Carlos Frias‘ most recent major league start didn’t go so well.
It was last September 17 at Coors Field in Denver, and it was only Frias’ second major-league start. The circumstances were ripe for a beating and Frias became the first pitcher in the modern era to allow 10 hits while getting less than three outs. The Rockies’ first 11 batters all reached base, the only outs coming on a caught stealing and a fielder’s-choice groundout.
So when Frias takes the hill Friday, it shouldn’t be hard for him to improve on his last effort. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly announced Wednesday that Frias will start on Friday, and Scott Baker on Saturday, against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“We’ve tried a number of guys” starting in place of Hyun-Jin Ryu, Mattingly said, “and Carlos is a guy we like his arm from an innings standpoint. We just feel this opportunity is his to show us what he’s got, from a standpoint of, is he going to be able to be that guy we can count on every fifth day? That’s always something that we think he’s capable of.”
Frias has thrown two innings at the major-league level this season — one Sunday against the Padres, another Monday against the Giants — both without allowing a run.
Baker allowed three runs in seven innings in a 3-1 loss to the Padres on Sunday.
The Diamondbacks rank in the middle of the National League pack in most offensive categories, including runs scored (eighth), batting average (eighth), on-base percentage (eighth) and slugging percentage (10th).