LOS ANGELES DODGERS (66-62, 4th in NL West)
2010 Record vs. Rockies: 6-3 (despite being outscored 34-30)
Not trying to beat a dead horse or anything (more like trying to jinx LA), but the Dodgers are 20-7 vs. Colorado since the beginning of 2009, and have yet to lose a single series.
Last Series vs. Rockies: August 17-19 (W 2-1)
Behind strong starting pitching, the Dodgers took the series while shutting the Rockies out twice in the process. Clayton Kershaw went seven scoreless innings in Game 1 and allowed five hits and three walks while striking out six. Jonathan Broxton continued his nearly two-year dominance of Colorado by pitching a perfect ninth that included a strikeout. The L.A. offense drew five walks against Rockies starter Jhoulys Chacin en route to a 6-0 victory. Casey Blake led the Dodgers by going 2-for-4.
In Game 2, Hiroki Kuroda further kept the Rockies' bats off-balance as he too went seven innings, giving up two runs on six hits while notching seven Ks. However, Colorado's Jason Hammel held serve for six innings of his own, forcing a battle of the bullpens. Despite Broxton (again) and Kuo shutting the Rockies down, the Dodgers weren't able to do much offensively against the Rockies' side either, so it came down to Octavio Dotel. He entered the game in the tenth inning and promptly began having control issues, walking three batters and tossing three wild pitches - one of which scored the winning run for the Rockies. The Dodgers had a rough game with the bats, as they were led by Scott Podsednik's two hits - both of which were singles.
The series finale saw Ted Lilly completely own Colorado's offense, as he tossed a two-hit shutout, walking two and striking out eleven. Ryan Theriot had two hits for Los Angeles, while Reed Johnson accounted for the only scoring with a two-run homer off of Jorge De La Rosa in the second inning.
Recent series results: L 1-2 vs. Cincinnati, W 3-0 at Milwaukee
The Dodgers find themselves just a game back of Colorado after sweeping the hapless Brewers in Milwaukee. They received very good starts, once again, from Kuroda and Lilly. Over the past couple of series, Matt Kemp (1.070 OPS, 3 HR) and Casey Blake (1.036 OPS, HR) have been their hottest hitters. Manny Ramirez has an .808 OPS since coming off the DL, but he may end up in a different uniform by the time this series ends (or starts, for that matter). The Dodgers recently acquired Rod Barajas from the Mets, and so far he's been worth the investment as he has four hits, a homer, and four RBIs in two games with the Bums.
Friday-Sunday: 3-game series @ Coors Field
Expected Pitching Matchups
Friday, 27 August 2010 @ 7:10pm MT
Saturday, 28 August 2010 @ 6:10pm MT
Sunday, 29 August 2010 @ 1:10pm MT
More after the jump...
Expected Lineup
| Player | Pos | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | ISO | BABIP | wOBA |
| Ryan Theriot | 2B | .295 | .346 | .379 | .725 | .084 | .338 | .314 |
| Andre Ethier | RF | .296 | .359 | .507 | .866 | .211 | .321 | .370 |
| Manny Ramirez | LF | .313 | .407 | .513 | .920 | .200 | .346 | .394 |
| Matt Kemp | CF | .253 | .312 | .449 | .761 | .195 | .299 | .323 |
| Casey Blake | 3B | .251 | .327 | .408 | .735 | .157 | .306 | .320 |
| James Loney | 1B | .277 | .333 | .402 | .735 | .125 | .313 | .319 |
| Jamey Carroll | SS | .284 | .380 | .329 | .709 | .045 | .337 | .326 |
| Rod Barajas | C | .231 | .274 | .435 | .709 | .204 | .224 | .301 |
Bench
| Player | Pos | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | ISO | BABIP | wOBA |
| Brad Ausmus | C | .240 | .309 | .260 | .569 | .020 | .333 | .258 |
| Ronnie Belliard | IF | .217 | .301 | .329 | .630 | .112 | .261 | .279 |
| Jay Gibbons | OF | .364 | .440 | .636 | 1.076 | .273 | .333 | .463 |
| Reed Johnson | OF | .308 | .329 | .420 | .748 | .112 | .384 | .322 |
| Scott Podsednik | OF | .307 | .353 | .388 | .741 | .081 | .348 | .331 |
Closer
*The aforementioned Broxton and Dotel have also closed games for the Dodgers as of late.
Injuries