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Los Angeles Dodgers (3-1, 1st in the NL West)
Last Series v Colorado: September 27-29 (3-0 series win at Coors Field)
The last time we saw the Dodgers in regular season play was during the disastrous finish to the 2010 season where the Rockies lost 8 straight. Ted Lilly beat Ubaldo Jimenez in a 3-1 Game 1 finish. Hiroki Kuroda and Jeff Francis both got beaten up in game 2, but the deciding factors really came down to whose bullpen wanted it more (LA's did, 9-7). Finally, Jhoulys Chacin was roughed up for 7 runs, only 2 earned, and the Rockies dropped the series 7-6.
Interestingly enough, the Rockies went 4-5 in Dodger Stadium in 2010, the same park they went 2-9 in 2009, 4-5 in 2008, and 5-4 in 2007. Now, 4-5 isn't great, but a 3.40 ERA and a 2.03 K/BB ratio in LA is pretty decent. After 2009, Chavez Ravine became the place the Rockies needed to win in, despite a 2-9 performance in AT&T park that season (5-4 in Chase Field and PetCo Park). The Dodgers went 6-3 in Coors Field during the 2010 season.
Last Series Results: W 3-1 vs San Francisco
The Dodgers have scored 13 runs over the past 4 games against San Francisco, and are batting a collective .248/.300/.333 - small samples of numbers which are bound to improve any moment, especially given their arrival in Colorado. 2 of the 4 games were 1 run games, another a 2 run game, and the 3rd game of the series was a 10-0 flaying of the Dodgers' pitching staff. But the important part is that Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley both pitched well and guess who the Rockies are facing in these 2 games?
The Dodgers have some key injuries to their rotation in the forms of Jon Garland and Vicente Padilla, but neither are really needed until later in April, as the Dodgers are functioning as a 4-man rotation right now. However, their Awesome Beard Quota is sadly lacking, given the absence of 3B Casey Blake. They are carrying 3 catchers right now, but one will likely be demoted once the need for a 5th starter comes back into play.
Tuesday-Wednesday: 2-game series at Coors Field
Expected Pitching Matchups
Wednesday, April 5, 2010 @ 6:40PM MT
Be Forewarned: Kershaw pitched 7 innings of 4-hit, 9 strikeout ball in his first start.
Thursday, April 6, 2010 @ 1:10PM MT
Billingsley was more hittable and somewhat fallible in his first start, going 6 and allowing 3 runs.
Expected Lineup:
|
Name |
Pos. |
AVG |
OBP |
SLG |
wOBA |
wRC+ |
HR |
R |
RBI |
|
Rafael Furcal |
SS |
.333 |
.333 |
.417 |
.280 |
74 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
|
Ivan De Jesus |
2B |
.000 |
.125 |
.000 |
.088 |
-60 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Andre Ethier |
RF |
.333 |
.375 |
.333 |
.319 |
100 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Matt Kemp |
CF |
.417 |
.533 |
.833 |
.568 |
272 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
|
James Loney |
1B |
.133 |
.125 |
.200 |
.132 |
-29 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
|
Juan Uribe |
3B |
.286 |
.375 |
.286 |
.312 |
95 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Rod Barajas |
C |
.250 |
.308 |
.250 |
.257 |
58 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Tony Gwynn |
LF |
.167 |
.167 |
.167 |
.147 |
-19 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
Bench
|
Name |
Pos. |
AVG |
OBP |
SLG |
wOBA |
wRC+ |
HR |
R |
RBI |
|
Jamey Carroll |
IF |
.300 |
.417 |
.500 |
.365 |
132 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
A.J. Ellis |
C |
1.000 |
1.000 |
1.000 |
.882 |
489 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Marcus Thames |
UTIL |
.286 |
.286 |
.571 |
.347 |
120 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Xavier Paul |
OF |
.333 |
.333 |
.333 |
.294 |
83 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Hector Gimenez |
C |
.200 |
.200 |
.200 |
.176 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Aaron Miles |
IF |
.222 |
.222 |
.222 |
.196 |
15 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
Closer