The Dodgers still can't hit lefties.
Clayton Richard threw eight shutout innings and the San Diego Padres blanked the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-0, on Tuesday night at Dodger Season.
Last season the Los Angeles Dodgers had the worst batting average against left-handed pitchers (.213) than any of the 30 teams in the Major Leagues.
In the offseason, the front office aggressively tried to fix that problem by acquiring right-handers with a long history of success against southpaws.
Two of those players were in the starting lineup on Tuesday in the second game of the season.
Franklin Gutierrez, who was signed by Los Angeles on a one-year deal as a free agent, started in left field, and Logan Forsythe, who was acquired in a trade with the Rays, started at second base.
"We got him here to hit left-handed pitching," Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts said of Gutierrez in the Spring.
Sports
Get today's sports news out of Los Angeles. Here's the latest on the Dodgers, Lakers, Angels, Kings, Galaxy, LAFC, USC, UCLA and more LA teams.
Gutierrez and Forsythe did their job, recording three of the Dodgers five hits on the night. It was the rest of the team that carried over last season's struggles against southpaws by going a combined 2-for-23 in the game.
"They brought me here to be a part of this team and help win some games and get on base for some guys," said Forsythe, who reached base safely three times against Richard. "The staff has a really good plan for each pitcher, and I think if we stick with our plan as a team, we'll have some succees [against lefties]."
The deathblow to the Dodgers was their inability to hit with runners on base. Los Angeles grounded into a total of four double plays in the game, and at one point four in six innings.
Clayton Richard loves No. 3️⃣, but he's been turning 2️⃣ all night. pic.twitter.com/lQXvqw9IPc — San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 5, 2017
Just for good measure, the Padres threw another lefty, reliever Brad Hand, out of the pen for a scoreless ninth inning.
Yangervis Solarte was 2-for-4 with a single, home run and two RBI as the Padres avenged their landslide loss, 14-3, to the boys in blue on Opening Day. Wil Myers was also 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored for the Padres.
�� Solarte's homer left the yard at 101 mph! #LetsGoPadres pic.twitter.com/6v1kRloALd — San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 5, 2017
In his MLB debut last season at Petco Park, Kenta Maeda hit a home run and shutout the Padres, 3-0, to earn his first big league victory.
Things didn't quite go so well in his first start of 2017, as Maeda (0-1) suffered his first loss of the newborn season, allowing three runs on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts in five innings.
"I may have been too excited for the season opener," said Maeda. "It was a regrettable outcome, especially being the first game of my season."
Kenta Maeda said his 1st start of the season was "regrettable" #LetsGoDodgers pic.twitter.com/mCE2dUjE42 — Michael J. Duarte (@michaeljduarte) April 5, 2017
Richard (1-0) allowed no runs on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts in eight scoreless innings of work. His eight shutout innings were the longest he's pitched into a game since June 16, 2013 against the Diamondbacks.
"The biggest thing is getting our first team win," said Richard. "Winning is fun at the big league level. This was the rare time I felt locked in in the bullpen and was able to carry it out on to the mound."
Up Next:
Padres: Trevor Cahill takes the hill for San Diego on Wednesday at 7:10PM PST.
Dodgers: Rich Hill makes his first start of the season after a successful second half with Los Angeles in 2016.
