Dodgers face Rockies, hope to overcome previous series slump

After three consecutive series defeats, the Los Angeles Dodgers will be out to end their skid when they host the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night.

After opening the season with three consecutive series victories and an 8-0 record, the Dodgers have not won a series while going 4-6. They were upended in a pair of road series at Philadelphia and Washington, then lost two of three games at home to the Chicago Cubs over the weekend.

Los Angeles got back on track with a 5-3 victory over Colorado in the opener of a three-game series on Monday when Shohei Ohtani hit a home run and right-hander Dustin May gave up one run over six innings for his first win since May 2023. Mookie Betts also homered for the Dodgers.

"It was just that, turn the page and play Dodger baseball," Betts said on the SportsNet LA broadcast. "We understand we're not playing great, but guys are trying to make it happen, and I think we have to go the other way and let it happen."

Los Angeles right-hander Landon Knack (1-0, 10.38 ERA) will get a chance to emulate May on Tuesday when he takes the mound for his second start of the season.

Knack pitched in the Dodgers' season-opening series at Japan against the Cubs last month, but that outing was in relief. He started on Wednesday at Washington but was knocked around for five runs over 2 1/3 innings in the Dodgers' 6-5 victory.

"Four walks on the day -- that's not me," said Knack, who blamed poor tempo for his struggles. "Obviously, very frustrating."

Knack's opportunity to start arrived when left-hander Blake Snell went on the injured list. Injuries to others also paved the way for Knack's major league debut last season, and one outing was a four-inning relief appearance against the Rockies, in which he gave up one run.

The Rockies will turn on Tuesday to right-hander Ryan Feltner (0-0, 2.81 ERA), who will make his fourth start. The best of his previous three outings came Thursday when he gave up one run on three hits over six innings with seven strikeouts in his team's 7-2 home win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

In six career appearances (five starts) against the Dodgers, Feltner is 1-2 with a 5.79 ERA.

While it was another struggle for the Colorado offense on Monday, at least the club scored. The Rockies did not cross the plate in three games at San Diego over the weekend and ended a franchise-record 32-inning scoreless stretch with a run in the sixth inning Monday.

Hunter Goodman hit a two-run homer for the Rockies, who got the tying runners on base in the ninth inning with one out before the late uprising fell short.

Before the game, the Rockies placed Kris Bryant on the 10-day injured list with lumbar degenerative disc disease in his lower back.

"A lot of players -- especially at this point in their career -- have to manage certain things in their body," Rockies manager Bud Black said, according to MLB.com. "(Bryant) had a real stringent back program that we're hopeful put him in a good position this season. This is just an aggravation."

The Dodgers have won 11 of their last 13 home games against the Rockies and have gone 21-6 against them overall since the start of 2023.

--Field Level Media