Friday marks the start of the seven meetings between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies in the next 10 days, but it’s the first time they will go head to head at Dodger Stadium this season.
The Rockies last played in L.A. in Game 163 to decide a National League West champion in 2018. And like in that high-stakes matchup, Walker Buehler and German Marquez duel on the mound.
Since tying a season high with five earned runs allowed in his final start last month, Buehler has allowed just one run in 22 innings pitched across three starts in June. He’s gone 2-0 and collected 26 strikeouts during that span.
Overall, Buehler is 7-1 with a 3.06 ERA, 2.90 FIP and 0.92 WHIP in 14 starts this season. He held the Rockies to just one run but only pitched five innings when the Dodgers faced the Rockies earlier this season.
Buehler helped pitch the Dodgers to a sixth consecutive NL West title behind 6.2 shutout innings in Game 163 last season.
Marquez didn’t fare quite as well, as despite amassing nine strikeouts in 4.2 innings, allowed four runs (two earned) and surrendered two home runs.
The 24-year-old is 7-3 with an inflated 4.57 ERA as a result of trending in the wrong direction since the calendar turned to June. After sporting a 3.48 ERA during the first two months, it has ballooned to 10.06 in three June starts.
Marquez allowed a combined four home runs in back-to-back starts against the Chicago Cubs, and though he managed to keep the ball in the park his last time out, the San Diego Padres still pushed across seven runs on 10 hits.
The Dodgers swept a three-game series at Coors Field back in April, which was part of a 3-12 start to the season for the Rockies. They have since gone an impressive 37-22, good for the second-best record in the NL over that stretch.
Fittingly, the Rockies trail the Dodgers, who have gone 43-17 and enter the weekend series with a 10-game lead in the NL West. That matches a tongue-in-cheek remark by perennial All-Star Nolan Arenado, who predicted the Dodgers may no longer lose a game the rest of the way.
L.A. recalled Matt Beaty from Triple-A Oklahoma City and placed Josh Sborz on the 10-day injured list with lower back soreness. Sborz allowed three runs in one-plus inning during his MLB debut on Thursday.
Max Muncy is in the lineup despite dealing with discomfort as a result of a right ankle contusion. It forced Muncy to an early exit but X-rays were negative.
Dodgers lineup:
LF: Joc Pederson
CF: Alex Verdugo
3B: Justin Turner
RF: Cody Bellinger
2B: Max Muncy
1B: Matt Beaty
SS: Chris Taylor
C: Austin Barnes
P: Walker Buehler
Rockies lineup:
RF: Charlie Blackmon
LF: David Dahl
3B: Nolan Arenado
1B: Daniel Murphy
2B: Ryan McMahon
CF: Ian Desmond
SS: Brendan Rodgers
C: Tony Wolters
P: German Marquez
