Rockies at Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers turned to Clayton Kershaw in their series opener against the visiting Colorado Rockies, but even their ace was unable to halt their slide. Los Angeles attempts to end its seven-game losing streak on Friday as it hosts Colorado for the second contest of the four-game set.
The major league-best Dodgers were trounced 9-1 on Thursday as Kershaw was tagged for four runs over 3 2/3 innings en route to his first loss since May 1. Los Angeles hasn't gotten in the win column since last Friday and has seen its lead in the National League West shrink to 10 games. Colorado pounded out 16 hits in the series-opening victory as it increased its lead over Milwaukee and St. Louis for the second NL wild-card spot to three games. Six of the team's first eight batters in the lineup recorded multi-hit performances while DJ LeMahieu went 1-for-5 to extend his hitting streak to 15 games.
TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Colorado), SportsNet LA (Los Angeles)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies RH German Marquez (10-6, 4.26 ERA) vs. Dodgers RH Yu Darvish (8-11, 4.09)
Marquez is coming off a loss to Arizona on Sunday in which he gave up four runs and six hits over six innings. The 22-year-old Venezuelan had control of his pitches, however, as he did not issue a walk for the first time in seven outings. Marquez, who has yet to face Los Angeles in his brief career, is 0-1 in his last three road starts.
Darvish has struggled since beginning his tenure with the Dodgers with two strong starts, going 0-2 with a 7.07 ERA over his last three turns. The 31-year-old from Japan was tagged for five runs on eight hits and three walks over only three innings in a loss at San Diego on Saturday. Darvish, who never has faced Colorado, is 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA in two starts at Dodger Stadium.
WALK-OFFS
1. Dodgers SS Corey Seager (elbow) is expected to make his first start since Aug. 27 on Friday.
2. Colorado activated C Ryan Hanigan (groin) from the 10-day disabled list, recalled OF Raimel Tapia from Triple-A Albuquerque and acquired RHP Jon Keller from Baltimore as the player to be named in the deal involving Miguel Castro on April 7.
3. Los Angeles 1B Adrian Gonzalez received an epidural for his back pain for the second time in three months and is expected to miss the remainder of the series.