Lefty-swinging CarGo thriving against southpaws

DENVER -- It would seem to be a poor matchup -- the Rockies' left-handed-hitting Carlos Gonzalez entered Monday's game against D-backs sizzling left-hander Patrick Corbin.

Not only did Corbin enter 6-0 with a 1.52 ERA, but he had held left-handed batters to a .125 batting average. However, Gonzalez is not performing like a typical lefty batter.

Going into Monday night, Gonzalez's .386 batting average in 57 at-bats against southpaws was third-highest among batters with a significant number of left-on-left at-bats. The Royals' Alex Gordon was batting .429 in 63 at-bats, and the Rays' James Loney was at .424 in 33 at-bats.

The Yankees' Robinson Cano, the Orioles' Chris Davis and the Cubs' Anthony Rizzo each have four left-on-left homers. Gonzalez's three tie him with Gordon, the Tigers' Prince Fielder, the Reds' Joey Votto, the Phillies' Domonic Brown and the Mariners' Kyle Seager.

"At times, for a left-handed hitter, facing a lefty will get you going again, because it makes you stay on the ball longer," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "Doesn't mean it's easy to do, especially certain lefties are going to be tough on every lefty.

"CarGo's approach has been really good against left-handed pitchers. So, yeah, I don't know if he's changing anything from the past, I think it comes down to he's just a good hitter."