The Colorado Rockies entered the week having lost 10 straight games to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
After taking two of the first three contests, the Rockies can win the four-game series and finish their homestand with a 6-2 record if they defeat the Dodgers again on Thursday afternoon in Denver.
Los Angeles will send veteran left-hander Clayton Kershaw (7-2, 3.01 ERA) to the mound against rookie right-hander Chase Dollander (2-9, 6.43).
The Rockies’ 8-3 win on Wednesday night came against Shohei Ohtani, who gave the Dodgers a scare in the fourth inning when he was hit on the right thigh by a comebacker. He stayed in the game after a visit from Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts and a trainer before exiting in the eighth inning for pinch hitter Alex Call.
Ohtani likely will be out of the lineup on Thursday.
Dollander faced the Dodgers on June 25, his only start against them, and took the loss after allowing three runs on three hits over 5 2/3 innings. He was denied going for a quality start after a heavy rain fell in the top of the sixth inning, forcing a delay and ending his night.
Dollander is one of 12 Rockies to make their major league debut this season, the most recent one being Kyle Karros. The influx of youth has helped Colorado to a 15-16 record since the All-Star break, which is slightly better than the 14-16 mark by Los Angeles. The Rockies have won five of their past six games.
Karros hit his first career home run in the sixth inning of Tuesday’s 11-4 loss to the Dodgers and got to do it in front of his father, Eric, who served as a broadcaster for the Dodgers. The elder Karros moved around the stadium throughout the game before seeing the home run.
“He was switching up seats (for my at-bats) — I think he ended up in the nosebleeds,” Kyle Karros said of his dad. “He was trying out everything. He played the game, he knows how superstitions work. He sent me photos from all over (the ballpark). I think he found the lucky spot (in the sixth).”
Karros wasn’t in the lineup for Wednesday’s win, but he likely will be for the end of the Rockies’ homestand on Thursday. The appearance would come against a pitcher who has faced the Rockies 51 times in his career, which is second to the 61 appearances against the San Francisco Giants.
Kershaw is 28-11 against Colorado and holds a 3.27 ERA in those 51 starts. He has been hit hard at times in Denver but is 13-8 with a 4.53 ERA in 28 starts at Coors Field.
Kershaw will make his 16th start of the season before a pivotal weekend series in San Diego. Los Angeles has a one-game lead over the Padres in the National League West in its quest for their 12th division title in 13 seasons.
“I’ve always appreciated being a part of the Dodgers because you’re never pitching just to pitch,” Kershaw said. “There’s always a bigger goal, a bigger motivation behind it. That makes it have more meaning.”
–Field Level Media
