Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
In the first month of the season, the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ pitching staff has taken two major hits. First, Zack Greinke was lost for a couple of months and then Chad Billingsley was lost for the rest of the year. The team needed Ted Lilly to step up in place of the wounded and unfortunately, he was ineffective against the Colorado Rockies on Monday.
Lilly lasted just three innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on eight hits and two walks. Despite this bad outing, it isn’t time to give up on Lilly, especially when things got worse after he left. Josh Wall allowed seven runs in two innings of work. Things got so bad that second baseman Skip Schumaker wound up pitching the final inning.
The worst news came after the game when manager Don Mattingly said Lilly was suffering some back stiffness during the game. If this becomes a recurring problem, the Dodgers are in trouble.
The team is running out of options when it comes to starting pitchers. Lilly and rookie Matt Magill needed to pick up the slack, or this season will get away from the Dodgers before Greinke can return. If Lilly has to miss his next start, I’m not sure who they turn to next — maybe Chris Capuano if he is ready to return from his rehab assignment.
If the Dodgers can somehow stay in the race through these injuries, they will be a force to be reckoned with when they are healthy. Unfortunately, if anyone else goes down, they might take the team’s season down with it.
Darren Pare is a MLB writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter at dpare71, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
