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Friday April 25th 8:40pm MT__TV-FSN__Radio KOA 850 am TV: PRIME-HD | Radio: KABC 790, KHJ 930
Dodger Stadium
_______Dodgers vs Rockies_______ 
_______Hiroki Kuroda 1-2 2.92era vs Ubaldo Jimenez 1-2 4.64era_______
Dodgers: Hiroki Kuroda bobbed and weaved through a third quality start in Atlanta. He was hit relatively hard and needed 118 pitches just to get through six innings, but he was able to strand 10 runners and keep his club in the game. He was behind in many counts as his command wavered, particularly with the cut fastball, and too many pitches caught too much of the plate.
Colorado: Jimenez's talent is evident, but his inexperience is preventing him from achieving results that match it. Against the Astros on Sunday, he gave up four hits and walked five with two out. For the 5 2/3 innings he was in the game, he gave up five hits and struck out six. Jimenez struggled last season in his only start at Dodger Stadium, giving up five earned runs in four innings.
Joe Torre
Struggling CF Andruw Jones was back in the lineup after being held out Tuesday against Cincinnati. Jones, who turned 31 on Wednesday, entered the game batting .159 with one home run and 22 strikeouts in 63 at-bats. He went 1-for-5 against Arizona in the first of three home games. ... The team has grounded into 13 double plays over the last seven games, including five during two games against the Reds. .... SS Rafael Furcal is second in the National League in batting average at .397. Atlanta's Chipper Jones is first at .430. ... RHP Takashi Saito had his first major league at-bat on Wednesday and struck out looking.
Clint Hurdle
3B Garrett Atkins extended his hitting streak to eight games with a single Wednesday night. He tied Matt Holliday for the Rockies' longest hitting streak of the season. Atkins is batting .396 with four homers and 11 RBI during the streak. ... LF Matt Holliday, who has 72 career home runs at Coors Field, is one blast shy of fifth-place all time for home runs in this ballpark. ... RHP Manny Corpas has blown four saves this season and has given up five runs and five hits in his last two innings of work. Corpas blew just three save opportunities last season.
The Colorado Rockies are back in the win column for the first time in five games. To stay there, they’ll try to take advantage of a division rival they dominated toward the end of last season.
The Rockies look to win their eighth straight game against the Los Angeles Dodgers as the NL West rivals open a three-game series in Los Angeles on Friday night.
Colorado looked like an outsider in last season’s playoff race before it put together a remarkable run, winning 14 of its last 15 games - including a franchise-record 11-game win streak - en route to the first World Series appearance in team history.
Seven of the wins during that 11-game run came against the Dodgers, giving the Rockies their longest win streak in the series in the franchise’s 15 years of existence. Colorado had never finished ahead of Los Angeles in the standings before 2007.
“A lot of things are going right for them,” Dodgers outfielder Juan Pierre - a former Colorado player - said of the Rockies after the teams’ final meeting Sept. 27. “It’s a good makeup over there. They’ve had a lot of young guys they stood by and they let them grow. And now they’re reaping the benefits.”
However, this year’s Rockies (10-12) haven’t been able to extend their dominance from last fall. They’re 10th in the NL in runs scored and batting average, and 12th in team ERA.
The Rockies haven’t solved all of their problems, but they hope they’ve at least found the answer for their bullpen’s struggles. Colorado relievers had surrendered a late-inning lead in each game of the team’s four-game losing streak before Brian Fuentes closed a 4-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday for his first save since June 21 of last season
“As much as I tried to make (being a setup man) the same (as being a closer), it wasn’t,” Fuentes said. “There was so much electricity in the air (Thursday), the crowd was into it and I just kind of go with my emotions.”
Earlier in the day, Rockies manager Clint Hurdle named Fuentes the closer, replacing the struggling Manny Corpas, who took the job from Fuentes last summer. Corpas has blown four of his eight save chances in 2008.
“I’ve watched a volume of work. Take it from there. It’s apparent to me that we need to shuffle the deck,” Hurdle said. “We are seeing the inconsistencies. You need to find a way to help (Corpas).”
Colorado now hopes to take advantage of its first meeting with Los Angeles (9-13), which has dropped five of seven. The Dodgers fell 6-4 against Arizona on Thursday night, snapping their three-game home win streak.
The Dodgers will try to get back on track behind Hiroki Kuroda (1-2, 2.92 ERA), who has fared well in his first four starts since signing with them out of Japan in December. The right-hander held Atlanta to two runs in six innings on Sunday in a 6-1 defeat.
“He pitched well enough to win,” Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. “He gave us a chance to win.”
Kuroda will match up against Colorado’s Ubaldo Jimenez (1-2, 4.64), who has struggled with his control, walking 17 in 21 1-3 innings spanning four starts. The right-hander issued five walks and gave up three runs in 5 2-3 innings of Colorado’s 6-4 loss at Houston on Sunday.
