Rockies At Dodgers, May 1st: Game Time, Lineups, And Preview

Rockies at Dodgers. 8:10 P.M. MST

Troy Tulowitzki returns to the starting lineup for the Rockies tonight as they face Josh Beckett and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Beckett will try to be the second player from the high-profile trade with the Boston Red Sox last year to rough up the Rockies in as many nights. It was Hanley Ramirez who did the damage last night, knocking a home run in his first at-bat.

The Rockies trot out their most potent offensive lineup, at least on paper, for the rubber match:

Tulo’s helmet. Image: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Eric Young Jr. RF
Dexter Fowler CF
Carlos Gonzalez LF
Troy Tulowitzki SS
Michael Cuddyer 1B
Wilin Rosario C
Nolan Arenado 3B
Josh Rutledge 2B
Juan Nicasio P

Like Jhoulys Chacin before him, Nicasio now lives his life with two words following him where ever he goes: fastball command. He needs fastball command to allow his secondary pitches to be effective and he needs fastball command to keep his pitch count down. Nicasio cannot afford to beat himself. If he locates his pitches and the other team beats him, so be it.

Here is the Dodgers lineup that will try to do just that:

Nick Punto 2B
Hanley Ramirez SS
Adrian Gonzalez 1B
Matt Kemp CF
Andre Ethier RF
A.J. Ellis C
Skip Schumaker LF
Juan Uribe 3B
Josh Beckett P

If the Rockies win tonight, they will finish this road trip with a 3-4 record. If they lose, they will finish at 2-5. For a team that hopes to stick as a contender and desperately needs to play .500 baseball away from Coors Field, that single game makes a big difference. There is no such thing as a must-win in May, but this game matters.