Colorado @ Los Angeles preview

Last Meeting ( May 9, 2018 ) LA Angels 8, Colorado 0

The Los Angeles Angels have been in the habit of helping winning teams on their respective quests to the playoffs recently, and the Colorado Rockies are hoping to be the next beneficiaries. The Rockies will try to take advantage of the slumping Angels and gain ground in the National League West when Los Angeles visits for the opener of a two-game interleague series on Monday.

Colorado enters the set one game behind first-place Arizona in the NL West and Milwaukee for the second wild-card spot after dropping two of three to St. Louis over the weekend. The Rockies will play their next nine contests against teams with sub-.500 records as they not only chase the Diamondbacks in the NL West but try to hold off the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are just 1 1/2 games behind them. The Angels did not do Colorado any favors by losing twice against Arizona last week and followed by getting swept by AL West-leading Houston over the weekend. The club will try to stop its slide at six games behind Odrisamer Despaigne on Monday while the Rockies counter with Jon Gray.

TV: 10:07 p.m. ET, ESPN, AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain (Colorado), FS West (Los Angeles)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies RH Jon Gray (10-7, 4.67 ERA) vs. Angels RH Odrisamer Despaigne (2-2, 6.35)

Colorado has won the last nine games started by Gray, matching the franchise record for a starting pitcher set by Ubaldo Jimenez. Gray has gone 4-0 in that span and recorded a win last time out against San Diego as he allowed two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out five in 6 1/3 innings. The native of Oklahoma worked seven scoreless frames against the Angels at home on May 8, scattering four hits en route to victory.

Despaigne is 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in two starts since joining the Angels, lasting only four innings in each of those turns. The 31-year-old Cuban was reached for three runs and five hits at Arizona on Wednesday, but the Angels' offense could not manufacture any support in a 5-1 setback. Despaigne, who spent parts of four seasons in the NL with San Diego and Miami, is 3-0 with a 2.01 ERA in seven career games (three starts) versus Colorado.

WALK-OFFS

1. Colorado OF Matt Holiday homered on Saturday - his first blast with the club in almost 10 years - and has hit safely in his last three games.

2. Angels RHP-DH Shohei Ohtani (elbow) will throw a simulated game on Monday.

3. Angels 1B Albert Pujols is just 1-for-19 over his last six contests.

PREDICTION: Rockies 5, Angels 1