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Rockies-Dodgers Preview

Oct 2, 2009 - 2:17 AM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

Colorado (90-68) at Los Angeles (93-66), 10:10 p.m. EDT

Whatever happens this weekend, the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers will both begin separate NL division series on Wednesday.

Which team will carry the title of NL West champion, however, remains to be seen.

The Rockies could earn a surprising first-ever division title with a three-game sweep in a series that starts Friday night at Dodger Stadium, and it appears manager Jim Tracy's club won't be resting its starters just yet against the struggling Dodgers.

Colorado (91-68) secured its second trip to the postseason in three years with its fourth straight victory on Thursday afternoon, a 9-2 win over Milwaukee that earned the club a champagne-soaked celebration at Coors Field.

"We're in," shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said. "Anything can happen once you're in."

The Rockies went to the World Series after winning the wild card in 2007, but they don't seem content to settle for the NL's fourth playoff spot this year. Tracy said they are planning to play all of their regulars until their fate is sealed.

"Until we get beat a game, we're going to try to win the division," Tracy said.

That seemed a certainty for Los Angeles for most of the season, and the Dodgers (93-66) didn't even celebrate when they clinched the postseason. They have led the division since mid-April - often by a wide margin - but the presumptive wire-to-wire run to their second straight West crown is in jeopardy after a four-game losing streak, matching their longest of the season.

They managed one hit in a 5-0 loss at San Diego on Wednesday and have totaled two runs in their last three games, with their magic number to clinch the West title stuck at one. Los Angeles still leads Philadelphia by one game for the top seed in the NL playoffs.

"There's really not a lot to be said," manager Joe Torre said. "It's an interesting situation because we haven't clinched the division but we're still going to the playoffs. We certainly don't want to finish the season on a bum note because momentum-wise it doesn't help you in the postseason."

The Dodgers hope to be helped by an off day Thursday, and they'll now try to get some of their biggest bats back on track. Manny Ramirez is 4 for 25 (.160) with three RBIs in his last 10 games, although he does have 13 walks in that stretch.

His problems haven't been nearly as bad as Andre Ethier's struggles. One of the club's breakout sluggers this year, Ethier is mired in a 1 for 29 (.034) slump.

"We'll be OK," outfielder Matt Kemp said. "As soon as we win a game, all the talk will be over and we can get ready for the playoffs. We control what happens to us."

Perhaps facing Ubaldo Jimenez will help. St. Louis clinched the NL Central by beating Jimenez in his last start, and the Colorado right-hander is 0-3 with a 7.77 ERA in four outings against the Dodgers this season.

Jimenez (14-12, 3.52 ERA) has been much better against the rest of his opponents, but he is 1-2 with a 5.94 ERA in his last three starts and would like to regain some confidence before the playoffs.

He'll have a tough matchup against left-hander Randy Wolf, who has a 2.79 ERA in three 2009 starts against the Rockies - all Los Angeles victories. Wolf (11-6, 3.22) is 6-0 with a 2.45 ERA in his last 10 starts overall.

Colorado is 3-12 against the Dodgers this year, and it seemed very unlikely the team would ever be in this position. Tracy replaced Clint Hurdle on May 29 and the team fell to 20-32 on June 3, but the Rockies are an NL-best 71-36 since.

"I don't think anybody in here was thinking this back then," third baseman Garrett Atkins said. "If they say that, they're probably lying."