Dodgers battle Rockies in second test at Coors Field

The Los Angeles Dodgers go for their third straight win game series this afternoon against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.

The Dodgers grabbed an 8-2 victory over the Rockies in Friday's series opener, as Rod Barajas belted a three-run homer and finished with four RBI. Tony Gwynn Jr. added a solo blast for Los Angeles, winners in five of their last eight games. Justin Sellers had two hits and two runs scored in the win.

Hiroki Kuroda finally got some much-needed run support and allowed two runs over six innings for the win.

"He's been the guy this year that hasn't gotten a whole lot of runs, but tonight he got some early," said Dodgers manager Don Mattingly. "He stayed aggressive and made them put the ball in play."

LA is 2-3 on a 10-game road trip against the Brewers, Rockies and Cardinals. It will visit St. Louis for three games next week. Meanwhile, Barajas' night was cut short in the sixth inning because of a groin strain and outfielder Andre Ethier was out of the starting lineup Friday because of an infected big toe on his right foot. Both players hope to be back Saturday.

Third baseman Casey Blake has been dealing with shoulder discomfort and was out of the starting lineup on Friday for the second straight game.

Ted Lilly has lost three straight starts and gets the call for the Dodgers this afternoon. In a 3-0 setback at Milwaukee on Monday, Lilly was the hard- luck loser after he gave up only one run in seven innings. He is now 7-13 in 25 starts to go along with a 4.54 ERA.

Lilly, a left-hander, has allowed a total of four runs over his past three outings, but only 2-6 in 12 starts as the guest. He has won both of his starts against Colorado this season and is 7-2 with a 3.99 ERA in 10 career starts in this matchup.

Colorado lost for the sixth time in nine tries last night and saw starter Jason Hammel battle through just three innings of work. Hammel gave up six runs and six hits to absorb the loss, falling to 7-12 on the season.

"Different day, same stuff," Hammel said on the club's website. "The inconsistency, I'm just missing my pitches, getting behind, getting myself in a bad count. Big league hitters hit that stuff."

Carlos Gonzalez had an RBI single and Troy Tulowitzki doubled twice for the Rockies, who are 2-2 so far on a nine-game homestand. Colorado will also host Houston for three games on the residency.

Hoping to even this series for the Rox today will be Esmil Rogers, who was 4-0 in his previous six trips to the hill before losing at St. Louis on Sunday. In the 6-2 loss to the Cardinals, Rogers was nailed for four runs and six hits in five innings of work.

Rogers dropped to 6-2 in 10 games (7 starts) this season and saw his ERA go from 5.85 to 6.00. The right-handed Dominican is 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA in five career games, one of which was a start, against the Dodgers.

Los Angeles owns a slim 7-6 edge in the season series with Colorado. The Rockies ended a four-game losing streak in this series with a 3-1 win on July 27 at Chavez Ravine.