Kenta Maeda tamed a notorious hitter’s park about as well as any pitcher can: so much for being intimidated in his first start at Coors Field.
Maeda held Colorado hitless into the sixth inning and A.J. Ellis lined a two-run homer as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Rockies 4-1 on Saturday night.
Maeda’s mind was not on a no-hitter, though. It was not even discussed in the Dodgers’ dugout. Not at this park, where runs can be scored in a hurry.
Photo: AFP
“Start getting less than five outs, it’s something you start talking about, thinking about,” Ellis said.
“But first time pitching at Coors Field, first time against that offensive firepower they have over there, I can’t say enough what Kenta was able to do. It’s beyond impressive,” he added.
Maeda (3-0) allowed three hits — all in the sixth — no runs and struck out eight in 6-1/3 innings as the right-hander from Japan lowered his ERA to 0.36.
With a wind-up reminiscent of countryman Hideo Nomo, Maeda was cruising along until one out in the sixth when D.J. LeMahieu singled for Colorado’s first hit. Nomo remains the only pitcher to throw a no-hitter at Coors Field — on Sept. 17, 1996.
Ellis hit his first homer of the season in the second to help the Dodgers end a five-game slide in Denver. Kenley Jansen threw a perfect ninth for his eighth save.
Tyler Chatwood (2-2) allowed three runs before exiting after the fourth with an elevated pitch count. He missed last season after undergoing his second Tommy John surgery.
“I didn’t have command of anything really,” Chatwood said. “It was just not very good overall.”
Maeda was untouchable most of the night by keeping the Rockies off balance with a nasty breaking ball mixed in with pinpoint fastball control.
“In the big leagues, you’ve got to pitch that way,” Carlos Gonzalez said. “You’ve got to paint and he was definitely painting today. He was going inside, outside, so it’s tough to pick up. It was a good game for him.”
The 28-year-old Maeda faced one batter — striking out Ryan Raburn — in the seventh before turning it over to the bullpen. The shutout was spoiled later in the inning on an RBI double from Brandon Barnes.
Maeda signed a US$25 million, eight-year contract in January that could be worth US$106.2 million if he stays healthy.
The 28-year-old received his first taste of Coors Field, which requires a pitcher to keep his pitches down and stay in command — all of which Maeda does, anyway.
“When he does that, he can pitch on the moon,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
In other MLB action, it was:
‧ Yankees 3, Rays 2
‧ Nationals 2, Twins 0
‧ Reds 13, Cubs 5
‧ Cardinals 11, Padres 2
‧ Giants 7, Marlins 2
‧ Diamondbacks 7, Pirates 1
‧ Angels 4, Mariners 2
‧ Mets 8, Braves 2
‧ Phillies 10, Brewers 6
‧ White Sox 4, Rangers 3
‧ Orioles 8, Royals 3
‧ Astros 8, Red Sox 3
‧ Indians 10, Tigers 1
‧ Blue Jays 9, Athletics 3
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