Los Angeles – To throaty boos fueled by anger, the man who ruined the party marched to the dugout Monday.
Jeff Francis doesn’t do distractions, wasn’t bothered as the sellout crowd of 56,000 took out their frustration on the man who had the audacity to turn the Dodgers’ bats into linguini.
Two hours earlier, a Navy Leapfrog landed within 10 feet of Francis as he stretched. Francis gave the parachutist a round of applause.
That composure provides insight into a Rockies team that is growing up, pulling the rip cord on a two-game losing streak with a 6-3 victory at Dodger Stadium.
Even with Jason Schmidt on the mound, even with Todd Helton on the bench, the Rockies trashed the Dodgers’ opening day. Aware that they crumpled against opposing aces last season and won only two games in Los Angeles a year ago, it was hard to miss the outcome’s significance.
“We had a rough year here last year (2-8). And Schmidt is a No. 1 pitcher,” Francis said.
“To beat him, that says a lot about our ballclub and what we are capable of,” Francis added.
The Rockies forever arrived in Los Angeles like a jockey carrying the horse. That they were the home opener for the Padres and Dodgers seemed less coincidence than early litmus test. A stretch of 19 straight games against the NL West, including nine straight on the road, begs for the Rockies to prove they are for real.
After one week, they are 4-3 because the starters have a 2.64 ERA. Francis grinded through 6 2/3 innings, yielding just two runs on five hits.
“He was mixing speeds and hiding the ball, like he always does,” Dodgers infielder Jeff Kent said.
And what about Schmidt? He’s one of three Dodgers pitchers to start in an All-Star Game, and a primary reason they are a favorite to win the NL West. He fizzled in his Dodger Stadium debut, punished for four runs in four innings before exiting with a cramp in his right hamstring after covering first base.
Garrett Atkins strongly suggested that Monday would be different for Colorado by depositing a first-inning fastball into the left-field seats. It was noteworthy for two reasons: It was Atkins’ first RBI, and the pitch came in at 82 miles per hour.
“Obviously the radar gun was not popping like it usually does, but he still has life on his pitches,” Atkins said. “We are comfortable playing these low- scoring games because we know the offense is going to come around.”
The Rockies’ bullpen, not the rotation, has become an early concern. Part of the solution is challenging the starters to go deeper into games. Francis finished with 111 pitches. More important, he started the seventh with 100 pitches.
“He wasn’t going to melt just because he reached 100,” pitching coach Bob Apodaca said. “We need to show them confidence that we trust them late.”
With Francis shortening the game, the accompanying ninth-inning drama was more inconvenience than anything else. When Brian Fuentes induced the final out, the boos were soothing satisfaction of a party spoiled.
Staff writer Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com.
