The Los Angeles Dodgers continued rolling Friday night, collecting an eighth consecutive victory by defeating the Colorado Rockies, 6-1. The Dodgers enter play leading the National League West by 2.5 games.
They can further distance themselves and win another series with Clayton Kershaw on the mound. He’s coming off a rough outing in which the New York Mets tagged Kershaw for a career-worst four home runs.
In total, he allowed six runs on six hits, issued one walk, but did have 10 strikeouts and earned a 10th win on the season. Of the rough outing, Kershaw said he was going to take a ‘screw it’ approach and move on.
Kershaw enters the start 10-2 with a 2.61 ERA, 3.55 FIP and 0.93 WHIP. He’s a lifetime 20-6 with a 3.13 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in 35 starts against the Rockies; Kershaw is 2-1 with a 3.60 ERA in three starts this season.
The southpaw has dominated the Rockies at Dodger Stadium to the tune of an 11-2 record and 1.54 ERA; the Dodgers are 14-2 in those games. Kershaw hasn’t lost to the Rockies at home since July 2013, winning seven straight contests.
The Rockies call on Tyler Chatwood, who has steadily improved over the past month after a rough start to the season. Chatwood has limited opponents to two runs or fewer while going a minimum of six innings in each of his last four starts, lowering his ERA from 5.04 to 4.08 in the process.
Chatwood suffered a loss when he faced the Dodgers at Coors Field on May 12. The 27-year-old allowed five runs on six hits, and walked four, in just 4.1 innings. Chatwood is 6-7 with a 4.08 ERA and 1.30 WHIP this season.
He’s 4-7 with a 3.95 ERA and 1.49 WHIP in 12 career starts against the Dodgers. The Redlands, Calif., native is 3-2 with a 1.62 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in six starts at Dodger Stadium.
As expected, Corey Seager is not in the lineup after being removed Friday night with a right hamstring cramp. Further testing revealed a Grade 1 hamstring strain for Seager, though he’s available to pinch-hit and is considered day-to-day.
Thus, the Dodgers shuffle their lineup a bit by placing Kiké Hernandez at shortstop, Chase Utley at first base, and Cody Bellinger moves to left field.
Yasmani Grandal returns after missing the past two games. He’s 5-for-9 against Chatwood, with a double, triple, home run and three RBIs. Utley is 5-for-15, while Joc Pederson is 4-for-8 with two doubles.
Dodgers lineup:
1B: Chase Utley
CF: Joc Pederson
3B: Justin Turner
LF: Cody Bellinger
C: Yasmani Grandal
2B: Logan Forsythe
RF: Yasiel Puig
SS: Kiké Hernandez
P: Clayton Kershaw
Rockies lineup:
CF: Charlie Blackmon
2B: DJ LeMahieu
3B: Nolan Arenado
1B: Mark Reynolds
LF: Ian Desmond
SS: Trevor Story
RF: Raimel Tapia
C: Tom Murphy
P: Tyler Chatwood
