DENVER -- The Colorado Rockies, asserting themselves in the National League wild-card scramble, will try to complete a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday.Victories in the first two games of the series nudged Colorado over .500 for the first time since they were 20-19 on May 18.The Rockies (54-53) have won 11 of their past 13 games and are a major-league-best 14-5 since the All-Star break. They are tied for fifth in the battle for two NL wild cards, but they sit just three games out of the final playoff position.Thats where the fun starts, this time of year when you get to watch the scoreboard and youre paying attention to the other games and theres that focus, that emphasis on your game to win every night, Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. Thats fun. Its a lot easier showing up to the ballpark under those circumstances.Starting pitching is at the root of the Rockies surge. Colorado starters are 10-0 with a 2.00 ERA in the past 13 games.Tyler Chatwood, who is 10-6 with a 3.50 ERA in 19 starts, will take the mound Thursday, seeking to win his third consecutive start while reducing his walks in the process.The right-hander allowed one hit in five scoreless innings but walked eight in a 7-2 win over the Atlanta Braves on July 24. In his most recent outing, at New York on Friday, Chatwood held the Mets to three hits and one run in seven innings with four walks. He emerged with a 6-1 victory.You want to cut down on walks and not give free passes, Chatwood said, but I think overall what really matters is if your team wins the game or not. And weve been able to do that. I think my command is where I need it to be -- maybe try to stay through the ball a little longer.Chatwood is 6-0 with a 1.30 ERA on the road, 4-6 with a 5.69 ERA at home.Kenta Maeda, who is 9-7 with a 3.23 ERA, is 6-2 with a 3.29 ERA in road starts. In his Coors Field debut April 23, Maeda allowed three hits in 6 1/3 scoreless innings. The right-hander walked one, struck out eight and won 4-1. He faced the Rockies on June 8 at Dodger Stadium and allowed one run and five hits in 6 2/3 innings, taking a 1-0 loss.The Dodgers, who are 5-5 in their past 10 games with losses in three of the past five, desperately need Maeda to give them innings after starters Brandon McCarthy and Brock Stewart pitched a combined seven innings in the first two games of the series.Stewart, who was supposed to start Wednesday night for Triple-A Oklahoma City at nearby Colorado Springs, instead was called up to pitch at Coors Field so Maeda and lefty Scott Kazmir could each have an extra day of rest.The Dodgers, who are two games behind the slumping San Francisco Giants in the NL West and clinging to the first wild-card spot, are looking to solidify a rotation that has clouds looming above it in the form of Rich Hills blister, Bud Norris lat muscle, Clayton Kershaws back and McCarthys road back from Tommy John surgery.Asked about overcoming the issues and injuries that have caused problems with the rotation, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, Weve done it up to this point, but you do have to get innings from your starting pitching.Its not some new formula. You can weather and combat adversity as much as possible, and our group has done a great job of that, but youre as good as your next starter. No excuses. Weve still got to find ways to win games. Wayne Gretzky Jersey . It is a cliché dragged out by fans and pundits regularly when discussions take place around which teams are better than others. Wholesale Oilers Jerseys . Duchene scored two goals and had an assist, helping the Colorado Avalanche beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Friday night to match the best 10-game start in team history. http://www.cheapedmontonoilersjerseys.com/?tag=adidas-jujhar-khaira-jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Drake Caggiula Jersey . Batiste, who briefly signed with the Eskimos in 2006, has spent time with several NFL teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. Mark Fayne Jersey . -- Ty Montgomery had 290 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, and fifth-ranked Stanford held on to beat No. Josh Dugan has thrown his support behind Paul McGregor amid rumours of a rift between the embattled St George Illawarra coach and Benji Marshall.McGregor and playmaker Marshall were alleged to have had heated war of words during a video session in the wake of last weeks defeat to Brisbane, their fifth NRL loss in a row.While fullback Dugan played down the incident, he said it was vital McGregor continue to challenge his players as they try to dig their way out of their form slump and reignite their flickering finals hopes.Its been speculated McGregor is fighting to save his job in the final four weeks of the regular season, however Dugan backed him as the man to take the club forward.Hes contracted next year and as far as Im concerned Ive backed him all the way, Dugan said.Ill continue to do so.He challenges players on whether theyre up to their standards or not and he is one person to tell you the way it is.Thats why I think Marys so good - if you dont have your best game, hes going to tell you.Dugan, who returns from a broken jaw in Saturdays derby clash against Cronulla, played down speculation of a breakdown in the relationship between veteran playmaker Marshall and McGregor.Marshall, whho is off-contract at the end of the year, is also playing for his future after his woeful outing against the Broncos in which he made four errors - as many as the rest of his side combined.ddddddddddddThe former New Zealand Test half on Tuesday played down the incident as a disagreement after he was singled out during a video session before having a private meeting with McGregor for an assurance he wasnt about to be dropped.Theyre rumours, Dugan said.Theres always a little bit of conflict and were being challenged, were professional sports people. If you do make errors, youre challenged on them.Thats not to say thats what happened but I know in the past Ive been challenged about making errors and it goes part and parcel with our job.I dont think there was anything to it.Dugan has made just two appearances in Dragons colours since round 11 because of an elbow injury and broken jaw.He refused to take aim at Queensland and South Sydney star Greg Inglis, who broke his jaw in a high tackle in State of Origin III, saying he was satisfied with his three-week suspension. ' ' '