Colorado Rockies game no. 160 thread: Ryan Brasier vs. Cal Quantrill

Rockies host Dodgers for final series of 2024

The final series of the 2024 season has arrived. It pits the National League’s best squad Dodgers (96-54) against the NL’s second-worst team, the Rockies (61-98).

The Rockies need to win the series to avoid their second consecutive and second-ever 100-loss season. While even a sweep would produce a slight improvement from 2023’s 103 losses, avoiding triple-digit defeats won’t be easy.

With their 7-2 victory over the Padres on Thursday, the Dodgers captured their 11th NL West title in the last 12 years. The Dodgers enter the series having locked up a first-round bye locked up. That could mean they will rest some starters, but that’s not why Freddie Freeman is out of the lineup. The start first baseman rolled his ankle on Thursday night. While he won’t be in Colorado, he is expected to be back on the field for the National League Division Series next Saturday.

In his final start of his first season with the Rockies, Cal Quantrill (8-10, 4.72 ERA) will look to add one more win to his team-leading total of eight. It’s already two more than Tyler Kinley and current Pittsburgh Pirate Jalen Beeks, who each have six for the Rockies. After that, Kyle Freeland, Austin Gomber and Victor Vodnik have five apiece.

Ryan Braiser (1-0, 3.33 ERA) will be on the mound for the Dodgers in the first slot on a bullpen day. Braiser also started against the Rockies on Sept. 20 as one of nine pitchers L.A. used as the Dodgers picked up a 6-4 win.

When it comes to Shohei Ohtani watch, he enters the series with 56 stolen bases and 53 home runs. Ohtani is also a longshot for the Triple Crown as he leads the NL in homers and RBI (126), but his .305 average trails Luis Arraez’s .312 and Marcell Ozuna’s .310. In three games against the Rockies last week in Los Angeles, Ohtani swiped four bases and hit two homers. He could seriously cushion his solo place in the 50-50 club in the final three games of the season, especially in the thin air of Denver.

The series will also be the last in the remarkable career of Rockies legend Charlie Blackmon. The four-time All-Star announced his retirement earlier this week. The Rockies will honor Chuck Nazty with a T-shirt giveaway for the first 20,000 fans before Saturday’s game and a ceremony before Sunday’s finale.

It doesn’t appear that Blackmon will go quietly into the night. In the last seven games, he has hit .320/.419/.840 in 26 at-bats with three homers, two doubles, one triple, seven RBI, six runs scored and four walks.

First Pitch: 6:10 p.m. MT

TV: Rockies.tv

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

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