Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
This is the second of ten games the Dodgers will play at Coors Field this year. Just think, after today, the Dodgers will be done with 20% of this season’s games at the mile-high death pit.
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Dodgers
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Rockies
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5:10 p.m.
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Denver, Colo.
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LF
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Toles
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CF
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Blackmon | |
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SS
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Seager
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2B
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LeMahieu | |
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3B
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Turner
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3B
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Arenado | |
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1B
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González |
SS
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Story | |
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CF
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Pederson |
1B
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Reynolds | |
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C
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Grandal |
LF
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Parra | |
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RF
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Puig | RF | Cardullo | |
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2B
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Utley |
C
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Garneau | |
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P
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Kershaw (L)
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P
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Gray (R)
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Clayton Kershaw takes the mound for his second start of the year, and his 18th career start at Coors Field. Historically, Kershaw has been better than league average at Coors Field, because, well, he’s Kershaw, and that’s the sort of thing he does. Due to the time he missed on account of his back injury, Kershaw managed to avoid pitching in Colorado last season, so this will be his first game there since June 2015.
The good news for the Dodgers is that they won’t have to face a left-handed starter. They’ll instead be facing Jon Gray. Gray, interestingly, was better at Coors last season than he was on the road, and his five starts against the Dodgers reflect that: the Rockies won the three home starts, and lost the two at Dodger Stadium. In Gray’s 2017 season debut, he held the Brewers scoreless for four innings, then was lifted before he could record an out in the fifth, ending up with five earned runs charged to him. Gray’s talented, though, and has the potential to be a formidable opponent. He throws hard, too — his fastball maxes out at 99 MPH, and in that season opener, he threw a slider that touched 92 MPH. Yeesh.
This Dodger lineup is fairly similar to the one that’s been sent out against righties so far this season. The exception is that Chase Utley is starting at second base, giving Logan Forsythe the (scheduled) day off.
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Looking ahead:
Alex Wood heading for a bullpen session, makes him the likely starter for Monday in Chicago.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) April 8, 2017
With Rich Hill on the DL, Alex Wood is the expected (and best) choice to fill in for a start or two.
Also:
https://twitter.com/molly_knight/status/850822415110160384
Well, that’ll be worth watching.
