The Colorado Rockies play host to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night from Coors Field, in the opener of their four-game weekend series. The Rockies haven't been able to grab a series win in weeks, while the Dodgers have continued to find nothing but success in their journey towards the top of not only the NL West standings but baseball as a whole. While 20ish games surround them in the standings, the battle between these two has been tight all season, with the Dodgers have won five of nine matchups so far. While Los Angeles will like their chances, it'll be interesting to see if the Rockies can continue to surprise against one of baseball's best teams.
While the Yankees' dominance was the talk of baseball for much of the first half of the season, the emergence of the Dodgers as potentially the best team in baseball has been a story in itself. Over the last month, they've easily navigated most opponents and have to build a sizeable gap in the NL West race. Beyond that, an 8-2 record over their last ten games is nothing to sneeze at and with MLB's best road record as well, this weekend shouldn't be too daunting for this group. Playing at Coors Field has been a challenge though for this group and while many will expect them to easily come out of the four-game stretch unscathed, they know that they need to be focused throughout. Thursday's opener will be a great test though and there's no doubt that fans could be in for a great night of watching one of baseball's best groups.
One concern has been the injuries mounting for the Dodgers of late. Positionally, they are without their top two corner infielders, with both Justin Turner (abdominal) and Edwin Rios (hamstring) remaining out, though Turner appears to be more of a game-time decision. Adding Chris Taylor (foot) and Kevin Pillar (shoulder) to the list of players they'll be missing doesn't help things either. The pitching has been chaotic all season as well but at least to this point, it hasn't seemed to come back to haunt them.
Six runs in the first. ?? pic.twitter.com/dZuO8NXUVs
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 27, 2022
According to MLB.com, the Dodgers will lean on one of baseball's best to take the mound, as they hand the ball off to Tyler Anderson. The lefty has done nothing but impresses this season and with a 10-1 record and 2.79 ERA, he can make things difficult for Colorado. In his last two starts, he hasn't allowed a single earned run across 12 innings of work, making it even scarier for the Rockies that he might only be getting better of late.
Besides having one of baseball's best pitchers on the mound, having one of the best lineups to trot out there doesn't hurt either. The Dodgers rank in the top five of baseball in runs scored per nine innings, average, and OPS, while ranking sixth in home runs. They have seen their strikeout rate worsen over last season but even that hasn't caused concern. Freddie Freeman (.322 average, .397 OBP), Mookie Betts (23 HRs), and Trea Turner (69 RBI) lead the way, but their depth is what giv es them a shot every night. Over the last week, the emergence of Trayce Thompson (.421 average) has only served to make them more dangerous as they open up the weekend slate.