Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Rockies take two straight in Coors

The offense showed up, but Chad Billingsley did not. The result was the second loss in as many days for the Dodgers, as the Rockies won, 7-5. The Dodgers now drop to 3-3 as they lost both games of this short series.

A day after Clayton Kershaw started hot but struggled late, Billingsley was already in trouble in the first. Seth Smith doubled with one down to set the table. Carlos Gonzalez didn't wait long to contribute, as his RBI double made it 1-0. After walking Todd Helton an out later, Jose Lopez plated another with a single, and it was 2-0.

The Dodgers played some big ball to get the next two runs. James Loney hit his first homer of the year in the second to right, cutting the deficit in half. Rod Barajas connecting on one of his own in the third, and it was back to even.

Still in the third, Rafael Furcal worked a walk with one out. The returning Casey Blake, hitting in the #2 hole, cranked an RBI triple for the 3-2 lead. Andre Ethier's RBI single made it 4-2.

That's as good as it would get for the Dodgers on this day, as Helton's three run homer in the bottom of the third scored Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki, and it was 5-4 in favor of the Rocks. Bills did wiggle out of two runners on to end the inning, but the damage was done.

Blake Hawksworth came on in the fourth, as Bills was pinch-hit for the previous inning. Tulo must have liked that, as after a single by Gonzalez, he hit a two-run shot to make it 7-4. No wonder the Rockies signed these guys long-term - they are filthy hitters.

To the Dodgers' credit, they tried to battle back in the final two innings. In the eighth, Matt Kemp led off and hit a double off of Matt Lindstrom. Loney's groundout got Kemp to third, and Juan Uribe scored him on another groundout, cutting it to 7-5.

Now in the ninth, Barajas and Jamey Carroll hit consecutive singles off of closer Huston Street. With the top of the order up and nobody out, the Dodgers were in business. Too bad they never actually did any business, because Raffy flew out, pinch-hitter Hector Gimenez struck out, and Ethier K'd to end the game. So much for a rally.

It's good to see the Dodgers hit for some power, but still discouraging to see them not even get one run in the last inning. That's the product of not having a legit power threat - they have to get hit after hit to score. Without those big boppers, there will be plenty of games in which they put runners on, then do nothing with them. It happened yesterday, and again late today.

Billingsley will gladly get out of Colorado, as he lasted only three innings for six hits, five runs, three walks, and three strikeouts. He just could never get going. Kenley Jansen and Matt Guerrier combined for four innings (two each), one hit, no runs, and four strikeouts, so that's a great sign.

With a record of 3-3, the Dodgers are right back to where they started the season. They played well against the Giants, but had a lot of breaks go their way as well. The Rockies will be right in the thick of things in the NL West, so the Dodgers will have to prove they can beat them if they want to contend.

Thursday will be an off day, as the Dodgers enjoy a rare week in which they're off twice. They will then be in San Diego for three starting Friday. Ted Lilly will look to rebound from a poor first start against Clayton Richard.

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