Dodgers Week 1: A wild, winning weekend at Coors

The Dodgers started their season at Coors Field for the first time ever, and the opening weekend was four days filled with weirdness in Colorado.

There was a ball hit over the fence that went for a single, an inside-the-park first major league home run, a collision with plexiglass, malfunctioning fountains in center field, and even a feline distraction.

“You definitely don’t expect a cat to run on the field,” catcher Will Smith said of Friday night’s oddity.

In between, the Dodgers managed to win three out of four games thanks to an offense that mostly kept threatening all weekend, including 47 hits, 23 walks and a .424 on-base percentage. There were cracks in the armor, too. Namely, four outs on the bases, three errors, three wild pitches, and inconsistent hitting with runners in scoring position, even as the totals (15 for 52, .288) were mostly fine.

“Winning three out of four was huge,” manager Dave Roberts said Sunday, “but I think there’s some things we can continue to clean up.”

Batter of the week

Corey Seager was busy all weekend, becoming the first Dodger to reach base four times in each of the first three games of a season. Seager had eight hits in 12 at-bats and reached base 75 percent of the time, doing so much in the first three games of the series that he rested on Sunday.

Honorable mention goes to Will Smith, who in his two starts doubled twice, homered, and reached base six out of 10 times.

Pitcher of the week

Julio Urías was in complete control on Sunday at Coors Field, pitching into the eighth inning for the first time in his career, allowing only one run and four baserunners, while striking out six. Honorable mention goes to Trevor Bauer, who took a no-hitter into the seventh inning in his Dodgers debut on Friday.

Week 1 results

3-1 record
26 runs scored (6.50 per game)
21 runs allowed (5.25 per game)
.596 pythagorean win percentage

Miscellany

Running a 10-K: In his first start with his new team, Trevor Bauer became just the fifth Dodgers pitcher to strike out 10 Rockies in Denver, joining Pedro Astacio, Ramon Martinez (11 strikeouts), Alex Wood, and Tony Gonsolin. Astacio’s game, in 1994, came at Mile High Stadium, while the rest were at Coors Field.

A game of firsts: Bauer allowed four runs in the seventh on Friday, but he also matched Greg Maddux (August 3, 2006) and Ross Stripling (April 8, 2016) as the only pitchers to allow no hits through the first six innings in their first start with the Dodgers. Bauer also drove in a run with a sacrifice bunt in the seventh inning, the first RBI in his major league career.

Speaking of 10: On Friday night, right-hander Jordan Sheffield pitched a scoreless ninth inning for the Rockies in his major league debut. Sheffield was a Rule 5 pick in December, and is the 10th player drafted and signed by the Dodgers in 2016 to reach the majors. Outfielders DJ Peters (fourth round) and Luke Raley (seventh round) are both on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster, and could add to that total later this season. The only year the Dodgers drafted and signed more major leaguers was in 1968, with 11 across all drafts (June, June secondary, January secondary), including Ron Cey, Davey Lopes, Steve Garvey, and Joe Ferguson.

Zach, Duke: The Dodgers won Saturday’s game thanks in large part to Zack McKinstry’s inside-the-park home run in the eighth inning. He was the first Los Angeles Dodger to hit an inside-the-park shot for his first major league home run, and the first one to do it in franchise history since Duke Snider did so for Brooklyn on May 2, 1948. Snider’s first home run came against Phillies left-hander Curt Simmons in the first inning of a doubleheader, then Snider added another homer of Simmons — this one over the wall in right field — in the seventh inning.

Transactions

Tuesday: Mitch White and Dennis Santana were optioned, essentially setting the opening day roster

Thursday: Placed Joe Kelly on the 10-day injured list and placed Brusdar Graterol on the injured list, though not the 60-day IL regardless of how MLB dot com classified that transaction.

Thursday: Opening day roster was finalized, including 13 pitchers and 13 position players, with Zach McKinstry and Scott Alexander claiming the final spots.

Sunday: Tony Gonsolin was placed on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation, retroactive to Thursday, and Dennis Santana was recalled from the taxi squad.

Game results

• Thursday: Rockies 8, Dodgers 5
• Friday: Dodgers 11, Rockies 6
• Saturday: Dodgers 6, Rockies 5
• Sunday: Dodgers 4, Rockies 2

Up next

The Dodgers run the Tony Batista gauntlet, finishing off the road trip in Oakland before returning to Los Angeles for the home opener against the Nationals. Washington has yet to play a game because of COVID protocols, so their upcoming schedule and pitching plans have yet to be determined, and are very much in question.