Dodgers Rockies Game Two Preview

The Dodgers look to get their offense back on track in game two in Colorado.

The Dodgers did not play well yesterday. Kenta Maeda was about as solid as you can ask for at Coors, but the bullpen imploded and the offense nearly got shut out. That’s the concerning part, as since the third inning of Saturday afternoon’s game, the Dodgers have two runs in 23 innings.

The offense showed signs yesterday, as they had many hard-hit balls and had their baserunners. Some untimely hitting and poorly placed balls kept the Dodgers off the board until human sparkplug Andrew Toles tripled in the ninth, forcing a rewrite.

Dodgers Starter

Rich Hill gets his second start in Dodger blue. He shoved in his debut, tossing six scoreless innings against the Giants. Hill is extremely reliant on his curveball, so it’s terrifying to think about how he’ll fair at Coors, where breaking pitches don’t break as much. In 15.1 career innings at Coors, Hill has allowed 18 hits and 15 runs. It’s almost not even worth pointing that out, as his last start there was in 2008.

FanGraphs wrote about Hill’s unique curveball, and after reading that, it might survive at Coors. He doesn’t have to bury the curveball in the dirt to be effective, the unique arm angles and movement make it unlike a normal curve.

Still though, don’t rush to judgement with this start. Any pitcher can get lit up at this ballpark, and the Rockies are no slouches with the bat. Be more concerned if the Dodgers bats get silenced again.

Rockies Starter

Oh good, a lefty. Tyler Anderson will make his 15th career start today. The 26-year-old lefty has had an impressive start to his career. Only one of his 14 starts have ended before five innings. He’s only given up more than three runs three times. He pitched against the Dodgers in the beginning of the month, tossing six innings of two-run ball.

In his last outing, Anderson struck out a career-high 10 batters. The start before, he matched his career-high with eight strikeouts. He’s struck out fewer than a batter per inning in his short career, but could be a really nice homegrown piece for the Rockies moving forward.

Lineup

Corey Seager is not in the lineup. He was hit by pitch twice yesterday, the second being a fastball off his wrist. He stayed in the game and had a negative MRI. With a lefty on the hill and Seager maybe not being 100 percent, a day off isn’t the worst idea in the world.

Also with a lefty on the hill, Howie Kendrick slides over to second. The Enrique Hernandez/Toles/Josh Reddick outfield confuses me. Reddick is clearly struggling and has for his career against lefties. But Joc Pederson still can’t get a start against a lefty. This seems like a move the nerds in the front office wouldn’t make.

Rob Segedin, cleanup hitter. WATTBA.

Next: Dodgers Vital Week Goes Well

In roster news, Yasiel Puig was claimed on waivers by an unknown team. This isn’t a surprise, and the Dodgers now have the chance to trade Puig to that one team. That’s bad for their leverage, so it’s unlikely he gets moved before the offseason.

First pitch is scheduled for 5:40 and will be shown on Sportsnet LA.