Chacin aims to slow down red-hot Dodgers
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Jhoulys Chacin's scoreless innings streak figures to face a major test on Thursday night when the Colorado Rockies conclude a three-game series with the red-hot Los Angeles Dodgers.
Chacin has won each of his past four starts and has not allowed a run in each of his last two outings, a span of 15 innings. That current scoreless streak is just a third of an inning shy of his career high that he set from April 27- May 8, 2010.
Chacin has not lost since May 16, logging four straight no-decisions after the defeat prior to his string of victories. He has been touched for just four runs total over the four wins.
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The right-hander logged eight frames of three-hit ball with three walks in a 4-1 win over the San Francisco Giants on Friday, moving to 7-3 on the year with a 3.59 earned run average in 15 starts.
"That's as good as it gets right there from Jhoulys," said Colorado manager Walt Weiss. "He was efficient; two-seamer and slider were real good. To hold that club scoreless for eight innings is very impressive."
The 25-year-old is 6-5 lifetime versus the Dodgers with a 3.50 ERA in 13 previous meetings, all but one of those starts. That includes a rough outing at home on June 1, when Chacin yielded five runs over six innings of a no- decision in a game his club won 7-6.
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Chacin faces the tough task of trying to slow down a Dodgers club that has won 10 of its past 11 games, logging at least 14 hits in three straight contests. That surge has helped Los Angeles forge a second-place tie with Colorado in the NL West, 2 1/2 games behind the front-running Arizona Diamondbacks.
Matt Kemp, Hanley Ramirez, Adrian Gonzalez and Juan Uribe all hit homers in Wednesday's 10-8 triumph, while Mark Ellis had three hits. Ramirez, meanwhile, ended 4-for-5 with three runs scored and is batting .500 (27-for-54) over a 14-game hitting streak with six homers and 16 RBI.
"We know we can come back and win a game," said Ramirez. "That's the difference right now. Things are going good, we keep competing out there and we don't give up."
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Zack Greinke allowed five runs over five innings, but still got the victory, while Kenley Jansen logged a four-out save despite giving up a run in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Just about everything seems to be going the Dodgers' way right now, though the club did get a scare in the fifth inning when rookie sensation Yasiel Puig sustained a bruised left hip and thigh when he crashed into the right-field wall to make an outstanding and off-balanced catch.
Puig was down on the warning track for a bit after making the catch and throwing the ball into the infield, but stayed in the game and batted in the sixth inning, but came out as part of a double-switch in the bottom of the frame.
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The injury came on the same day Puig was named the NL's Player and Rookie of the month and he is considered day-to-day.
The Rockies have only helped the Dodgers' rise up the NL West ladder, losing three straight and 11 of their past 15 games. Tyler Chatwood was tagged for six runs -- five earned -- over five innings in Wednesday's loss after having gone eight straight starts without allowing more than two runs.
"It's frustrating, I had a 4-1 lead in the fourth and I lost it," said Chatwood. "It's definitely frustrating, but it's a tough loss as a team."
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Carlos Gonzalez hit his NL-leading 23rd homer of the season for the Rockies, who have now split eight meetings with the Dodgers this season.
Chris Capuano tries to rebound from a disastrous outing as he toes the rubber tonight for L.A.
Capuano returned from a stint on the disabled list to throw 11 straight scoreless innings over consecutive outings, but was hammered in a 16-1 loss to the visiting Philadelphia Phillies on Friday. The veteran lefty lasted just 3 2/3 innings and was charged with seven runs -- five earned -- on 10 hits and a walk.
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"From the very beginning they had Chris' number. Nothing went right tonight," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "It was a tough game."
Capuano, 34, fell to 2-5 with a 4.72 ERA in 11 outings this season, all but two of those starts. He is 5-8 lifetime versus the Rockies, posting a 3.94 ERA in 15 games (14 starts).