Dodgers-Rockies preview: Zack Greinke vs. Jorge De La Rosa

As the Dodgers look to beat the Rockies for a second straight game, here are some notes heading into Saturday night at Dodger Stadium.

After walks at the plate by Brett Anderson and Thursday and Clayton Kershaw on Friday, Dodgers pitchers have seven walks while batting this season, four more than any other team in baseball. Dodgers pitchers have an 8.23-percent walk rate while batting, which is higher than (a) the major league rate for non-pitchers (8.08 percent) and (b) the walk rate allowed by Dodgers pitchers on the mound this season (6.99 percent).

Zack Greinke has seven quality starts in his seven outings this season, the most by a Dodger to open a season since Chad Billingsley started his 2009 campaign with nine straight quality starts.

Greinke is 5-0 with a 1.52 ERA this season and hasn't lost since Aug. 9, 2014. In his 15 starts since then, Greinke is 10-0 with a 1.94 ERA, and the Dodgers have won 12 of the 15 games.

Since joining Colorado in 2008, Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa is 45-15 with a 4.18 ERA at Coors Field, and 24-32 with a 4.48 ERA on the road.

De La Rosa's teams (Brewers in 2005, Rockies since 2008) lost each of his first nine appearances at Dodger Stadium before he beat the Dodgers on April 27, 2014. In 11 career games at Chavez Ravine, including eight starts, De La Rosa is 1-5 with a 4.84 ERA, with 27 strikeouts and 22 walks in 44⅔ innings.

Howie Kendrick has been under the radar this week. He had four hits on Tuesday, but the postgame clamor surrounded Andre Ethier, who was 5-for-5. On Friday, Kendrick had three hits, but his double play partner Jimmy Rollins had four. Kendrick quietly has a seven-game hitting streak, with four multi-hit games, and is hitting .438 (14-for-32) with three extra-base hits during that span.

Joc Pederson currently sports a .401 on-base percentage and a .243 batting average. Through 2014 there were 68 seasons of a Dodger achieving a .400 OBP with enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title, with only two batting averages below .273 — Jimmy Wynn at .248 and .403 in 1975, and Eddie Stanky at .258 and .417 in 1945.

Game info

Time: 6:10 p.m. PT

TV: SportsNet LA