LOS ANGELES (AP) — The last-place Colorado Rockies couldn’t generate any offense against Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, putting an end to their four-game winning streak.
Colorado lost 8-0 on Friday night to open its final road trip of the season. Jeff Francis (5-7) gave up a three-run homer to Shane Victorino in the second inning, leaving the Rockies playing from behind.
Making his team-leading 23rd start, Francis gave up six hits and five runs in four innings, struck out three and walked one to fall to 0-3 in his last six starts. The left-hander hasn’t won since Aug. 27 against the Dodgers.
“I don’t know if they had a different approach than the last time. I threw the ball exactly the same way I did then,” Francis said. “I just think they took advantage of a couple of mistakes and they didn’t miss them.
“I’ve had some bad outings, but I feel like I’m better than the way I’ve performed. It’s disappointing. I step on the mound ready to pitch, but sometimes it doesn’t go my way.”
Kershaw (13-9) allowed five hits, struck out 10 and walked two. He helped himself in the seventh, starting a double play when he turned around and fielded Andrew Brown’s comebacker between his legs with his back to the plate and fired to second for the first out.
“Too much Clayton Kershaw,” Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. “He had as good a curveball as I’ve seen him have in any start that he’s taken. As he always does, he threw a ton of strikes with his fastball. His slider was there when he needed it, but his curveball was phenomenal.”
Colorado’s Jordan Pacheco went 0 for 4, snapping his hitting streak at 10 games. He hit .391 during that span, which was his second-longest this season after a 14-game stretch from Aug. 22-Sept. 9.
“That was the first time we’ve faced him in a while and he was nasty,” Pacheco said about Kershaw. “Everything was working for him — his cutter, his curveball, and he was attacking us with his fastball. He located well and got ahead in the count. And when you’re down 0-2, he’s got plenty of room to work with.”
The Dodgers provided Kershaw with early run support, taking a 4-0 lead in the second. Andre Ethier’s RBI double scored the first run and Victorino followed with his 11th homer.
Los Angeles made it 5-0 in the fourth when Ethier singled and scored on a double-play grounder by Kershaw.
Bobby Abreu had his first career pinch-hit homer, a two-run shot off Will Harris with two outs in the eighth, extending the Dodgers’ lead to 8-0.
NOTES: Kershaw struck out at least 10 for the third time this season and 18th in his career. … Los Angeles earned its first shutout win since Aug. 19, a 5-0 victory at Atlanta. … The Dodgers sent INF Stefan Jarrφn, the son of Dodger Spanish-language broadcaster Jorge and grandson of Hall of Famer broadcaster Jaime, to Philadelphia as the player to be named later in the July 31 `trade for Victorino. The 22-year-old Jarrφn batted .209 with three homers and nine RBIs in 26 games for the rookie-level Arizona League Dodgers. … Tony Orlando serenaded Tom Lasorda with “Happy Birthday” between innings. Lasorda, who turned 85 last weekend, received a standing ovation from the crowd and both teams.
(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
No comments:
Post a Comment