The Rockies are flying high after their win yesterday afternoon in which they secured the series victory over the Reds and also watched Todd Helton secure his 2,500th hit with a double down the left field line. The offense exploded in the series as they scored 19 runs on 36 hits in the three game series with the Reds. They will need to get their heads on right and be prepared for the upcoming series with the Dodgers as they have had a historic second half run and are coming off of a three game sweep against the cellar dwelling Padres. Yasiel Puig sparked the Dodgers and they turned a close race for the National League West division into a runaway. They now lead the division by 11.5 games over the Diamondbacks and are 17 games ahead of the Rockies. At one point in the second half, the Dodgers rolled off one of the best 50 game records anyone has ever seen as they went 42-8 during the stretch. They finally have it clicking and will be one of the favorites to win the World Series when the playoffs come around.
The Rockies will be sending Chad Bettis to the mound this afternoon and he will be looking to end his long winless stretch and finally get his first Major League victory. On the year Bettis is 0-3 with a 4.80 ERA in his six starts on the year. He took the loss in his last start against the Giants when he lasted six innings allowing, nine hits, four runs, issued one walks and struck out two. He has been rather unimpressive during his time with the Rockies and has failed to make a good impression which would make him a factor for the Rockies rotation in 2014. He has made two starts at home this year and is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA. In both of those starts he was able to last six innings but gave up six runs combined and has walked five in those 12 innings of work. Bettis will need to be sure that he gets ahead of the hitters in the game this afternoon and does not leave anything over the middle half of the plate especially against the middle half of the lineup. The Dodgers are a strong offensive team that got stronger at the end of the waiver trade deadline as they acquired Michael Young from the Phillies. He is not a strikeout pitcher so he needs to have better control than he has shown so far this season.
The Dodgers will be sending one of the most dominant pitchers in all of baseball to the mound this afternoon in Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw has had a fantastic year for the Dodgers even though his win/loss record would say something different. On the year he is 13-8 with a stellar 1.72 ERA over 28 games started on the year. He took the loss in his last start against the Cubs when he went 5 2/3rd innings, allowing seven hits, two runs (one earned run), issued one walk, and struck out nine batters. Once again he pitched decent in the game but did not receive any run support in the game from his offense and was saddled with the loss. That has happened more this year for him which is why he has a high loss total of eight. On the road this year he owns a 6-3 record with a 1.91 ERA in 13 games started. He has faced off against the Rockies three times this year and has a 1-1 record with a 2.35 ERA. In those games he has gone for 23 innings allowing only 18 hits and six earned runs, while walking just three batters and striking out 23. On July 2nd, Kershaw threw a complete game, four hit shutout against the Rockies at Coors Field. Current Rockies hitters are hitting .250 against Kershaw with five home runs and 20 RBI in 244 combined at bats. Dexter Fowler has had the most success against him as he owns a .421 average with two doubles and a triple. Kershaw should be the National League recipient of the Cy Young Award as he currently leads the league in innings pitched (204), strike outs (197), ERA (1.72), and WHIP (0.88). There is no question that this will be a tough matchup for the Rockies today, but they have beaten him in the past and they will look to do it again.
The Dodgers lineup for the game today is as follows:
1. Carl Crawford, LF
2. Yasiel Puig, RF
3. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
4. Hanley Ramirez, SS
5. Andre Ethier, CF
6. Mark Ellis, 2B
7. AJ Ellis, C
8. Juan Uribe, 3B
9. Clayton Kershaw, P
The Rockies lineup for the game this afternoon is as follows:
1. Josh Rutledge, SS
2. DJ LeMahieu, 2B
3. Michael Cuddyer, RF
4. Wilin Rosario, C
5. Nolan Arenado, 3B
6. Charlie Culberson, LF
7. Jordan Pacheco, 1B
8. Charlie Blackmon, CF
9. Chad Bettis, P
First pitch for the game today is scheduled for 2:10 PM Mountain time. The Rockies will be looking to continue their good season against NL West opponents and get a good start to this series in hopes of getting their fourth consecutive series victory. The Rockies will be trying to draw up a blueprint of how to beat the Dodgers that other teams will copy going down the stretch and into the playoffs. Josh Rutledge makes his return to the team today as he starts at shortstop to give Troy Tulowitzki a breather. The Rockies went with a right handed heavy lineup in hopes of giving them a better shot at getting to Kershaw early on in the game.
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