Dodgers 7, Rockies 2: Eddie Butler struggles in first big league start

It will get better from here, but boy was that rough.

Eddie Butler allowed six runs on 10 hits and three walks in his major league debut and was saddled with the loss in the Rockies' 7-2 defeat at the hands of the Dodgers on Friday. Luck certainly didn't benefit Butler in his first meaningful exposure to MLB-caliber hitters, but too much contact combined with generally being in the middle of the strike zone a little too often resulted in a less-than-stellar debut.

About half of the 10 hits surrendered by the 23-year-old rookie came on the ground, and he nine ground outs compared to only three fly outs, but outside of a pair of strikeouts against Yasiel Puig, Butler didn't miss many bats. That's a problem that is beginning to rear its ugly head for Rockies pitchers as a whole. Butler probably has better stuff than most of his staff mates, as he sits in the mid-90s with a good fastball, but he didn't harness it well on this night and it cost him.

Dee Gordon seemed to really like hitting against the Rockies' No. 2 prospect, finishing with three hits -- including a pair of triples -- against Butler. Hanley Ramirez, Justin Turner and Drew Butera were also very successful against Butler, particularly in key situations.

Meanwhile, the Rockies were unable to do any damage against Dodgers starter Hyun-jin Ryu, who cruised through five innings before allowing a home run to Drew Stubbs and back-to-back extra-base hits to Michael McKenry and Charlie Culberson in the sixth. Ryu is now 7-2 with a 3.08 ERA after surrendering two runs on eight hits in six innings.

Stubbs, McKenry, Culberson and Troy Tulowitzki all had two hits apiece for the Rockies. Gordon had three for the Dodgers, who also got two apiece from Turner and Ramirez.

Source: FanGraphs