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Dodgers go all right-handed vs. Rockies

Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers are going all right-handed on Saturday night with their starting lineup against southpaw Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa.

That means off days for Adrian Gonzalez, Joc Pederson and Andre Ethier, but is a sign of the superior Dodgers depth and a part of manager Don Mattingly's strategy he talked about earlier this week.

"The answer is depth," Mattingly said on Wednesday. "If you have guys you can mix and match in there and feel comfortable with, that's how you give guys rest, basically being able to use your own roster."

Justin Turner (.999 OPS) starts at first base, Kiké Hernandez (.820) starts in center field, with Scott Van Slyke (.916) in right field and Alex Guerrero (1.179) in left.

In addition, A.J. Ellis starts at catcher for the first time in six days.

"Some guys at different times of their career are more capable of going every day," Mattingly said. "As guys get older, as I learned myself going through it, with those few extra days off you end up having a better season because you're not trying to push yourself every day to get ready to play. You end up wearing yourself out."

Gonzalez, 33, averaged 159 games and over 155 starts per season the last nine years. This is his third time not starting in 36 team games, though he has ended up playing in the other two games he didn't start.

"Those days are really important," Mattingly said. "I fought them[as a player], but they ended up being really important."

Troy Tulowitzki, who felt tightness in his left quad and left in the third inning on Friday night, is out of the lineup for the Rockies on Saturday. Daniel Descalso, who was 2-for-3 including a three-run double filling in for Tulowitzki at shortstop on Friday, starts at shortstop on Saturday.

Descalso is 5-for-38 (.132) this season.