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The Colorado Rockies dealt Josh Beckett a crushing blow on his Dodgers debut on Monday as the home offense exploded into life late in the game to seal a 10-0 win over Los Angeles.
In his first start since being traded from the Boston Red Sox in a blockbuster deal last week, Beckett allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings before the Rockies battered the Los Angeles bullpen with a seven-run salvo in the eighth.
Tyler Colvin hit a two-run triple and Wilin Rosario added a two-run home run later in the decisive inning to erase any lingering hopes the Dodgers (69-60) had of mounting a fightback.
Colorado starter Jeff Francis allowed three hits in five innings to pick up the win and his relievers surrendered just one additional hit to complete a dominating performance for the Rockies (52-75).
“That’s a tough (lineup),” Francis told reporters. “I knew going into the game I’d have to be a little sharper. I was able to make a few pitches here and there that got some ground ball outs.”
Despite sitting bottom of the National League West division, Colorado has enjoyed a strong recent run of form, winning seven of their last nine games.
Los Angeles has lost two straight to fall 2 ½ games behind leaders San Francisco in the same division.
Beckett, a former World Series MVP and three-time All-Star, arrived alongside sluggers Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford to give the Dodgers a push for a post-season berth.
However, the 32-year-old has endured a difficult season in compiling a 5-11 record with a 5.23 ERA for the Red Sox prior to the trade and his bad luck appeared to travel west with him.
In his first start for the Dodgers, he allowed seven hits, three walks and struck out six but received little in the way of offensive support.
“He kept us in the game,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. “We’ve got to help him. He’s not going to win if we don’t score.”
Meanwhile, Japan must play at next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) as the threat of a boycott by the holders continues to loom, the country’s professional baseball chief said yesterday.
Nippon Professional Baseball commissioner (NPB) Ryozo Kato insisted defending champions Japan were duty-bound to take part despite a blazing row over sponsorship rights.
“We should compete,” he told reporters, warning that a boycott would be frowned on in Japan after last year’s deadly tsunami and nuclear crisis.
“Apart from helping with re-energise the country after the disaster, I believe people want to see us play.”
NPB officials are set to hold talks with a reluctant players’ union today in a bid to reach a breakthrough. “I think this is the final phase,” said Kato. “We will make a sincere effort and give it our best shot.”
The players voted last month to snub the tournament, disgruntled with their share of revenue from the competition Japan won in 2006 and again in 2009.
They have demanded that sponsorship revenues for the Japanese team be shared by the NPB and players’ union instead of being pooled with other revenues and divided later.