Rockies @ Dodgers Sept. 24, 2016: Clinch night?

Amazing festivities last night, and the game wasn’t bad, either. Tonight, Clayton Kershaw makes what should be his penultimate start of the regular season. He has been good since returning (no surprise), and he has increased his workload, too.

Rockies
Dodgers
6:10 p.m.
Los Angeles
CF
Blackmon
2B
Utley
SS
Descalso
SS
Seager
3B
Arenado
3B
Turner
LF
Raburn
1B
Gonzalez
RF
Parra
C
Grandal
1B
Cardullo
RF
Reddick
2B
Valakia  LF Kendrick
C
Wolters
CF
Pederson
P
Bettis (R)
P
Kershaw (L)

Kershaw threw three innings in his first start, five in his next and six in his last. The pitch counts in those games were 66, 64 and 88. He’s getting closer to being back to normal, which is something that wasn’t expected just a month ago.

—–

Pretty standard lineup today, with Howie Kendrick getting a start in left field over Andrew Toles. That’s fine, but Toles is definitely exciting and a clear defensive upgrade in left field. Here’s hoping the offense can keep it rolling against Rockies’ starter Chad Bettis.

The Rockies are employing a different lineup, with someone named Pat Valaika starting at second base. DJ Lemahieu and Carlos Gonzalez are getting rare nights off.

—–

This means Rich Hill won’t start tomorrow, which is fine. He’ll get one more tune-up before the postseason. If Brandon McCarthy comes back and pitches well enough, perhaps he’s the No. 4 starter in the postseason (if necessary). Jose De Leon‘s outing could also determine his playoff future.

It’d be nice, but not necessary. Whatever is going to happen will happen.

If the Dodgers win and the Padres take down the Giants (the game just started), they’ll claim their fourth consecutive NL West division title. We’ll see what happens.

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About Dustin Nosler

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Dustin Nosler began writing about the Dodgers in July 2009 at his blog, Feelin' Kinda Blue. He co-hosted a weekly podcast with Jared Massey called Dugout Blues. He was a contributor/editor at The Hardball Times and True Blue LA. He graduated from California State University, Sacramento, with his bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in digital media. While at CSUS, he worked for the student-run newspaper The State Hornet for three years, culminating with a 1-year term as editor-in-chief. He resides in Stockton, Calif.