Steve Webb
DENVER, CO — The opener strategy has always been a bit of an odd duck. It looks good on paper: give the opposing team a different look in the first inning, and then shorten the game for the “bulk guy,” who would normally be your starter. However, the Dodgers are Johnnies-come-lately to this idea, and to be quite honest, it’s not really been a rousing success. Part of that has been the performance of Caleb Ferguson, whose first inning ERA is now a whopping 6.75. In Tuesday’s first game of a double header with the Rockies, Ferguson gave up three runs and the Dodgers just could never make up the distance, falling to last place Colorado by a score of 4-1.
Once the “opener” was out of the game, the Dodgers pitched very well. In fact for Ryan Pepiot, the bulkster in this one, it was another great outing, showing that his stuff is more than ready for prime time. Pepiot gave up only one run (a two-out, solo homer to Nolan Jones in the bottom of the seventh). Meanwhile, he had all his pitches working, especially the changeup, which kept Rockies hitters off balance all afternoon. Pep’s final line for the afternoon: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K. You’ve made the roster, kid, as far as I’m concerned.
Of course, the Dodgers didn’t help matters much by going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. A few timely hits and they would have been able to crawl back into the ballgame. Instead, the only run that the Dodgers scored was on a passed ball on a third strike to James Outman. With runners at first and second going with the pitch, when the ball headed for the backstop, Jason Heyward just kept on running, hustling his way to a run. In fact, Heyward was the hitting star of the day, going 3-for-4 with a double.
Not a lot of time to lick wounds after this one. The Dodgers play two on Tuesday, their last scheduled double header of the year. It’s going to be Bobby Miller in the nightcap, which gets underway at 5:40 PDT. Four more wins to 100. Let’s go!
