LOS ANGELES — draws a blueprint for his at-bats before every game — what pitches to key on, the ideal swings for the right moments. He envisions hits. At Chavez Ravine against the best pitcher in baseball, he shreds that plan at the first pitch.
“These are the times when you just have to go up there and say ‘screw it’ and trust who you are and let it eat,” Arenado said Thursday before the Rockies faced a difficult date with Los Angeles lefty Clayton Kershaw.
At nearly any earlier point in the season, a team might consider a matchup against the three-time Cy Young-winning Kershaw in Los Angeles to be a sunk cost, a loss as the price of exchange. But Colorado kicked off a make-or-break eight-game road swing against the Dodgers and Diamondbacks with a postseason berth in sight but on the verge of distress.
After a 3-6 homestand, including two series against teams with losing records, the Rockies sank into apprehension. At 74-65 before two four-game sets at L.A. and Arizona, just two games separated Colorado from the also-rans, including the surging St. Louis Cardinals.
Over their final 23 games, very little sets up to be pleasant for the Rockies. Kershaw’s start Thursday was the harbinger. If Colorado plays one game above .500 the rest of the way, it will finish with 86 wins. That total would have left the Rockies outside the postseason in each of the past three seasons.
“You know what Winston Churchill said, don’t you?” Colorado manager Bud Black said. “When you’re going through hell, you know what you do? Keep going. That’s what you’ve got to do. You can’t just sit there.”
On Monday, it seemed the Rockies might dodge Kershaw in this series. The Dodgers’ ace would have pitched Wednesday in a regular rotation, but Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts employed a six-man rotation this week to help rest weary arms. That pushed Kershaw to Thursday against the Rockies.
“Hey man, he’s tough. But you know, I like watching him pitch,” Black said. “I do. Don’t get me wrong, it wouldn’t bother me if he missed the series. But I like watching him. It’s a great challenge for us.”
Kershaw is inevitable. If the Rockies hold on to play a one-game playoff against, most likely, the Diamondbacks in a wild-card game Oct. 4, they would be playing for the opportunity to face Kershaw in Los Angeles on Oct. 6. There is no escaping the lefty with a 16-2 record and a baseball-best 1.95 ERA before Thursday.
But the Rockies can draw from a positive memory against Kershaw. On April 8 at , they tagged him for three home runs — a Kershaw career high — in a 4-2 victory, part of a whiplash start that had the Rockies in first place in the NL West as late as June 20.
In his three other starts, though, Kershaw owned the Rockies, with a 1.80 ERA, including a 1.38 mark in Southern California.
“This guy is a real, real modern-day pitcher,” Black said.
The Rockies’ manager savors the chance to measure his team against the lefty who no-hit them at Dodger Stadium in 2014. If Black, in his first year, can shepherd his young team to the postseason, they will get there only after surviving Kershaw and Arizona’s Zack Greinke, at least, in the final three weeks.
“That’s what I’m trying to get these guys to understand. This is great. This is fun,” Black said. “Original Rockies, Rockies who were raised as Rockies, haven’t been through it. This is what we play for. I want them to enjoy it. And get the experience. Because if we do it next year and the year after that, they’ll be better for it. That’s what I want. Because there are probably 15, maybe 20 teams who would gladly trade places with us. No doubt.”
Footnotes. The Rockies called up rookie outfielder and activated catcher Ryan Hanigan. Both were available Thursday. Hanigan returned from a strained groin muscle and is now the fourth catcher on Colorado’s roster. Tapia, Black said, has “really put himself on the radar going forward” after his season shuttling between Triple-A and Colorado. … Against Kershaw, Black used left-handed hitters and , despite any left-on-left difficultly. “This is the group we think is swinging the bats the best,” Black said. … Ex-Rockies pitcher is scheduled to start Friday for the Padres at Arizona.
Looking ahead
Rockies RHP German Marquez (10-6, 4.26 ERA) at Dodgers RHP Yu Darvish (8-11, 4.09), Friday 8:10 p.m., AT&T SportsNet
The Rockies are a relative mystery to Darvish, the ace right-hander acquired by the Dodgers on the final day before the July trade deadline from Texas. He has faced only Ryan Hanigan, Ian Desmond and Gerardo Parra in his career, among Rockies, and only barely. In his past three starts, Darvish has a 7.07 ERA, leading to some concern among Dodgers faithful who thought his arrival will finally push Los Angeles back to the World Series. Marquez, the rookie, has been perhaps the Rockies’ best pitcher since the all-star break, with a 1.18 WHIP (walks and hits per inning).
Saturday: Rockies RHP Chad Bettis (0-2, 4.91) at Dodgers LHP Alex Wood (14-2, 2.57), 7:10 p.m., AT&T SportsNet
Sunday: Rockies TBA at Dodgers LHP Rich Hill (9-7, 3.67), 2:10 p.m., AT&T SportsNet
Monday: Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (11-10, 3.99) at Diamondbacks RHP Zack Greinke (16-6, 3.01), 7:40 p.m., AT&T SportsNet
