910 LA Dodgers at Colorado
Dan Haren's home run problem hasn't exactly gone away and having a home run problem entering a start at Coors Field is a much bigger problem. He'll start for the Dodgers against Jorge de la Rosa for the Rockies.
Haren's batted ball data on the road is a bit discouraging in this start, with a fly ball rate nearly 10 percent higher on the road. His road ERA of 4.18 is well over a run higher than his performance at pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium. Haren has actually allowed 30 runs in 51.2 road innings with six unearned runs. He has posted a 4.23 ERA over the last two months. Haren's swinging strike rate is at a career low and contact is always a dangerous thing at Coors Field. His strikeout rate has dropped month by month and there are a lot of developments that we don't like entering this start.
Jorge de la Rosa will probably be the biggest benefactor on the current Rockies staff of the return of Nolan Arenado. The Gold Glove third baseman was sorely missed during his injury and de la Rosa posted a 7.11 June ERA without him. With a ground ball rate of 52.6 percent, de la Rosa likely had a lot of balls hit to the left side of the infield with his ability to neutralize lefties and righties out in front on the offspeed. Arenado went out on May 23 and de la Rosa had held opponents to a .211 batting average over his first 10 starts. After Arenado went out, opposing batters hit .293 off of de la Rosa.
The Dodgers have been terrible offensively against left-handed pitching with an OPS of .667, which is tied for 25th in MLB. They have the league's fourth-lowest SLG% against LHP at .359. It's hard to trust Haren in this start and the Dodgers may struggle to give him enough run support.
PLAY: COLORADO
After splitting our two selections on Friday with each game decided by a single run. Saturday we feel we have uncovered a MULTIPLE RUN VICTORY. Lefty/Righty match ups clearly favor one side in this Saturday showdown and we take full advantage. Join us for our TOP PLAY on this Saturday card.