The Los Angeles Dodgers are National League West champions for an 11th time in the past 12 seasons, and now face the Colorado Rockies for their final series of the year.
With an NL West title already secured, the Dodgers next are looking to determine their seeding in the postseason bracket. Their magic number to clinch the No. 1 seed over the Philadelphia Phillies is three. Doing so would guarantee them home-field advantage through the NL Championship Series.
That also would keep the Dodgers in position for the best record in baseball, and thus homefield through the World Series.
Amid a shortage of starting pitchers, the Dodgers are utilizing a bullpen game for the series opener at Coors Field. Ryan Brasier is pitching in his 29th game of the year and making a fourth start.
Brasier has thrown one scoreless inning in each of his starts so far this year. The right-hander pitched twice during the series against the Rockies last week, which included starting on Sept. 20.
Cal Quantrill is making a second consecutive start against the Dodgers and enters with an 8-10 record to go along with a 4.72 ERA and 1.49 WHIP.
Quantrill allowed three runs on six hits over 4.2 innings at Dodger Stadium last week. He faces a Dodgers lineup that does not include Freddie Freeman (sprained right ankle) or Miguel Rojas (left adductor). Kiké Hernández and Tommy Edman are filling in at the respective positions for Freeman and Rojas.
Rojas is hopeful to play in the finale of the regular season, and there’s optimism both he and Freeman will be available when the Dodgers start the NL Division Series on Saturday, Oct. 5.
This weekend is the Dodgers’ final time playing against Charlie Blackmon, who is retiring at the end of the season. Blackmon hit two home runs in the three games at Dodger Stadium last week.
Dodgers lineup
DH: Shohei Ohtani
RF: Mookie Betts
2B: Gavin Lux
LF: Teoscar Hernández
SS: Tommy Edman
1B: Kiké Hernández
CF: Andy Pages
3B: Chris Taylor
C: Austin Barnes
Rockies lineup
DH: Charlie Blackmon
SS: Ezequiel Tovar
3B: Ryan McMahon
CF: Brenton Doyle
1B: Michael Toglia
2B: Brendan Rodgers
LF: Nolan Jones
C: Jacob Stallings
RF: Jake Cave
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