The Los Angeles Dodgers are the best team in the National League at the moment and are on course for a 10th consecutive run to the postseason.
This is despite the injuries to their crop of pitchers they have on their roster and they travel to divisional rivals the Colorado Rockies, who sit in bottom place of the NL West, a full 21 games behind the Dodgers.
| What | Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Colorado Rockies, Game One of Four |
| Where | Coors Field, Denver, Colorado |
| When | 20:40 ET Thursday 28th July 2022 |
| How to watch | SportsNet LA, ATT SportsNet-RM |
| Odds | Los Angeles Dodgers -210, Colorado Rockies +175 |
Rockies to Trade?
Some clubs will be interested in a couple of the Rockies' talented players. First baseman C.J. Cron would be a good fit for the Cleveland Guardians, who are not getting strong production from Owen Miller at first base - they have used Josh Naylor there as well.
Naylor can play the corner outfield though and that has been a big weakness for the Guardians this season, adding Cron would boost the team as whole.
Closer Daniel Bard has also been talked about in trade terms. With Michael King ruled out for the rest of the season, the New York Yankees require bullpen help - Bard is set to be a free agent at the end of the season and the Rockies would want something back from the Yankees for the 37-year-old.
Dodgers after pitching help
The Dodgers are still without pitchers Blake Treinen, Dusty May, Tommy Khanle and Walker Buehler and Los Angeles is hopeful of getting some, if not all, of their injured pitching roster back before the end of the season.
So, the Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has some decisions to make if he wants immediate pitching help.
There was good news for the Dodgers on Wednesday night and in particular for left-handed pitcher Andrew Heaney, who joined the rotation again following injury.
The 31-year-old had been out since the middle of June and was welcomed back to the fold, tossing four scoreless innings in a 7-1 win over the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium.
Speaking to the official Dodgers' website, team manager Dave Roberts said: "It's pretty remarkable. When he's healthy and out there, there aren't many hits.
"He typically doesn't walk guys and there is a lot of swing and miss. There's a lot of good ingredients when he's out there. Our expectation is that in six days, he'll be right back out there."
Head to Head
The Dodgers haven't had everything their own way against the Rockies this season winning five out of the nine meetings so far this campaign, although Los Angeles has won the last four encounters including a three-game sweep at the start of July.
The last time Colorado won more games than the Dodgers over the course of the season was 2017, when the Rockies won 10 games out of 19 meetings.
On the Mound
Tyler Anderson has had an excellent campaign this year for the Dodgers. The 31-year-old lefty has a 10-1 record and has struck out 87 batters with an ERA of 2.79.
The veteran pitcher signed a one-year $8million contract at the start of the year and was named as an All-Star for the first time in his career, replacing Carlos Rodon.
On the mound for the Rockies will be Jose Urena. The right-handed pitcher has a 1-2 record so far this season with a 3.13 ERA, striking out 17 batters, having ended 2021 with the Detroit Tigers before signing with the Milwaukee Brewers in March 2022.
However, in May, Urena elected for free agency and was picked up by the Rockies to a minor league deal initially before making his senior debut in July at Dodger Stadium.
Urena pitched 6.2 innings and gave up five hits, striking out two, but walking three batters. Urena last won a game against the Dodgers in 2016, when he was with the Miami Marlins.
Prediction
With the Dodgers having won eight out of their last 10 games, nothing is here to suggest that the Rockies will win this four-game series.
However, the Rockies are, to their credit, a dangerous team to play against, winning five out of their last 10 matches and they did defeat the San Diego Padres over four games in the middle of July.
The Dodgers are still taken to win the series, maybe three games out of four.
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