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Rockies-Dodgers Preview

Aug 18, 2010 - 6:33 AM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Colorado (61-57) at Los Angeles (61-59), 10:10 p.m. EDT

The Colorado Rockies haven't scored in their last 21 innings at Dodger Stadium. A matchup with Hiroki Kuroda could help them put an end to that streak.

The Rockies will try to continue their success against Kuroda and even this three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night.

While Colorado (61-57) leads the majors with a .298 average at home, it owns the second-worst average on the road at .232. The Rockies have been shut out in three of their last four road games after losing 6-0 to the Dodgers on Tuesday.

Los Angeles (61-59) improved to 19-6 against Colorado since the start of last season as Clayton Kershaw pitched seven strong innings. The fourth-place Dodgers pulled within a game of the third-place Rockies, who trail NL West-leading San Diego by 10 games.

Kuroda (8-11, 3.53 ERA) is 0-3 with a 7.57 ERA in five career starts against the Rockies, and 0-1 with an 8.68 ERA in two this year. Part-time players Seth Smith and Miguel Olivo could be in the lineup Wednesday, as Smith is 4 for 7 against Kuroda this season and Olivo 3 for 6.

The Dodgers right-hander has endured some bad luck while going 1-6 with a 4.05 ERA in his last eight outings, including 0-3 with a 3.75 ERA in the last four while receiving five total runs of support.

Kuroda yielded one run over seven innings at Atlanta on Friday in a 1-0 loss - his fifth defeat by shutout this year.

"I didn't really count but it's really disappointing when you say it's the fifth one," Kuroda said.

Kuroda could use the kind of offense the Dodgers provided Tuesday. Scott Podsednik and James Loney had two-run doubles during a five-run fifth inning for Los Angeles, which broke out after totaling six runs in losing three of four at Atlanta.

"We had the one inning where we scored. As a manager you certainly want your ball club to be able to threaten in more than one inning," manager Joe Torre said. "We haven't been able to do that, but I'll take the one inning. We just haven't been able to put enough pressure on the opposition by getting enough men on base. Hopefully we can do a little bit more of that."

Los Angeles is seeking its first four-game home win streak since June 6-9.

Rockies center fielder Carlos Gonzalez has recorded at least one hit in all six games he has played against the Dodgers this year, going 8 for 24 with eight RBIs.

Colorado's Jason Hammel (8-7, 4.42) has gone 1-4 with a 5.18 ERA in his last six outings. He fell to 2-6 with a 5.64 ERA in 10 road games after yielding four runs in seven innings of a 4-0 loss to New York on Thursday.

The right-hander is 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA in five career appearances - two starts - against the Dodgers.