(Best E Casino) - A pair of National League West teams coming off successful weekends clash this evening at Coors Field, where the surging Colorado Rockies host the division co-leading Los Angeles Dodgers in the opener of a three-game series.

The Dodgers moved into a tie with Arizona for the top spot in the NL West by recently winning two of three showdowns against the Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Los Angeles took the important series after putting together a furious late rally on Sunday that resulted in a thrilling 6-5 victory.

Down 4-1 entering the top of the ninth inning, the Dodgers scored five times in the frame to forge ahead. Three of those runs came with the club down to its final out.

Matt Kemp tied the contest with a two-out RBI double off Diamondbacks closer Brandon Lyon and Andre Ethier followed with a triple to right which plated Kemp with the go-ahead run. Russell Martin later singled home Ethier for a 6-4 Dodgers lead.

Jonathan Broxton allowed a run in the bottom of the ninth but held on to record his second save of the year. Ramon Troncoso (1-1) picked up his first major league win after tossing two scoreless innings of relief.

James Loney went 3-for-4 with two runs scored to help Los Angeles to its fourth victory in five games, while Martin and Nomar Garciaparra both finished 2-for-4 on the afternoon.

Colorado came out strong after the All-Star break, as the defending NL champions dominated Pittsburgh in a four-game sweep at Coors Field. The Rockies outscored the Pirates by a 28-9 margin over the course of the series, which culminated with an 11-3 rout on Sunday.

Jeff Baker and Matt Holliday each homered and ended with three hits and two RBI, while Ian Stewart went 2-for-4 and knocked in three runs for the Rockies in yesterday's finale.

Colorado also received strong pitching out of Aaron Cook (12-6), as the All- Star hurler held the Bucs to three runs on five hits over the first seven innings to record his 12th victory of the season.

The Rockies are now 11-6 in July and have closed within six games of the Dodgers and Diamondbacks in the division race. Colorado is expected to get a further boost to its lineup for this series, with shortstop Troy Tulowitzki slated to be activated from the 15-day disabled list on Monday.

Tulowitzki, the runner-up for the 2007 NL Rookie of the Year, has been sidelined since July 4 due to a lacerated right hand. The young infielder had been struggled prior his injury, however, hitting an anemic .166 with three home runs in 39 games.

Pitcher Kip Wells is also set to be activated off the DL today and will start the opener for the Rockies. The right-hander has not pitched in a major league game since April 28 and has underwent surgery to repair a blood clot in his throwing hand in early May.

Wells went 1-1 with a 2.29 earned run average in nine relief appearances and one start prior to being shelved. However, he has allowed five runs (3 earned) in three innings in the three games he has pitched at hitter-friendly Coors Field this year.

The journeyman hurler did make a rehab start for Triple A Colorado Springs on Wednesday and surrendered just two runs while striking out eight in 6 2/3 innings of work.

Wells did throw 2 2/3 innings of one-run ball in a relief stint against the Dodgers on April 25. For his career, the 31-year-old is 0-3 with a 5.88 ERA in five appearances (4 starts) versus Los Angeles.

Eric Stults will take the mound for the Dodgers tonight and attempts to build on a solid string of starts to close out the first half. Since being called up from the minors in mid-June, the young lefty has posted a 2-2 record and an excellent 2.29 ERA over five starts.

Stults was last in action on July 11, when he received a loss to Florida after giving up three runs on six hits over six innings. He is 0-2 with a 4.70 ERA in three starts since defeating Cincinnati and the Chicago White Sox in the first two outings following his promotion.

The 28-year-old has faced Colorado five times previously, once as a starter, and is 1-0 with a 2.38 ERA in those games. That lone start came at Dodger Stadium during August of last season, with Stults yielding just two runs and two hits while striking out a career-best nine over seven frames to get the win.

Los Angeles has won six of their nine 2008 meetings with the Rockies and took two of three games from Colorado at Coors Field back in May. The Dodgers were just 2-7 as the visitor in this series last year, however.