The Los Angeles Dodgers find themselves in an unfamiliar position as they take on the Colorado Rockies on Saturday. They have lost two games in a row for the first time since June 19-20 and for only a second time since May 15-16.
The Dodgers will look to get back on track in their third-straight nationally televised Saturday game. Kenta Maeda takes the ball and is coming off arguably his best start of the season.
Maeda threw seven shutout innings in the Dodgers’ win against the Chicago Cubs on Monday. He has a 2.79 ERA and 1.32 WHIP in eight home starts this season, compared to a 4.30 ERA on the road.
Maeda has had a lot of success against the Rockies in his career, going 5-2 with a 2.11 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP in 38.1 total pitched.
The Rockies send German Marquez to the mound for his 17th start of the year. The third-year pitcher enters with a 5-8 record, 5.53 ERA and 1.55 WHIP. In four career starts against the Dodgers, he is 1-0 with a 3.91 ERA and 1.30 WHIP.
The Dodgers look to get their offense back after Tyler Anderson shut them down on Friday. Despite that, Justin Turner has quietly been heating up lately, including a ninth-inning home run Friday that broke the Dodgers’ franchise records for most homers in a month.
Over his past six games, Turner is 8-for-19 with three homers and four RBIs. Unsurprisingly, Turner’s Rockies counterpart at third base has been playing excellent as well.
Nolan Arenado is having another superstar year, batting .310 with a .987 on-base plus slugging percentage. He hit his 20th home run of 2018 Friday, making him the first major leaguer to hit that milestone besides Bryce Harper.
The Dodgers may need Maeda to have another dominant start with how their bullpen has performed lately. L.A. relievers have allowed 22 runs in the team’s last four games alone. Caleb Ferguson could see some more time out of the bullpen Saturday following the news that he will remain on the roster as a reliever.
Additionally, the team recalled J.T. Chargois from Triple-A Oklahoma City after playing the series opener with a 24-man roster because Walker Buehler was optioned to High-A Rancho Cucamonga.
Dodgers lineup:
CF: Joc Pederson
3B: Max Muncy
LF: Matt Kemp
1B: Cody Bellinger
C: Yasmani Grandal
RF: Yasiel Puig
SS: Kiké Hernandez
2B: Chase Utley
P: Kenta Maeda
Rockies lineup:
2B: D.J. LeMahieu
CF: Charlie Blackmon
3B: Nolan Arenado
RF: Carlos Gonzalez
SS: Trevor Story
LF: Gerardo Parra
1B: Ian Desmond
C: Chris Iannetta
P: German Marquez
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