Dodgers Rockies Game 1 Preview

After salvaging a series split against Arizona, the Dodgers head out for their last road trip of the regular season and they begin in Colorado. They play three games here, and I actually don’t care if they don’t win any games as long as everyone stays healthy.

Aug 18, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher David Hale (61) prepares to deliver a pitch in the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Game one pits old/replaced/new number five starter Mike Bolsinger against David Hale, who I could have sworn was an actor on Veep. Bolsinger is the number five starter for the last few turns through the rotation and allowed four runs in five innings in his last outing in Colorado. All four of those came courtesy of Troy Tulowitzki, who is no longer there. Despite being in last place and a solid 24.5 games behind the Dodgers, the Rockies still have some firepower with Nolan Arenado, Charlie Blackmon, Carlos Gonzalez and DJ LeMahieu. Somehow, Ben Paulsen has 10 home runs. Coors.

The Rockies are seventh in baseball in both runs scored and home runs and have the third-highest team OPS. Unfortunately, the “outscore your opponents” strategy doesn’t work as well with a pitching staff that ranks last in team ERA (5.09, .29 worse than the second-highest team ERA). Coors Field and that high altitude is fickle like that, as their road team ERA is .59 points lower and is only the eighth-worst in baseball, but that’s what they get for their inflated offensive numbers.

Hale has a 6.32 ERA (5.02 FIP) in 15 appearances (10 starts) this season. He got the win in relief against the Dodgers in their 16-inning torturefest of a game 10 days ago and he hasn’t started in just over a month, so this might be a Rockies bullpen game.

More rest for Justin Turner and Corey Seager, as Chase Utley gets his second career start at third. He handled it well enough on Monday. At this point in the season with the division all-but wrapped up, there’s not much point in complaining about lineups. Seager is great and should be the starter from now until like 2030, but his 550 combined plate appearances between minor leagues and the majors is a lot for a 21-year old and would be the third most on the team behind Adrian Gonzalez and Joc Pederson.

First pitch is scheduled for 5:10 PST and will be shown on Sportsnet LA. The Dodgers’ magic number to clinch the division is three, which means tomorrow is a possibility with games in Colorado and the Giants facing the A’s this weekend (Sonny Gray tonight). I don’t ask for much, but I’m seeing Kanye tomorrow night so it would be kinda cool if the Dodgers could wait until Sunday to clinch.