, Cook gave up seven earned runs in 7 1/3 innings in his only start against the Marlins last season and is 1-2 with a 6.10 ERA in four career games against them.

FLA: RHP Chris Volstad (2-1, 2.97 ERA)
Volstad wasn't as sharp as usual against the Reds on Tuesday, but he still pitched well enough to earn his fourth quality start. The 22-year-old right-hander gave up four runs -- three earned -- on seven hits while walking three and striking out five. But Volstad was pitching out of trouble all night, and he needed 97 pitches to get through his six frames. He also said he did a bad job of holding on baserunners as the first two runs came in after a stolen base. On Sunday, Volstad will be returning to Coors Field -- the place where he made his Major League debut on July 6, when he pitched two scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

Tidbits
Left-hander Franklin Morales, who was placed on the disabled list on April 22 with a left shoulder strain, tested his arm out on Saturday. Morales threw 15 pitches off the slope of the mound, threw all of his pitches on flat ground and threw long toss. "He threw great, no pain or discomfort," head athletic trainer Keith Dugger said. "He was letting the ball go. It was a good test. We're shooting for his first full bullpen on Tuesday." ... Helton went 0-4 Saturday night and his 11-game hitting streak was snapped. ... Left-hander Jorge De La Rosa had a career-high 12 strikeouts on Saturday night. His previous high was 10 last year against the Cleveland Indians. ... Hawpe's fourth-inning single on Saturday night extended his on-base streak to 13 games. ... The Rockies snapped a scoreless-innings streak at 10 with a run in the eighth inning on Saturday night.

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Up next
• Monday: Off-day
• Tuesday: Rockies (Ubaldo Jimenez, 2-4, 5.45) vs. Astros (Mike Hampton, 1-3, 4.91), 6:40 p.m. MT
• Wednesday: Rockies (Jason Marquis, 4-2, 3.92) vs. Astros (Russ Ortiz, 2-1, 5.91), 6:40 p.m. MT