Click for Dodgers Stats
Click for Rockies Stats
Dodger Stadium
_______Dodgers vs Rockies_______ _______Hiroki Kuroda 1-2 2.92era vs Ubaldo Jimenez 1-2 4.64era_______Dodgers: Hiroki Kuroda bobbed and weaved through a third quality start in Atlanta. He was hit relatively hard and needed 118 pitches just to get through six innings, but he was able to strand 10 runners and keep his club in the game. He was behind in many counts as his command wavered, particularly with the cut fastball, and too many pitches caught too much of the plate.
Colorado: Jimenez's talent is evident, but his inexperience is preventing him from achieving results that match it. Against the Astros on Sunday, he gave up four hits and walked five with two out. For the 5 2/3 innings he was in the game, he gave up five hits and struck out six. Jimenez struggled last season in his only start at Dodger Stadium, giving up five earned runs in four innings.
Joe TorreStruggling CF Andruw Jones was back in the lineup after being held out Tuesday against Cincinnati. Jones, who turned 31 on Wednesday, entered the game batting .159 with one home run and 22 strikeouts in 63 at-bats. He went 1-for-5 against Arizona in the first of three home games. ... The team has grounded into 13 double plays over the last seven games, including five during two games against the Reds. .... SS Rafael Furcal is second in the National League in batting average at .397. Atlanta's Chipper Jones is first at .430. ... RHP Takashi Saito had his first major league at-bat on Wednesday and struck out looking.
Clint Hurdle3B Garrett Atkins extended his hitting streak to eight games with a single Wednesday night. He tied Matt Holliday for the Rockies' longest hitting streak of the season. Atkins is batting .396 with four homers and 11 RBI during the streak. ... LF Matt Holliday, who has 72 career home runs at Coors Field, is one blast shy of fifth-place all time for home runs in this ballpark. ... RHP Manny Corpas has blown four saves this season and has given up five runs and five hits in his last two innings of work. Corpas blew just three save opportunities last season.
The Colorado Rockies are back in the win column for the first time in five games. To stay there, they’ll try to take advantage of a division rival they dominated toward the end of last season.
The Rockies look to win their eighth straight game against the Los Angeles Dodgers as the NL West rivals open a three-game series in Los Angeles on Friday night.
Colorado looked like an outsider in last season’s playoff race before it put together a remarkable run, winning 14 of its last 15 games - including a franchise-record 11-game win streak - en route to the first World Series appearance in team history.
Seven of the wins during that 11-game run came against the Dodgers, giving the Rockies their longest win streak in the series in the franchise’s 15 years of existence. Colorado had never finished ahead of Los Angeles in the standings before 2007.
“A lot of things are going right for them,” Dodgers outfielder Juan Pierre - a former Colorado player - said of the Rockies after the teams’ final meeting Sept. 27. “It’s a good makeup over there. They’ve had a lot of young guys they stood by and they let them grow. And now they’re reaping the benefits.”
However, this year’s Rockies (10-12) haven’t been able to extend their dominance from last fall. They’re 10th in the NL in runs scored and batting average, and 12th in team ERA.
The Rockies haven’t solved all of their problems, but they hope they’ve at least found the answer for their bullpen’s struggles. Colorado relievers had surrendered a late-inning lead in each game of the team’s four-game losing streak before Brian Fuentes closed a 4-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday for his first save since June 21 of last season
“As much as I tried to make (being a setup man) the same (as being a closer), it wasn’t,” Fuentes said. “There was so much electricity in the air (Thursday), the crowd was into it and I just kind of go with my emotions.”
Earlier in the day, Rockies manager Clint Hurdle named Fuentes the closer, replacing the struggling Manny Corpas, who took the job from Fuentes last summer. Corpas has blown four of his eight save chances in 2008.
“I’ve watched a volume of work. Take it from there. It’s apparent to me that we need to shuffle the deck,” Hurdle said. “We are seeing the inconsistencies. You need to find a way to help (Corpas).”
Colorado now hopes to take advantage of its first meeting with Los Angeles (9-13), which has dropped five of seven. The Dodgers fell 6-4 against Arizona on Thursday night, snapping their three-game home win streak.
The Dodgers will try to get back on track behind Hiroki Kuroda (1-2, 2.92 ERA), who has fared well in his first four starts since signing with them out of Japan in December. The right-hander held Atlanta to two runs in six innings on Sunday in a 6-1 defeat.
“He pitched well enough to win,” Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. “He gave us a chance to win.”
Kuroda will match up against Colorado’s Ubaldo Jimenez (1-2, 4.64), who has struggled with his control, walking 17 in 21 1-3 innings spanning four starts. The right-hander issued five walks and gave up three runs in 5 2-3 innings of Colorado’s 6-4 loss at Houston on Sunday.
Click for Dodgers Stats
Click for Rockies Stats