Jeff Francis suffers third loss

Rockies starter Jeff Francis suffered his third loss of the season despite having his start cut short due to a rain delay Thursday afternoon against the Yankees.

Francis (1-3), who made his seventh start of the year, surrendered a run-scoring single to Vernon Wells in the opening frame and gave up a sacrifice fly in the fourth before his outing ended. The left-hander permitted two runs and four hits over four innings of work in a 3-1 defeat. He struck out three and walked two on 64 pitches, 39 for strikes.

Francis has not won a decision since his first start of the season on April 5. He has watched his ERA rise from 1.50 to 6.90 over that span (six starts).

The 32-year-old will try to get back on track on the road Tuesday against the Cubs. He has not faced the Cubs since 2010. He struck out five and gave up two runs over six innings of work in his last meeting against Chicago. Francis is 0-1 with a 8.10 ERA on the road this season.