Colorado @ Los Angeles preview
Dodger Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jul 12, 2013 ) Colorado 3, LA Dodgers 0
As the Colorado Rockies welcome back players to their lineup, the Los Angeles Dodgers are starting to lose them at an alarming rate. When Los Angeles hosts Colorado on Saturday, it could be without three of its top four outfielders after Carl Crawford was scratched from Friday's starting lineup with lower back stiffness and rookie phenom Yasiel Puig left after the fourth inning because of a sore hip. On Monday, Matt Kemp was placed on the disabled list with a left shoulder injury.
The Rockies welcomed back Troy Tulowitzki and Dexter Fowler to the lineup Thursday and the pair combined on the game's first run en route to a 3-0 victory. Los Angeles had its five-game winning streak snapped and fell 2 1/2 games behind first-place Arizona in the National League West while third-place Colorado remained 4 1/2 out. The Dodgers' Zack Greinke has won his last four starts and is 4-0 in six home outings. He will face Tyler Chatwood, who is 3-1 with a 1.26 ERA in five road starts.
TV: 4:15 p.m. ET, Fox
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies RH Tyler Chatwood (5-2, 2.74 ERA) vs. Dodgers RH Zack Greinke (7-2, 3.91)
Chatwood didn't allow a hit until the fourth inning before yielding two runs and five hits in 6 2/3 frames in a 4-2 victory at San Diego on Monday. The 23-year-old snapped a three-start winless streak, which included two quality outings for no-decisions. Chatwood is 3-3 with a 3.94 ERA in six starts against the Dodgers, including a 10-8 loss to Greinke on July 3 when he yielded season highs of six runs (five earned) and 11 hits in five innings.
Greinke yielded two hits and struck out seven in as many scoreless innings in Los Angeles' 6-1 victory at Arizona on Monday. In his previous two outings - including one versus Colorado - the 29-year-old yielded nine runs, 18 hits and three home runs in 12 innings. Greinke is 2-1 with a 5.68 ERA in eight games (seven starts) against the Rockies while struggling against Carlos Gonzalez (6-for-14, two homers) and taming Troy Tulowitzki (3-for-16, six strikeouts).
WALK-OFFS
1. The Dodgers' bullpen has a 0.73 ERA in the last eight games.
2. Gonzalez, who leads the NL with 25 home runs, struck out in all four of his at-bats Friday.
3. Puig, who is hitting .392, has 18 multi-hit games in his first 37 major-league contests.
PREDICTION: Dodgers 6, Rockies 5