Lefties loom as Dodgers hit the road to face the Rockies, Cubs
The Dodgers, as you may have heard, struggled to hit left-handed pitchers in 2016. This is not a secret, and it looms as the one potential flaw for an organization stacked with talent throughout both its 25-man roster and its 40-man roster.
In capturing a series to open the season against San Diego, the Dodgers stumbled only once, when they were shut down by left-handed starter Clayton Richard on Tuesday night. Otherwise, the offense rolled, winning the three other games against right-handed starters.
The Dodgers will confront their weakness on the first road trip of the year. Colorado positioned a pair of lefties to pitch this weekend, with the Cubs lining up Jon Lester and former Dodger Brett Anderson to take the ball next week at Wrigley Field.
It’s another early opportunity to render their troubles from 2016 a figment of the past. Here are the matchups for this weekend at Coors Field:
FRIDAY: LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (0-1, 11.57 ERA in 2016) vs. LHP Kyle Freeland (major league debut).
SATURDAY: LHP Clayton Kershaw (1-0, 1.29 ERA in 2017) vs. RHP Jon Gray (0-0, 11.25).
SUNDAY: RHP Kenta Maeda (0-1, 5.40 ERA) vs. LHP Tyler Anderson (1-0, 7.94 ERA).
Twitter: @McCulloughTimes
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