A resounding victory Monday night has the Los Angeles Dodgers in position to clinch a series win over the Colorado Rockies and further improve their odds to earn a sixth consecutive National League West title.
Tuesday’s matchup is a battle between left-handed aces Clayton Kershaw and Kyle Freeland, who both pitched in the series at Coors Field earlier this month. Kershaw limited the Rockies to two runs on six hits, and had seven strikeouts across six innings.
The win was Kershaw’s 22nd of his career against the Rockies, which is tied with the San Francisco Giants for an all-time personal high.
He takes the mound 8-5 with a 2.51 ERA, 3.05 FIP and 1.01 WHIP in 23 starts. Kershaw has won his last five decisions and the Dodgers are 10-3 in his last 13 starts.
Freeland has been equally as dominant, with a 7-1 record and 2.69 ERA in 11 starts since the All-Star break. Included in that was six innings of one-run ball against the Dodgers, when Freeland notched eight strikeouts. He also struck out 10 in seven innings of an Aug. 11 start at Dodger Stadium.
Freeland again faces a Dodgers lineup that’s lined with all right-handed batters. While the order has changed, it’s the same eight position players who last started against Freeland.
Chris Taylor was responsible for the Dodgers’ only run off the southpaw, clubbing a leadoff home run in the fifth inning.
The Rockies are without Trevor Story, who was removed from Monday’s game due to injury. There’s a belief he may have UCL damage in his right elbow.
Dodgers lineup:
LF: Chris Taylor
3B: Justin Turner
SS: Manny Machado
1B: David Freese
RF: Matt Kemp
2B: Brian Dozier
CF: Kiké Hernandez
C: Austin Barnes
P: Clayton Kershaw
Rockies lineup:
CF: Charlie Blackmon
2B: DJ LeMahieu
3B: Nolan Arenado
LF: Matt Holliday
1B: Ian Desmond
RF: Gerardo Parra
C: Chris Iannetta
SS: Garrett Hampson
P: Kyle Freeland
