Today’s Matchup – August 29, 2011

First off, our thoughts and prayers go out to all affected by Hurricane Irene on the East Coast. It wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but still. Any damage is bad damage. I have family and friends in Virginia Beach and the Outer Banks, two of the hardest hit areas, and two of our writers are from New York City and Rhode Island, so once again, our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected.

That said, let’s talk baseball.

The Rockies lost yesterday in 11 innings to the Dodgers, in what could either be an improvement or a downturn. It was all Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki yesterday, who went a combined 6-10 with four runs, six RBIs, a walk and two strikeouts. Not too shabby for two players who are getting paid to do that well every game.

At the risk of sounding horribly redundant, the pitching staff needs to pick it up. Kevin Millwood gave up two runs yesterday to squander a three-run lead, Matt Belisle gave up another one, and Rafael Betancourt and Jason Hammel, who came on in relief, each gave up a run to give the Dodgers the eventual 7-6 win. The Rockies have a season series record of 9-8 with the Dodgers so far in 2011, and continue their mediocre play against the NL West. That’s something that desperately needs to change next year if the Rockies hope to contend.

I’m about at my whit’s end with this team. I’m starting to think Jim Tracy needs the boot, along with some other people. I’m toying with doing a piece on that later down the road, so watch for that.

Game 134: Jhoulys Chacin (10-10, 3.49 ERA) vs. Nathan Eovaldi (1-1, 2.05 ERA)

62-69
Games Back: 11 (NL West), 16 (Wild Card)
Games Left: 31
Streak: Won 5
Last 10: 7-3
Elimination Number: 20

Los Angeles Dodgers
Tony Gwynn Jr., LF
Justin Sellers, SS
Matt Kemp, CF
James Loney, 1B
Aaron Miles, 3B
Rod Barajas, C
Trent Oeltjen, RF
Jamey Carroll, 2B
Nathan Eovaldi, P

63-70
Games Back: 11 (NL West), 16 (Wild Card)
Games Left: 29
Streak: Lost 2
Last 10: 6-4
Elimination Number: 19

Colorado Rockies
Dexter Fowler, CF
Jonathan Herrera, 2B
Carlos Gonzalez, RF
Troy Tulowitzki, SS
Seth Smith, LF
Ty Wigginton, 1B
Kevin Kouzmanoff, 3B
Eliezer Alfonzo, C
Jhoulys Chacin, P

First pitch is set for 2:10pm Mountain time from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. On TV, ROOT Sports will have the call in the Rocky Mountain region, and FSN Prime Ticket will have the call in LA. On the radio, 805 KOA will have the call in the Denver Metro Area and KABC 790 will have the call in the Southern California area.

Follow RoxPile on Twitter here and your RoxPile writers Ben Warwick, Michelle Hoag, Samantha Fox, and Matt Gross.