Winners of five in a row and 10 straight at Dodger Stadium, the Los Angeles Dodgers now begin a series against the Colorado Rockies as their stretch of playing a National League West opponent continues.
The teams are just two weeks removed from playing a three-game set at Chavez Ravine, which the Dodgers swept. They did so on a Sunday afternoon that saw the organization pay tribute to the memory of Kobe and Gianna Bryant during a pregame ceremony that Vin Scully narrated.
Since that weekend the Dodgers have continued to add to their lead in the NL West. They enter play Friday night six games up on the San Diego Padres and 10 ahead of the Rockies. However, Colorado currently occupies the No. 8 seed in the NL playoff picture.
That would pit them against the Dodgers in a best-of-three Wild Card series.
L.A. can further improve on their best record in baseball behind Rookie of the Year candidate Dustin May. Clayton Kershaw’s back trouble led to May filling in on Opening Day, and he’s been part of the starting rotation since.
May enters 1-1 with a 2.83 ERA in seven starts. May has logged at least five innings in three of his past five starts and is coming off an effort that saw him snap a string of allowing a home run in four consecutive outings.
The Rockies counter with Antonio Senzatela, who faces the Dodgers a second time this season. He surrendered four home runs and six runs in a loss to L.A. on Aug. 23. Senzatela is a career 2-3 with a 7.04 ERA in eight games (six starts) against the Dodgers.
“He’s got a good arm, he’s got a good fastball, he’s sort of neutral versus left and right,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the Rockies’ starter. “I think it’s for us to understand he’s not going to give in at times with the fastball and just try to keep him in the zone. If we start to expand, it’s going to be a tougher night for us.”
The Dodgers would improve to 30-10 with a win, which will match the 1955 and 1977 teams for the best record in franchise history through 40 games to start a season.
Dodgers lineup
RF: Mookie Betts
DH: Corey Seager
3B: Max Muncy
1B: Cody Bellinger
CF: AJ Pollock
LF: Joc Pederson
SS: Chris Taylor
C: Will Smith
2B: Gavin Lux
Rockies lineup
DH: Raimel Tapia
SS: Trevor Story
3B: Nolan Arenado
RF: Charlie Blackmon
CF: Kevin Pillar
1B: Daniel Murphy
2B: Garrett Hampson
LF: Sam Hilliard
C: Tony Wolters
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