After losing their previous series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Colorado Rockies hope to recover lost ground on the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West team standings as they play the Los Angeles Dodgers in the second of their four game weekend series at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado on Friday.
The Rockies have struggled in the last couple of weeks and now have fallen three games behind the Diamondbacks in the team standings. Colorado has lost three straight series and they are looking to snap that against the Dodgers at home.
The Colorado Rockies will pit fellow right hander John Gray against the Dodgers of Friday. The 26 year old Oklahoma product is 9-7 in 21 total starts with an ERA of 4.73 and a WHIP of 1.30. Gray ranks 6th in the National League with 144 strikeouts. He has won three out of his last four decisions.
In his last start though, Gray got a no-decision after his bullpen collapsed on him. Gray pitched 8 innings against the Brewers on Sunday, giving up just one run on four hits and two walks while fanning 8 batters. The only blemish in a rather outstanding outing was a solo home run he gave up in the second inning. He will look to build on that performance as he faces the Dodgers on Friday.
Nolan Arenado ranks 2nd in the National league in home runs with 29, is 4th in RBIs with 81 and is 8th in batting average at .304. He is 8-26 in the month of August with 2 RBIs and 1 homerun.
The Colorado offense ranks 9th in the league in batting average at .254. The Rockies’ slugging percentage of .425 is fifth overall while their total of 534 runs scored this season ranks 9th in the league.
The Dodgers are trying to gain ground on their division leaders. Los Angeles is currently just half a game behind the Diamondbacks and they can reclaim the divisional lead with a series win over the Rockies this weekend.
The Los Angeles offense has been playing well after a slow start to the season. The Dodgers have scored a total of 543 runs this season which is seventh best in the league. Their slugging percentage of .426 ranks 8th in the league while their .324 on base percentage in 10th overall.
Their pitching has also been very good with an ERA of 3.51 which is good for 3rd best in the league. Los Angeles’ 1.18 WHIP ranks second in the league while their opponents’ batting average of .233 is seventh best overall.
Kenta Maeda gets the nod to start on the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 30 year old right hander from Osaka, Japan has started 19 games this season and has a record of 7-7 with an ERA of 3.73 and WHIP of 1.25. Maeda has suffered back to back losses after winning three of four decisions from June 25 to July 15.
In his most recent loss, Maeda yielded five runs on six hits (including a homerun) with two walks and four strikeouts in 5.1 innings pitched during Saturday’s 0-14 annihilation at the hands of the defending champions Houston Astros.
It has been an up and down season for the right handed Japanese hurler and he appears to be on a downward trend right now. Maeda has given up an ERA of 6.88 over his last three games and things won’t get easier on Friday when he faces the Colorado Rockies on Friday.
The Rockies have lost six of their last eight games overall and are just 1-6 in their last seven games against a right handed starting pitcher. They are also just 2-8 against teams with winning record.
The Dodgers have won four out of their last five games against their division rivals in the National League West. They are 19-7 in their last 26 road games against an opponent with a winning record. Los Angeles is also 7-3 in Maeda’s last 10 starts on a Friday. The Dodgers are better on the road (32-24) than they are at home (31-28) this season. They have won six out of their last eight meetings against the Rockies.
Sure, Maeda has been struggling lately while Gray has been more solid this season. But overall, the Dodgers have the better team and are playing better as of late. We’re picking the Los Angeles Dodgers to beat the Colorado Rockies on 8/10/18.
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