Dodgers look to leave Colorado victorious

The Dodgers could really use a series win to help them in the divisional standings.

Los Angeles has shown us thus far in a new season that they are still trying to find an identity, but are much closer to doing so than recent years.

Instead of being completely shattered by the departure of Zack Greinke, the Dodgers have been able to rely on other guys to get the job done when Clayton Kershaw isn’t on the mound.

Chris Hatcher wasn’t able to get a win in the series opener on Friday, a game that the Dodgers lost 7-5, but Kenta Maeda was able to pull through and pick up the slack on Saturday.

Maeda pitched for 6 1/3 innings, allowing just three hits and one walk contrasted with eight strikeouts.

With the win, Maeda improved to 3-0 on the season and retains a stellar ERA of .36.

If things continue to go as well for Maeda as they have so far, the Dodgers are going to be in good company for the rest of the season.

On Sunday, Los Angeles will be trusting Alex Wood with the ball, hoping that he can recover from his last outing against the Atlanta Braves that didn’t go so well.

In that game last week, Wood gave up seven hits and six runs while only producing a single strikeout in four innings of work; Los Angeles went on to lose that game by an 8-1 margin.

Wood has a 1-2 record this season with an ERA already over five — not to mention a 27-28 record since he got his first start in the big leagues.

Opposing Wood and the Dodgers on Sunday is Colorado’s Jordan Lyles, who hasn’t really been much better than Alex Wood.

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In fact, he’s somehow been worse — a 6.00 ERA and a career record of 24-39 at the mound.

Lyles is 1-1 this season, but the Dodgers should be able to get in his head early and get insurance runs when they need them.

Against the Atlanta Braves, that was the biggest x-factor for the Dodgers, and being able to score late in games or at will proved to be the difference in that series.

Expect more of the same as Los Angeles’ most recent series with Colorado comes to a close.

Momentum seems to still be in the Dodgers’ favor early on in the season, as they’ve been able to go 7-3 in their last ten games.

Moving forward for Los Angeles, having the ability to trust your full pitching rotation will go a long way, especially in the playoffs.

With teams like the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks sneaking past the San Francisco Giants in the division for the time being, the last thing the Dodgers can afford to be is lazy.

Next: Clippers Fall To Win Game 3 In Portland

After Sunday’s game in Colorado, the Dodgers enter a home stretch in which they’ll host the Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres.