The Los Angeles Dodgers continue their 10-game road trip with a weekend series facing the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Hiroki Kuroda starts the opener for the Dodgers, facing Jason Hammel of the Rockies. These two teams are a far cry from their playoff teams of 2009.
Both teams battle for the National League West down to the final weekend two seasons ago, but are now each suffering through a second straight disappointing season. The Dodgers enter play this weekend at 56-67, one game behind the 58-67 Rockies for the vastly unimportant battle for third place in the division.
The Rockies have suffered losses in their starting rotation, as Jorge De La Rosa had Tommy John surgery, Juan Nicasio broke his neck in a freak fall after getting hit in the face by a line drive, and they traded Ubaldo Jimenez despite being under a very team-friendly contract. Colorado still has 23-year old Juan Nicasio at the top of their rotation, but he won't pitch during this series.
The Dodgers have had their planned starting infield together for all of two games this season, and outside of Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and perhaps Jamey Carroll, don't really have capable major league hitters. Factoring in park effects, both offenses have struggled this season. The Dodgers have an adjusted OPS (OPS+) of 90, the same as the Rockies, with 100 being average. Colorado has a higher adjusted runs created (wRC+) of 95, while the Dodgers are at 89.
Since the All-Star break, both teams have losing records (15-16 for the Dodgers, 15-19 for Colorado) despite outscoring their opponents during that span. These two teams have split 12 games this season, with each team winning four of six games at home. The Dodgers and Rockies play this weekend and next, then won't see each other until 2012.
Friday's 5:40 p.m. PDT game will be televised by Prime Ticket. For more news and information on the Dodgers, be sure to read True Blue LA.