With more losses than victories in his career and an earned-run average above 5.00, Jason Hammel fits the profile of a pitcher the Dodgers should hit.

Well, the low-scoring Dodgers hit Hammel on Wednesday, and they hit him hard.

But the Colorado Rockies hit Chad Billingsley harder.

In the Dodgers' 7-5 loss to the Rockies at Coors Field, Billingsley had one of those ineffective starts that have blemished his otherwise promising career.

Billingsley (1-1), who recently signed a three-year, $35-million contract extension, was charged with five runs, six hits and three walks in three innings.

With his pitch count bloated to 86 because of a 42-pitch, three-run third inning, Manager Don Mattingly had Aaron Miles pinch-hit for the right-hander in the fourth inning.

"I couldn't get ahead of hitters," Billingsley said. "I had to come back over the plate."

Of the 19 hitters he faced, nine had three-ball counts. One, Todd Helton, hit a home run.

"I just think he didn't have the feel," catcher Rod Barajas said.

Billingsley's record at hitter-friendly Coors Field dropped to 1-4 with a 7.24 ERA.

One bad start has sometimes turned into a string of them for Billingsley. But these days, he doesn't seem like the same guy who had trouble emerging from slumps.