Los Angeles @ Colorado preview
Coors Field
Last Meeting ( Aug 27, 2010 ) LA Dodgers 6, Colorado 2
Colorado Rockies manager Jim Tracy waited too long to replace his ace on Friday. He likely will have a shorter leash on Saturday's starter.
Jhoulys Chacin will try to get the Rockies back on track as they host the Los Angeles Dodgers in the middle contest of their three-game series at Coors Field.
In search of his major league-leading 18th win of the season, Ubaldo Jimenez tossed seven scoreless innings Friday before getting into trouble in the eighth. Scott Podsednik led off the inning with a walk and stole second before Ryan Theriot walked.
Andre Ethier followed with an RBI double, tying the game at 1-1. Tracy finally decided to remove Jimenez, who had thrown 126 pitches, and replaced him with Matt Belisle. Three batters later, Casey Blake hit his fifth career grand slam, giving Los Angeles a comfortable 5-1 advantage.
The Dodgers went on to post their fourth straight victory and fifth in six games. It also was the club's fourth win in its last five meetings with the Rockies, who had their own four-game winning streak halted.
Tracy probably will not give Chacin as much of a margin for error.
The 22-year-old has gone 1-1 since rejoining the Rockies' rotation and has won two of his last three starts. On Sunday, he scattered three hits and walked one over 7 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out nine en route to a 1-0 victory at the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Chacin already has made three starts against the Dodgers, going 1-2 with a 4.59 ERA. He tossed 7 1/3 scoreless frames in a win on May 8 but dropped the next two decisions, including a 6-0 setback on Aug. 17 in which he yielded five runs and five hits in five innings.
Ethier is 4-for-5 against Chacin, while James Loney has gone 2-for-6 with four RBIs.
In nine games - six starts - at home this year, Chacin is 3-3 with a 5.58 ERA.
Opposing Chacin will be Chad Billingsley, who has won three of his last five decisions but is just 1-2 in his last five starts.
Billingsley has not started since last Saturday, when he gave up three runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings en route to an 8-5 triumph over the Cincinnati Reds.
The 26-year-old will be facing the Rockies for the first time this season. In 10 previous outings, including two in relief, Billingsley is 2-3 with a 4.93 against Colorado.
Billingsley has pitched better on the road than at home in 2010. While posting a 4.63 ERA in 11 starts at Dodger Stadium, the right-hander is 5-3 with a 2.80 ERA in 13 outings as a visitor.
However, he is just 1-2 with a 6.87 ERA in four games - three starts - at Coors Field.