MILWAUKEE — Tyler Anderson, the weakest link among Colorado’s starting pitchers through the first month of the season, is likely running out of opportunities to stay in the rotation.

The southpaw has a 11.34 ERA in four starts. He hasn’t lasted more than five innings in any of those starts and has given up at least five runs in each start. Perhaps most alarming? Anderson, who was on the injured list for more than two weeks in mid-April due to left knee inflammation, is on pace to give up 34 homers after leading the National League with 30 allowed last year.

Colorado manager Bud Black blamed Anderson’s knee issue for his early struggles but was blunt in his latest assessment of Anderson, who was re-activated April 22.

“Looking back on it, I think the bulky knee affected his mechanics. That’s why we put him on the injured list and took a step back physically,” Black said. “Since his return, he’s had two bad games.”

That doesn’t mean Black and pitching coach Steve Foster have lost total faith in the left-hander just yet, however. Anderson, whose next start lines up Friday against Arizona at home, posted a double-digit ERA in August of last season but also served as a rotation stabilizer in April, July and September.

“Over the long haul of another 25 to 27 starts, if a pitcher stays in the rotation, Tyler’s going to perform, we believe,” Black said. “Now, do we have to see some signs? Yes. And he’ll be the first to tell you that it’s a performance-based game.”

Should Anderson continue to scuffle, a move to the bullpen is a possibility. But it’s unlikely right-hander Chad Bettis — who started the season at the back end of the rotation — will take his spot because he’s found recent success as a long reliever.

More likely, Anderson’s hole in the rotation would be filled from the Triple-A ranks, where Jeff Hoffman (one major-league start this year) is the most obvious candidate to get an opportunity. Or, perhaps, the organization’s top pitching prospect, Peter Lambert, would be called up for his major league debut.

Rockies supporting Nuggets, Avs. As the Nuggets and the Avalanche battle in the second round of the NBA and NHL playoffs, the Rockies are taking notice.

Assessed Trevor Story, who is a big basketball fan and has watched Denver throughout the season: “(Jamal) Murray and (Nikola) Jokic, those two guys are unbelievable. Joker is pretty special — he sees the whole court and makes passes a lot of big men can’t make. He can score, can dribble, can shoot from outside. And Murray is super athletic and can score a lot at any time.

“Denver’s obviously not the biggest market, and they don’t get as much love, but Joker and Murray should be more nationally acclaimed, for sure. The playoff success will help that.”

Meanwhile, Black — a lifelong hockey fan whose dad played professionally in the Western Hockey League in the 1940s — expressed his excitement for the Avalanche.

“(Mikko) Rantanen, that guy’s a player,” Black said. “And (Nathan) MacKinnon, I like him, too. Three all-stars this year (with Gabe Landeskog) and a playoff run. Pretty special.”

On Deck

Rockies RHP Antonio Senzatela (2-1, 3.93 ERA) at Brewers RHP Chase Anderson (2-0, 3.20)

5:40 p.m. Wednesday, Miller Park

TV: None

Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM

Senzatela’s last start against the Brewers came in Game 1 of the National League division series at Miller Park. In that first career playoff start, the right-hander fared decently, surrendering two runs on three hits in five innings. Had Christian Yelich not taken him deep for a two-run homer, it would have been a spectacular outing. More recently, Senzatela allowed three runs in five-plus innings against Atlanta last week, but he’s avoiding hard contact the majority of the time. Per Baseball Savant, only 2.6 percent of his pitches are being barreled up, the best among all Rockies starters and ranking Senzatela in the top five percent of all major league pitchers in that statistic. Meanwhile, Anderson is making his eighth appearance of the season but only his third start and has been victimized by Colorado’s all-star third baseman at a high rate. In 27 at-bats against Anderson, Nolan Arenado is hitting .296 with four homers and 10 RBIs.

Trending: With Chris Iannetta still on the injured list with a right lat strain, the continued offensive production by catcher Tony Wolters has been one of the Rockies’ early bright spots. Heading into Tuesday, the 26-year-old was batting .281 — the third-best average on the team — after hitting a positional-low .170 last season.

At issue: Heading into Tuesday, Colorado was 1-11 when scoring three runs or fewer. That kind of pressure on a pitching staff in close games isn’t sustainable over the whole summer, especially if Colorado aims to make a third straight postseason berth.

Upcoming pitching matchups

Thursday: Rockies RHP Jon Gray (2-3, 3.65) at Brewers RHP Freddy Peralta (1-0, 7.13), 11:10 a.m., ATTRM

Friday: Diamondbacks LHP Robbie Ray (1-1, 4.18) at Rockies LHP Tyler Anderson (0-2, 11.34), 6:40 p.m., ATTRM

Saturday: Diamondbacks RHP Zack Godley (1-2, 7.58) at Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (2-4, 4.81), 6:10 p.m., ATTRM