LDN - Sports

Norris prevails in Dodgers debut

[July 02, 2016] LOS ANGELES -- Less than 18 hours after being acquired by the Los Angeles Dodgers, right-hander Bud Norris did a more than credible impression of the pitcher he replaced Friday night.

Norris and four relievers combined on a three-hit shutout to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies in front of 43,644 at Dodger Stadium.

Norris (4-7) tied a season high with eight strikeouts while permitting two hits, a walk and a hit batsman in earning his third consecutive victory in his team debut. Charlie Blackmon had two of the Rockies' hits.

"Our offense has been on a roll but we looked a little out of whack tonight," Colorado manager Walt Weiss said. "Norris was in complete control. His cutter, slider, whatever you want to call it, was a good pitch for him. We had a hard time getting anything going against him."

Norris elaborated.

"The cutter was good," he said. "The slider was good. The four-seam fastball was effective on both sides of the plate."

The Dodgers acquired Norris on Thursday from the Atlanta Braves in a five-player trade after putting Clayton Kershaw on the disabled list the same day. Kershaw was leading the major leagues in strikeouts and ERA before a herniated disc kept him from making his scheduled start Friday night.

"I got the news around 2 o'clock in Atlanta," Norris said. "I immediately got on a plane and got out here as quick as I could because I knew tonight was going to be big."

Norris said he experienced no ill effects from the rapid turnaround.

"I felt fine," he said. "I got some sleep last night, not a whole bunch. But I took a little nap this afternoon, got some food in my stomach and came over to the ball park at around 3 o'clock."

Rockies left-hander Jorge De La Rosa (5-5) watched his four-game winning streak end despite recording his third successive quality start. In seven innings, De La Rosa conceded two runs on five hits, four walks and a balk while striking out four.

Los Angeles took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning and almost added a second run against De La Rosa, who conceded just one walk while facing the minimum nine batters in the first three innings.

After Chase Utley walked, Corey Seager got the Dodgers' first hit, a single through De La Rosa's legs and into center field. Utley took third base on the play and scored one out later on Adrian Gonzalez's single.

Howie Kendrick's groundout moved Seager and Gonzalez into scoring position. After Yasiel Puig walked to load the bases, Trace Thompson hit an apparent infield single to bring Seager home.

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Dodgers starting pitcher Bud Norris (28) pitches against the Colorado Rockies during the first inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

But Weiss appealed first-base umpire Jim Wolf's call, which video review overturned. The replay showed that shortstop Cristhian Adames' throw barely beat Thompson.

Colorado put the potential tying run in scoring position in the sixth, when Blackmon lined a double to right field with one out. But Adames and Nolan Arenado each flied out to end the threat.

The Dodgers combined two hits, a passed ball and a balk in the seventh to extend their lead to 2-0. Kendrick and Puig began the inning with singles, advanced one base on a passed ball and advanced another 90 feet on a balk, with Kendrick scoring.

"It wasn't a balk," De La Rosa said. "I checked the video and it wasn't a balk. How am I going to balk with runners at second and third? I can't hurry. I've got to take my time."

Puig tried to come home on Thompson's fly out but left fielder Brandon Barnes threw Puig out at the plate.

Los Angeles ended the scoring by combining for four hits, including two doubles, and a sacrifice fly into three runs in the eighth. Adrian Gonzalez had an RBI single, Kendrick hit a run-scoring double and Scott Van Slyke contributed the sacrifice fly.

NOTES: Colorado 2B DJ LeMahieu and SS Trevor Story were not in the starting lineup for the third time in four games. LeMahieu has a bruised left knee while Story has a bruised right finger. ... Rockies LHP Jorge De La Rosa needs two victories for 100 in his career. ... Los Angeles placed OF Joc Pederson on the disabled list and purchased the contract of OF Will Venable from Triple-A Oklahoma City. The Dodgers have had a major league-most 19 players on the disabled list this year. ... Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told MLB Network Radio that he expects LHP Clayton Kershaw to miss more than two weeks. Kershaw went on the 15-day disabled list Thursday with a herniated disc.

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