The Dodgers tonight make their first trip to Coors Field this season, and that trip will be a short one, as the short two-game series with the Rockies will be over less than 24 hours after this game begins. Clayton Kershaw gets the start tonight for the Dodgers, looking to recreate some opening night magic.
Kershaw made five starts against the Rockies last year, and he was 3-0 with a 2.10 ERA in 30 innings. The Dodgers have won the last six games Kershaw has started against the Rockies, and eight of the last nine. Kershaw has bad career numbers at Coors Field -- a 5.59 ERA in seven starts -- but a lot of that damage was done earlier in his career. Kershaw allowed 15 runs in his first three starts in Denver, but has allowed just eight runs in 23 1/3 innings in his last four Coors Field starts, a 3.09 ERA with 11 walks and 25 strikeouts.
Kershaw made five starts against the Rockies last year, but Jhoulys Chacin did him one better, making six starts against the Dodgers in 2010. Chacin was solid, with a 2.87 ERA in over six innings per start against the Dodgers, but he only had a 3-3 record to show for it. Chacin lost twice to Kershaw -- May 30 and August 17 -- and also lost to the Dodgers on September 29, completing the Dodgers' sweep at Coors.
The Dodgers have beaten the Rockies in 28 of their last 40 meetings, and have also won 15 of their last 21 games at Coors Field.
Notes
- Kershaw has handled Troy Tulowitzki (5-for-27, eight strikeouts) and Carlos Gonzalez (2-for-12, 7 strikeouts) thus far in his career, allowing all singles. Dexter Fowler is 7-for-19 with a double and a triple off Kershaw, hitting .368/.478/.526
- Andre Ethier is 5-for-10 with two doubles off Chacin; Matt Kemp is 3-for-17, but with a double and a home run; Juan Uribe is 0-for-9 with three strikeouts against Chacin
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Game Time: 5:40 p.m.
TV: KCAL