Dodgers @ Rockies April 8, 2017: Kershaw vs. Gray

Photo: Daniel Brim

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.

Dodgers
Rockies
5:10 p.m.
Denver, Colo.
LF
Toles
CF
Blackmon
SS
Seager
2B
LeMahieu
3B
Turner
3B
Arenado
1B
González
SS
Story
CF
Pederson
1B
Reynolds
C
Grandal
LF
Parra
RF
Puig RF Cardullo
2B
Utley
C
Garneau
P
Kershaw (L)
P
Gray (R)

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.

—–

Looking ahead:

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.

About Sarah Wexler

Sarah Wexler is a native Angeleno and longtime Dodger fan. She began blogging about baseball in 2012 on her Tumblr, New Grass On The Field, where she covered an array of topics but especially enjoyed exploring baseball history. She is now a reporter/producer for MLB.com. She earned her master's degree in Sports Management from Cal State Long Beach. She graduated from New York University in 2014 with a bachelor's in History and a minor in American Studies. She's an avid Springsteen fan, which is a big boost to her baseball writer cred.