After defeating the Colorado Rockies in a 13-4 rout on Monday, the Los Angeles Dodgers are lined up to finish out the series with a sweep of their National League West opponent.
The Dodgers received a heavy dose of offense from everywhere in their lineup, slugging three home runs among seven total extra-base hits. Going 4-for-9 with runners in scoring position, the lineup refrained from the boom-or-bust outcome which carried them to their third win of the season.
Through five games, Dodgers starting pitchers have allowed just seven earned runs, sixth-fewest in Major League Baseball. But another bright spot is the length manager Dave Roberts has received from the rotation thus far, tallying 29 innings pitched, second-most in MLB.
Julio Urías made his first start of the 2023 regular season with a superb outing against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Opening Day, tossing six innings while allowing two earned runs on four hits. Urías was very efficient, punching out six while displaying some fantastic arm-side command.
The 26-year-old has a difficult matchup on Tuesday as many bats in the Rockies lineup have a history with the Dodgers lefty. Kris Bryant and C.J. Cron are among those who have homered and hit for average in the past against Urías.
Rockies manager Bud Black hands the ball to Germán Márquez, who is also making a second start of the season after tossing six solid innings against the San Diego Padres in his first outing. The 28-year-old now in his eighth year with the franchise has his focus on improving upon his worst year since his rookie season.
Márquez relies primarily on his mid-90s four-seam fastball, slider, sinker, and curveball. However, the Dodgers have feasted on the heater which could mean a heavy dose of sliders in their mini-series finale.
With a right-hander on the mound, James Outman has another opportunity to build on his scorching start. After slugging two triples, he credited J.D. Martinez and his clutch at-bat before stepping into the box in the bottom of the fifth inning.
“Honestly, J.D. got me fired up,” Outman said. “His two-out knock, I think, gave everybody life. I think once one of us go, we all go.”
The Dodgers are tied with the Tampa Bay Rays with an MLB-best +22 run differential, and aside from two lackluster performances from the offense in losses, the lineup is in a fantastic staring position early in the year.
Mookie Betts makes another start at second base as Miguel Vargas is out of the lineup one night after being hit by a pitch in his right thumb. Chris Taylor and Jason Heyward are among those making back-to-back starts.
Dodgers lineup
2B: Mookie Betts
1B: Freddie Freeman
C: Will Smith
3B: Max Muncy
DH: J.D. Martinez
LF: David Peralta
CF: James Outman
SS: Chris Taylor
RF: Jason Heyward
Rockies lineup
LF: Jurickson Profar
CF: Yonathan Daza
RF: Kris Bryant
1B: C.J. Cron
DH: Elehuris Montero
2B: Ryan McMahon
C: Elias Díaz
3B: Alan Trejo
SS: Ezequiel Tovar
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