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Both the Dodgers and Rockies will send their best pitchers to the mound on Saturday night, looking to continue this new era of stinginess at Coors Field.
Okay, the new era may only be one game long — a 2-1 contest on Friday won by the Rockies — but for the Dodgers, the offensive woes in the mile-high city stretches back to last year, too.
Coors Field opened in 1995, and the two teams have played 188 games there, 97 won by the Dodgers and 91 by the Rockies. Both teams have averaged over six runs per game in those games, 6.11 for the Rockies and 6.06 for the Dodgers.
Fewest Dodgers runs at Coors Field
| Year | Games | Runs | Runs/gm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Games | Runs | Runs/gm |
| 2012 | 9 | 39 | 4.33 |
| 2005 | 10 | 44 | 4.40 |
| 2004 | 10 | 45 | 4.50 |
| 2016 | 9 | 41 | 4.56 |
| 2007 | 9 | 41 | 4.56 |
| 1998 | 6 | 28 | 4.67 |
| 2010 | 9 | 45 | 5.00 |
Last year the Dodgers averaged 4.56 runs in their nine games at Coors Field, tied for the fourth-lowest offensive output in 22 years of visiting. They scored four or fewer runs in six of those nine games.
The Dodgers were on the verge of their worst offensive series ever in Colorado last Aug. 29-31, scoring one and zero runs in the first two games of the series, then had just two runs starting the eighth inning, down 8-2 in the final game of the series. Los Angeles rallied for three runs in the eighth and five more in the ninth, punctuated by a grand slam by Andrew Toles for a 10-8 win.
But counting Friday, the Dodgers have scored one, zero, and one run in three of their last four games in Colorado. To turn that around, they have to solve Jon Gray on Saturday night.
Gray started three times at home against the Dodgers in 2016, and the Rockies won all three games. The right-hander allowed five runs in five innings in a no-decision last April 22, but then pitched five scoreless innings in a win on Aug. 2, then six scoreless innings in a win on Aug. 29.
The Dodgers have a pretty worthy counter in starting Clayton Kershaw in the middle game of the series. The Dodgers have won Kershaw’s last 11 starts against the Rockies, dating back to 2013. They have also won his last seven starts in Denver, and Kershaw is 5-0 with a 3.09 ERA in those games, with 46 strikeouts and nine walks in 46⅔ innings.
Kershaw’s last loss to the Rockies was July 12, 2013, and the club’s last loss in a Kershaw start at Coors was May 2, 2012.
But to keep those streaks going, the Dodgers might want to score more than one run on Saturday night.
Game info
Time: 5:10 p.m. PT
TV: SportsNet LA