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Dodgers-Rockies Preview

May 29, 2010 - 5:47 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

Los Angeles (27-21) at Colorado (25-23), 8:10 p.m. EDT

Whether at home or on the road, the Los Angeles Dodgers continue to find ways to beat the Colorado Rockies.

After overcoming a four-run deficit in the latest win against their NL West foe, the Dodgers try for a third consecutive victory over the Rockies on Saturday night at Coors Field.

Manny Ramirez snapped a 43 at-bat homerless streak at Coors Field by hitting a go-ahead two-run shot to highlight a four-run sixth inning and help Los Angeles (27-21) to a 5-4 win over Colorado in Friday's opener.

The home run was the third of the season for Ramirez and his first since April 18. His 549th career homer was his first at Coors, a park the slugger had gone the longest without homering of any he'd played in.

More importantly for the Dodgers, Ramirez's homer helped propel them to their second win in five games while continuing their recent dominance over the Rockies (25-23), who had their season-high five-game winning streak snapped.

Los Angeles, which has won 19 of 26 games overall, has won three of four against Colorado this season and 20 of 26 in the series. The Dodgers also have won 10 of 13 in Denver.

"I have no clue," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said of the Dodgers' success against the Rockies. "We certainly don't look forward to playing them. I'm glad that we're able to because I think it's a good measuring stick for us, how we play against them, because they're a good team that has been hot lately."

Friday's long ball could help bring back the power for Ramirez, a lifetime .303 hitter versus Colorado. He's 5 for 14 with two homers off Rockies' scheduled starter Aaron Cook (1-3, 5.40 ERA), who's 5-7 with a 4.15 ERA in 16 starts against Los Angeles.

Cook is 0-1 with a 5.72 ERA in his last five outings since beating Florida on April 24. The right-hander allowed four runs - all in the fifth inning - and four walks plus nine hits in 4 1-3 innings of an 11-7 win at Kansas City on Sunday.

"I'm not making quality pitches all the time right now - I'm missing and those guys are laying off," Cook told the Rockies' official website. "I'll try to take a positive from, take the first four innings and forget the fifth inning."

Clint Barmes homered and Carlos Gonzalez had two hits Friday for the Rockies, who led 4-0 after four innings but managed one hit the rest of the way.

Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki had his 11-game hitting streak snapped after going 0 for 4 in the opener. He's still batting .326 in his last 12 games, but is 2 for 10 against Dodgers' scheduled starter Hiroki Kuroda (5-2, 3.03).

The right-hander is 0-2 with a 6.94 ERA in four starts against the Rockies. He gave up five runs and five walks in 5 1-3 innings of a 6-5 home win over Colorado on May 7.

Kuroda, however, has been solid since that outing by giving up three runs in each of his last three starts - two of them victories. He allowed that many in six innings of a 6-2 loss to Detroit on Sunday.