/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/46162624/usa-today-8035513.0.jpg)
Zach Greinke’s chokehold on the NL West proved too tight for even the Rockies heavy handed lineup. Things got a little too weird for a few too many Rockies in Saturday night’s uncomfortable loss at Dodger Stadium.
Lyles looked good through his first few innings of work. A 1-2-3 first followed by a one run second, and even the traffic of the third inning could have been harmless if it weren’t for DJ LeMahieu’s poorly timed miscue in what would have been a beautifully induced ground ball double play.
The three walks allowed in the bottom of the fifth is where things started to get away from the 24 year old right hander. Jordan Lyles is going to walk guys; his strength has never been in his command. He knows it, the Rockies know it, it is to be expected. To a degree. Five walks over six innings is unacceptable even for a wild Lyles.
DJ LeMahieu took a Zack Greinke fastball over the fence in deep left center to right his uncharacteristic defensive blunder in the top of the fifth. LeMahieu, not known for his overwhelming offensive contributions, has been a leading run scorer for the Rockies to start the season. There’s something more to the star second baseman’s game lately; a spark the Rockies aren’t used to seeing from the quiet LeMahieu. His hot bat comes paired with a hotter temper than before, and the result is a thing of beauty. If LeMahieu continues to crank out passionate baseball, he’s primed for a breakout year.
The Dodgers and their doubles finally cracked a seemingly impenetrable Brooks Brown, who hadn’t given up a run since August 26th of last year. Brown was rung up with two in tonight’s loss on doubles from Jimmy Rollins, Yasiel Puig and Howie Kendrick. Brooks Brown has the possibility of becoming a late-inning staple for the Rockies if he can keep batters from squaring up his pitches. His arsenal isn’t deep, throwing only a slider and changeup in his inning of work tonight, but Brown is usually effective and efficient against both righties and lefties. The 29 year old made the Opening Day roster for the first time in his career in 2015, and will need to recover cleanly from this rough outing to maintain his spot in the Rockies’ crowded bullpen. Given his major league record, Brown will more than likely be just fine.
So the Rockies drop game two of a series in which they’ve already seen two of the best arms in baseball. Eddie Butler will be on tomorrow to dodge the sweep and set the Rockies right before a weeklong homestand. Butler vs McCarthy, first pitch at 2:10 MT.