After concluding a three-game set against the Giants Wednesday, going 2-1, the Colorado Rockies will finish up their nine-game home stand this weekend against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Colorado will try to win their third straight series at Coors Field, and they’ll look to continue their offensive momentum Friday night.
The Rockies come into Friday night 30-26, first in the NL West. The Dodgers are coming off of a four-game set with the Philadelphia Phillies, splitting the series. L.A. currently sits at 26-30, third in the NL West.
The series’ pitching matchups will look like this:
Friday: Tyler Anderson (3-1) vs. Scott Alexander (1-0), first pitch at 6:40 p.m. MT.
Saturday: German Marquez (4-5) vs. Walker Buehler (3-1), first pitch at 5:15 p.m. MT.
Sunday: Chad Bettis (4-1) vs. Alex Wood (1-4), first pitch at 1:10 p.m. MT.
Thankfully, the Rockies will avoid Clayton Kershaw in this series. Kershaw was activated off of the disabled list yesterday, and made the start against the Phillies. Colorado will have the chance to avoid Kershaw and Hill, arguably the Dodgers’ two best pitchers, and the Rox should be able to capitalize at the dish because of it.
The Dodgers are 6-4 in their last 10, and L.A. has found life since the return of Justin Turner from the disabled list. LA won 10 of their last 14 games in May, and they aren’t looking to slow down now. This is a huge series for both teams, as they will be fighting for first place all-season long. The NL West is wide open this year; both teams know that. L.A. just sits 4.0 games back of Colorado, and they know they have a chance to make up ground this weekend.
The Rockies must be able to take care of business this weekend if they want to keep some separation from the Dodgers. L.A. is a team ready to catch fire, and Colorado needs to build some separation fast.
A player the Rockies must take care of this weekend is Matt Kemp, who’s notorious for being a Rockies killer. All-time against the Rockies, he’s batting .317 average, with 4 home runs. All-time at Coors Field, he has 19 dingers, with a .337 AVG.
The offense has finally started to break out for the Rockies, and with the offensive firepower that they have, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Colorado has mainly won games thanks to their pitching this season, but that’s changed during this home stand.
The Rockies are 6-2 in their last eight games following a loss, and the Dodgers are 2-6 in their last eight Friday games. The home team has a huge chance to pad their NL West lead this weekend, and will look to keep their offense rolling.