• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Rockies try to change course on homestand vs. Dodgers

Jun 6, 2014 - 2:52 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The start of a 10-game homestand was a brutal one for the Colorado Rockies and they'll try to have short memories Friday in the opener of a three-game series versus the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Rockies sustained a three-game sweep at the hands of the lowly Arizona Diamondbacks and were outscored by a 32-17 margin, including a 28-15 difference in the last two games.

Colorado dropped a 16-8 decision on Wednesday and is coming off a 12-7 defeat last night, as Juan Nicasio took the loss for allowing seven runs and 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings. The Diamondbacks had 18 hits and recorded 39 in the final two games of the series.

Brandon Barnes, Troy Tulowitzki and Charlie Blackmon all homered in the loss, the Rockies' seventh in a row and ninth in 10 tries.

"We had some bad luck, hitting balls right at guys," said Tulowitzki. "We've just been in one of those skids where it seems like the other guys are catching all the breaks."

The Rockies are still a respectable 16-10 at Coors Field, but the current woes have them sitting 10 1/2 games off the NL West lead. Atlanta is scheduled to visit the Mile High City for four games.

Colorado will send highly touted prospect Eddie Butler to the mound Friday versus Los Angeles and he was 4-4 with a 2.49 earned run average in 11 starts with Double-A Tulsa. Butler, a right-hander, had 40 strikeouts to 19 walks.

"It could be a shot in the arm for us," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said this week on the club's website. "He's a talented kid. I've heard a lot about him.

"I've been anticipating his arrival at the big league level and we'll see it Friday night. He's a young kid with a big arm. There's a lot of on-the-job training to be done -- for anybody -- but certainly he's a younger, talented kid."

Butler, a supplemental first-round pick chosen 46th overall in 2012 out of Radford University, is expected to help an ailing Colorado rotation.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles will hit the road for the next seven games against Colorado and Cincinnati, and just went 4-6 on a recent homestand.

The Dodgers closed the stay by losing two of three versus the Chicago White Sox and were dealt a 2-1 loss Wednesday. Dodgers starter Josh Beckett pitched well in the loss, allowing both runs and nine hits in six innings with six strikeouts and two walks.

Beckett was outdueled by White Sox starter John Danks, who hurled 7 1/3 innings of one-run ball with five strikeouts and three walks. Beckett reached 2,000 innings pitched in his career and had won three of his last four starts.

"Josh (Beckett) threw the ball good but Danks was that good." said Dodgers manager Don Mattingly. "(Danks) was just better than us tonight. We are just not getting it done. We need a win."

Dee Gordon provided the two hits for Los Angeles and scored on Hanley Ramirez's sacrifice fly in the eighth inning. Yasiel Puig walked twice and has reached base in 36 straight games.

Hyun-Jin Ryu has won his last three starts and is 5-1 over the previous six decisions. He gets the nod Friday for the Dodgers and is coming off Saturday's 12-2 pounding of Pittsburgh, as he allowed two runs despite giving up 10 hits in six innings. The victory lifted Ryu's record to 6-2 with a 3.09 ERA in 10 starts.

The left-handed Ryu has fared well on the road this season, going 4-0 in five outings, and is 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA in three career starts against Colorado.

Los Angeles lost two of three home games versus Colorado from April 25-27.