Series Recap: Dodgers Drop Two Of Three To Rockies, Eye Playoffs

Hyun-Jin Ryu would get the ball for the regular season finale Sunday and he wasn’t as sharp going only four innings.  Despite allowing eight hits, Ryu held the Rockies to only two runs. With Ryu not on top of his game, Mattingly emptied the bullpen and six Dodgers combined for five scorless innings.

Ricky Nolasco and Capuano each pitched an inning of relief while Wilson, Chris Withrow, J.P. Howell and Kenley Jansen each got work in on the final day of the season. The Dodgers loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth against Rockies’ reliever Rex Brothers, but he got Skip Schumaker to strike out to end the game.

The Dodgers finish the 2013 season with a 92-70 record and they’ll be headed back to the postseason for the first time since 2009. This season, the  Dodgers lost five of seven games to the Braves and were swept at Turner Field back in May, but that was a Dodger team that didn’tt have Yasiel Puig and Hanley Ramirez in the lineup. That series also featured two highly uncharacteristic late game meltdowns from Jansen.  The two teams split a four game series at Dodger Stadium later in June with the  only lopsided loss started by Matt Magill.

Needless to say, the slate has been wiped clean for these two teams who will square off Thursday.  The Braves just ended the season taking three of four games at home from the Philadelphia Phillies. Here’s the projected pitching matchups for the NLDS:

Game 1: Clayton Kershaw (16-9, 1.83 ERA) vs. Kris Medlen (15-12, 3.11 ERA)

Game 2: Zack Greinke (15-4, 2.63 ERA) vs. Mike Minor (13-9, 3.21 ERA)

Game 3: Hyun-Jin Ryu (14-8, 3.00 ERA) vs. Julio Teheran (14-8, 3.20 ERA)

Game 4 (if necessary): Ricky Nolasco (13-11, 3.70 ERA) vs. TBA

Game 5 (if necessary): Kershaw vs. Medlen