Denver- Byung-Hyun Kim of the Colorado Rockies allowed one run on four hits in seven innings to help the Colorado Rockies defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 Tuesday night at Coors Field.
If not for Brad Hawpe of the Colorado Rockies defense the outcome couldve been different as Byung-Hyun Kim of the Colorado Rockies had a difficult first inning and appeared to be in for a rough time as he walked the first three batters he faced. He also sent three straight pitches sailing past catcher Danny Ardoin of the Colorado Rockies, two of which were scored wild pitches.
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Los Angeles Dodgers could only manage one run in the inning, on J.D. Drew of the Los Angeles Dodgers RBI single that drove in Rafael Furcal of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Kenny Lofton of the Los Angeles Dodgers attempted to score on the play also but was gunned down by a perfect throw from Brad Hawpe of Colorado Rockies at the plate to avoid a big inning from the Los Angeles Dodgers. After that Byung-Hyun Kim of the Colorado Rockies settled down and allowed just three harmless singles over his final six innings of work.
Manager Grady Little of the Los Angeles Dodgers was frustrated by the inability of his team to do more damage in the opening inning, "We had a pitcher out on the mound that was trying to self-destruct and we let him get out of that inning with just one run. That was the difference in this game," Los Angeles Dodgers manager Grady Little said.
Brad Hawpe of the Colorado Rockies also contributed with his bat as he went two-for-four with a RBI single that tied the score at 1, then in fourth inning Brad Hawpe of the Colorado Rockies broke the game open with a three-run homer that made the score 4-1 in favor of the Colorado Rockies, as they cruised to victory from there.
Pitcher Derek Lowe of the Los Angeles Dodgers wasnt sharp as he lasted six innings and gave up five runs on nine hits. Injuries again hurt the Los Angeles Dodgers as centerfielder Kenny Lofton of the Los Angeles Dodgers injured his left hamstring in the fourth inning and had to leave the game, and second baseman Jeff Kent of the Los Angeles Dodgers had to also be removed from the game due to a stiff lower back, both players are listed as day-to-day but are unlikely to play in the series finale against the Colorado Rockies today at Coors Field.
The progress of all-star closer Eric Gagne of the Los Angeles Dodgers is coming along well as threw a 25-pitch bullpen session Tuesday and reported no soreness. His next step is to throw batting practice Friday in Los Angeles.The Los Angeles Dodgers record fell to 20-20 and they are 2 1/2 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks in the congested National League West.
