Dodgers at home this weekend for series against the struggling Rockies

This weekend the Dodgers welcome the Colorado Rockies at home for a three-game series starting on Friday evening. The Dodgers are currently sitting at second place in the NL West, not that anyone needs reminding. The Dodgers will continue to chase the Giants through this series. The Giants, though, may have a tougher weekend ahead facing the Atlanta Braves, who are currently leading the NL East.

But, back to the series at hand. The story of the Rockies’ 2021 season is the tale of two teams. For this season, they’re 43-22 (.661) at home, but 15-47 (.242) on the road — which is on track to beat out the worst ever home/away disparity in history by the 1945 Athletics. Oddly enough, both of those stats are the best and worst in baseball at the time of this writing. That’s not uncommon for the Rockies, though, as Ben Clemens breaks down on Fangraphs here.

For comparison, the Dodgers have an at-home advantage as well, winning at a rate of .667 at home vs. .600 away. But that’s nothing compared to the Rockies’ splits. Also note that overall Dodgers pitchers have a combined ERA of 2.98 at home, which is the 2nd best in all of baseball, only slightly behind the Rays.

Does the Rockies wacky home/away split matter for this series since the games are at home for the Dodgers anyway? Well, maybe not too much. The Dodgers are 10-3 against the Rockies this season (5-1 at home so far). The Rockies had Thursday off, though they played a true double-header on Wednesday — with 17 total innings of baseball (the second game went to the 10th). This compared to the Dodgers measly 16 straight innings on Wednesday night/Thursday morning. Perhaps some Dodgers starters will wish they too had a day off before starting another series, but at least they were just returning home from down the road.

The Rockies’ bigger influence may come later in what’s left of the season. The Dodgers face the Rockies (including this series) 6 more times: 3 at home, 3 at Coors Field. The Giants, however, will head to Coors Field 6 more times before the end of the regular season.

On the Rockies side, shortstop Trevor Story left the game against the Cubs on Wednesday night with leg discomfort but he should be available tonight. Outfielder Raimel Tapia who’s leading the Rockies on the hitting side is still out for the series with the Dodgers with a toe strain.

For the Dodgers, only David Price is scheduled to take the mound on Saturday. Friday and Sunday look to be bullpen “bulk” games, possibly with Andre Jackson coming in Friday, and Mitch White on Sunday. Max Muncy sat out for Thursday’s game with back tightness but is expected back tonight. Mookie Betts is back in action, and after the Padres sweep, it feels like the Dodgers are still rolling.

Pitching Matchups

Friday, 7:10 p.m. (SportsNet LA): Kyle Freeland (4-6, 4.25 ERA) vs. TBD

Saturday, 6:10 p.m. (SportsNet LA): Jon Gray (7-10, 4.13 ERA) vs. David Price (4-2, 3.82 ERA)

Sunday, 1:10 p.m. (SportsNet LA, MLB Network): Antonio Senzatela (2-9, 4.42 ERA) vs. TBD