Rockies at Dodgers
It's a different hero every day for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who try for their 11th straight victory over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday in their three-game series finale. Alex Verdugo belted a walk-off solo home run in the 11th inning - his second blast of the game - to give Los Angeles a 5-4 victory on Saturday - one night after rookie Matt Beaty delivered a game-ending two-run shot in the ninth.
The Dodgers (53-29), who extended their lead over second-place Colorado in the National League West to 12 games, are 33-9 at home and on pace to challenge the 1975 Cincinnati Reds for the best home record in NL history (64-17). Los Angeles' winning streak over the Rockies is the longest by either team in series history, while Colorado has lost seven in a row at Dodger Stadium. The Rockies' rotation boasts a 2.22 ERA through the first five contests of a nine-game road trip (3-2), lowering baseball's worst starters' ERA to 5.60. Los Angeles' Kenta Maeda on Sunday tries to snap a three-game winless streak while continuing his mastery of Colorado as he opposes Antonio Senzatela, who has recorded quality starts in three of his last four turns.
TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain (Colorado) SportsNet LA (Los Angeles)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies RH Antonio Senzatela (6-5, 5.09 ERA) vs. Dodgers RH Kenta Maeda (7-4, 3.87)
Senzatela allowed one run, seven hits and four walks with five strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings of an 8-1 victory over Arizona on Tuesday. The 24-year-old Venezuelan yielded eight runs - six earned - in four frames of a 10-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs on June 12 after permitting one run in consecutive victories over the Mets in New York and versus Toronto. Senzatela hasn't faced Los Angeles since his rookie season in 2017, when he was 1-0 with a 6.43 ERA in three games (one start).
Maeda allowed two runs, three hits and two walks in five innings of a 3-2 loss to San Francisco on Monday for his second straight setback. The 31-year-old native of Japan hasn't worked more than five frames in his last three starts after going 4-0 with a 1.90 ERA in his final four turns last month. Nolan Arenado is 3-for-25 with 13 strikeouts against Maeda, who is 6-3 with a 2.26 ERA in 16 games (nine starts) against the Rockies after yielding one run in five innings of a 10-6 victory at Coors Field on April 5.
WALK-OFFS
1. Colorado CF Ian Desmond has raised his batting average 47 points to .281 in his last 15 games, going 23-for-53 with four home runs, 18 RBIs and 12 runs scored during that span after a 4-for-4 effort on Saturday - his first four-hit performance since 2016.
2. Dodgers INF Max Muncy went 1-for-4 on Saturday to extend his career-high hitting streak to 10 games (12-for-35, four home runs, eight RBIs, nine runs scored).
3. Rockies RF Charlie Blackmon went 0-for-5 on Saturday, ending an 11-game hitting streak during which he was 28-for-56 with eight homers, 17 RBIs and 16 runs scored.