DENVER -- Make that three consecutive games without an RBI hit for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who were shut out Wednesday in the last place anybody would figure.
The Dodgers' 7-0 defeat to the Colorado Rockies in the first game of a split doubleheader was yet more evidence the offense has gone into a slumber and continues to have trouble with left-handed starters. In this case, the damage was done by the Rockies' Tyler Anderson.
It was the first time the Rockies had shut out an opponent at home all season.
The Dodgers not only have scored just one run in 18 innings at Colorado in this series, they are without a base hit to drive in a run since the third inning Saturday at home against the Chicago Cubs. They scored once Sunday on a fielder's choice and once Monday on a groundout.
Two runs in three games remains a small sample size, but with two of those games at the base of the Rocky Mountains, where runs typically come in bunches, concern is legitimate.
"Left-handed pitching, it's no secret it has been our Achilles' heel as far as average, on-base [percentage], [slugging percentage]," manager Dave Roberts said. "The situational guys need to get better. Teams, going forward, are going to run left-handers against us, so we have to find a way to get runners on base and drive them in. There is really not a whole lot to this game. It's something we have to figure out against left-handed pitching."
Ross Stripling pitched well for the Dodgers, giving up three runs in six innings. It's a pitching line that typically works out well in Colorado. Nobody expects zero run support at Coors Field.
The Dodgers did beat San Francisco Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner to kick off the previous homestand, but they were nearly no-hit by fellow Giants lefty Matt Moore. They faced two lefties in the home series against the Cubs, losing a game started by Mike Montgomery and winning a 1-0 decision against Jon Lester.
"Guys in scoring position, I think we are going out of the strike zone, and there are some counts where we are ahead in the count and swinging at a ball out of the zone," Roberts said. "That really changes the sequence and the at-bat. For us, going out of the strike zone and trying to do too much, we might be guilty of that."