The Dodgers were done in by another lefty.
Rockies' rookie, Kyle Freeland, allowed one run over six innings and Colorado defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-1, in their Home Opener at Coors Field on Friday.
Freeland was phenomenal in his big league debut, striking out six, in his first start at Mile High. The 23-year-old left-hander surrendered just one run on four hits with two walks on the day.
A well deserved standing ovation for @KFREE_21. What a moment! pic.twitter.com/nDze3wFBzp — Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 7, 2017
Colorado fans were so thankful for their rookie's performance in his MLB debut that they gave Freeland a standing ovation as he came off the field.
On the flip side, Dodgers' starter Hyun-Jin Ryu's 2017 season got off to a rocky start in the first inning.
Ryu struck out Rockies leadoff hitter, Charlie Blackmon, to start the game, but his fastball in the dirt skipped past catcher Yasmani Grandal and to the backstop allowing Blackmon to reach first.
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Three consecutive hits later, Colorado took the lead on a double to left field by Nolan Arenado.
"When I face hitters, I have the confidence I can get them out," said Ryu. "I wasn't thinking that this is Arenado when I faced him in the first inning."
Ryu settled in from there, but was unable to escape the fifth inning, following a solo homer to Dustin Garneau that gave the Rockies the lead.
Ryu (0-1) allowed two runs on six hits with one walk and five strikeouts as he will have to wait until his next start in Chicago against the World Series Champion Cubs to get his first win since August of 2014.
"[Health] Was definitely a silverlining," said Ryu after the game. "I didn't feel any discomfort or pain in my shoulder or elbow which is a good sign."
The Dodgers only run of the game came on a leadoff double by Scott Van Slyke in the fourth inning, two batters later, Kiké Hernadez grounded to short, scoring Van Slyke.
Los Angeles is 3-2 on the young season, with both of those losses coming against southpaw starters. It's safe to say that for the meantime, the narrative that the Dodgers struggle against left-handed pitching will continue.
"There were some at-bats where we were too aggressive out of the strike zone and we really didn't threaten all game," said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts of the team's approach against a left-hander. "It's one of those things where until we change it, that's going to be the talk. We're going to keep running the same guys out there. At some point, it becomes mental. It's not there yet, but it was a topic of conversation that came up quite often last season."
NOTES: The Dodgers placed left-handed pitcher, Rich Hill, on the 10-day disabled list with a blister on his left index finger and recalled RHP Josh Fields from AAA OKC. Hyun-Jin Ryu was making just his second start in three seasons on Friday.
Up Next:
The Dodgers (3-2) will send three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw to the mound against Rockies' (4-1) ace Jon Gray at 5:10PM PST in Colorado.
