(SportsNetwork.com) - Jordan Lyles will try to secure his fourth straight victory on Friday night as the Colorado Rockies begin a three-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Lyles is off to a 3-0 start through four outings, posting a 3.04 earned run average. The right-hander hurled a season-high seven innings last time out on Saturday in a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies and was charged with just one unearned run on five hits and a walk.
"He's really given us a lift in that rotation," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said of Lyles.
The 23-year-old Lyles will face the Dodgers for the second time in his career and probably won't look back at the first outing for tips. In that game, on Aug. 14, 2011 during his rookie season with Houston, Lyles was hammered for seven runs on seven hits, including three homers, over 5 1/3 frames.
Colorado lost for the second time in seven games on Wednesday, falling 12-10 to the San Francisco Giants in 11 innings. Reliever Chad Bettis served up a grand slam to the Giants' Hector Sanchez in the 11th frame, one of six homers hit by San Francisco in the game.
Justin Morneau hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the frame to make it a two-run game, while Troy Tulowitzki and Charlie Blackmon also went deep in defeat.
"It was one of those days where the ball was flying," said Weiss.
Colorado will try to keep swinging a hot bat tonight against Josh Beckett, who has yet to record a decision in three starts this season while posting a 2.57 ERA.
Though Beckett has logged just five innings in consecutive starts, both outings by the righty were scoreless. He yielded just one hit and two walks while fanning seven in his club's 4-1 win over Arizona on Sunday.
"I've done a decent job my last couple of outings," said the 33-year-old Beckett. "There is always room for improvement. I need to work on my spots."
Beckett is 5-3 lifetime versus the Rockies with a 4.10 ERA.
The Dodgers are 3-4 on a 10-game homestand and lost three of four versus the Phillies to begin the week. They failed to earn a split of the set with Thursday's 7-3 loss.
Adrian Gonzalez hit a solo homer and Juan Uribe connected on a two-run shot, but the Phils forged ahead by scoring four runs in the ninth inning.
"We have to continue to grind and get better," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "We've hit a lot of home runs it seems like this year, but we haven't consistently put a bunch of runs up."
The Rockies held a slim 10-9 advantage over the Dodgers in last season's series, winning six of 10 in Los Angeles.
[SportsNetwork.com]
