3 years ago
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LOS ANGELES — Already successful 2021, the Dodgers person fixed the shot to 8 rookie pitchers who did not propulsion an inning of competitory nonrecreational shot past season. Four others threw less than 5 innings successful 2020. In an mean year, this would number arsenic a high-risk roster gamble, the benignant you’d expect from a rebuilding squad with small to lose.
The Dodgers had plentifulness to suffer and adjacent much to summation Friday nighttime astatine Dodger Stadium. The San Francisco Giants mislaid earlier successful the day, giving the Dodgers a uncommon accidental to prime up a crippled successful the National League West standings.
Instead, the Dodgers saw their three-game winning streak spoiled with a 4-2 nonaccomplishment to the Colorado Rockies. The first- and second-place teams successful the NL West stay separated by 2½ games.
The Rockies scored each of their runs via location runs: a two-run weaponry by Charlie Blackmon successful the archetypal inning, a 482-foot moonshot by C.J. Cron successful the sixth, and an security blast by Elias Díaz successful the ninth.
Solo location runs by Will Smith and Trea Turner successful the 3rd inning accounted for each of the Dodgers’ runs. They struck retired 12 times arsenic a squad portion collecting six hits against left-hander Kyle Freeland (5-6) and 3 relievers. They did not gully a locomotion for the archetypal clip successful much than a month.
“Will had a truly bully nighttime and Trea ran into 1 – truly bully portion of hitting,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Outside of that we truly didn’t bash anything.”
The Rockies were held to 7 hits. Like the Dodgers, they batted conscionable 3 times with a runner successful scoring position. Trusting yet different large crippled to specified a young radical of pitchers – of the 5 who pitched Friday, lone Shane Greene reached the large leagues earlier September 2019 – was not the problem.
The bulk of the innings fell to right-hander Andre Jackson, who made his large league debut conscionable 11 days earlier. He was relieved by different August debutant, Justin Bruihl. Left-hander Alex Vesia’s 2020 acquisition consisted of 4⅓ innings for the Miami Marlins and galore much astatine the team’s alternate tract camp.
Roberts caught a glimpse of respective of his rookie pitchers successful outpouring training, including immoderate – similar Jackson and Vesia – for the archetypal time.
“I’ve surely seen progress,” Roberts said. “Obviously those guys mislaid retired connected a important year. I deliberation that we arsenic an enactment did a fantastic occupation of having that secondary tract – having those guys instrumentality at-bats, pitchers log innings.”
It was a comparative veteran, Brusdar Graterol, who opened the game. The right-hander allowed a leadoff azygous to Connor Joe, followed by the one-out homer by Blackmon.
Graterol’s fateful fastball to Blackmon recovered the bosom of the onslaught portion and touched 99.9 mph connected the radar gun. Only 8 faster pitches person resulted successful location runs this season, according to Statcast.
Down 2-0, the Dodgers handed the shot to Jackson, who held the Pittsburgh Pirates scoreless for 4 innings successful his debut. Jackson was effectual but not overpowering, limiting the harm to Cron’s solo homer that recovered the backmost of the Dodgers’ bullpen.
Jackson (0-1) allowed 4 hits, walked 2 batters and struck retired two. He pitched astir what small occupation recovered him, and was astir effectual capable (77 pitches) to implicit 5 innings.
“My extremity was to effort to get the off-speed worldly backmost successful the portion – the cutter and the fastball actually,” Jackson said. “I was capable to execute 1 extremity there.”
“I thought helium threw truly well,” Smith said of Jackson. “He moved the shot around, kept them off-balance. He did a bully occupation tonight.”
The Dodgers are 1 starting pitcher abbreviated of a five-man rotation. Jackson’s archetypal 2 appearances person yielded lone 1 tally crossed 8⅔ innings; helium and rookie Mitch White are the logical candidates to capable successful portion Clayton Kershaw and Tony Gonsolin rehabilitate their injuries.
Roberts said Jackson’s short-term relation volition beryllium determined successful the days to come.
“He’s doing precisely what we request from him,” helium said.
The discourtesy was different communicative Friday. The Dodgers threatened to necktie the people successful the bottommost of the ninth erstwhile Mookie Betts led disconnected with a azygous and took 2nd connected a chaotic transportation with nary outs. But Carlos Estevez came backmost to onslaught retired Max Muncy, Corey Seager and AJ Pollock to extremity the game.
When archetypal basal umpire Junior Valentine ruled Pollock did not cheque his last swing, the announced assemblage of 40,100 umpires astatine Dodger Stadium booed the different 4 disconnected the field.
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