Dodgers: Three Keys to a Dodgers’ Series Victory at Coors Field

The Dodgers and Rockies will meet up for the first time in 2019 with a weekend series in Colorado this weekend.  It will be their first meeting since game 163 in October.

It’s safe to say that the Dodgers and Rockies do not need any introductions.  The two teams have had their fair share of battles over the last few seasons and in 2018 they played a game 163 to decide who would take home the NL West title.  The Dodgers ended up winning that game and eventually went on to win another National League pennant.  The Rockies won the wildcard game against the Cubs before losing to the Brewers.

This season the Dodgers and Rockies are the two main contenders for the NL West title yet again.  While the Diamondbacks were in the hunt until the end last year, they have gone into a rebuild of sorts.  The Padres are on the rise but still a couple of years away from contention which leaves the Dodgers and Rockies as the primary NL West contenders for the foreseeable future.  Here are the three keys to a Dodger series victory in the nightmare known as Coors Field.

Take advantage of the starting pitching matchups

The Rockies have two excellent young starting pitchers in Kyle Freeland and German Marquez.  Luckily for the Dodgers, they will miss both in this three-game series which gives the Dodgers a big advantage in the starting pitching department.  The Rockies will throw Tyler Anderson, Jon Gray, and Chad Bettis while the Dodgers will counter with Kenta Maeda, Walker Buehler, and Julio Urias.

Walker Buehler was off in his first regular-season start of 2019 lasting just three innings while allowing five runs.   Walker should be better prepared this time now that he has one more start under his belt after an abbreviated spring training schedule.  For Julio Urias, this is expected to be his last start before he is placed back into the bullpen.  Although that could always change as Clayton Kershaw is likely to make two minor league outings.

Keep a struggling Rockies’ offense below sea level

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The Rockies have been known to be a prolific offense playing at the best park for hitters in baseball.  This will be their first home series of the season when the Dodgers come to town.  The Rockies played their first two series on the road against the Miami Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays, and their offense has been abysmal.

On Wednesday, the Rockies won despite scoring just one run in eleven innings and over their last five games, they have scored a total of five runs.  The Dodgers’ pitching staff needs to take advantage of a pressing Rockies’ offense that will be looking to right their offense at home.  The Rockies as a team have hit just .197 as a team so far with two home runs in seven games.

The Dodgers will be facing a very familiar team as the Rockies’ only new addition Daniel Murphy, is out for a month with a left index finger fracture.  The same can be said for the Rockies since A.J. Pollock is the new Dodger in the lineup and the Rockies have seen plenty of him from his Diamondback days.

For the Dodgers, this is the start of a challenging stretch in which they play three in Coors Field before departing to St. Louis for a four-game series.  They will then play the Brewers seven times in a two-week span, while also playing the rest of the NL Central in the Cubs, Reds, and Pirates.  For a team known to get off to slow starts, it would be nice for the Dodgers to take at least two of three in Colorado to improve to 7-3 after ten games.