Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
With a weekend series with the Padres looming, the Dodgers looked to continue their winning streak by completing the sweep of the Rockies. Dave Roberts went with another heat check lineup, and this time it worked, with a pair of three-run homers carrying the lineup in a come-from-behind 7-5 win.
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Julio Urias has had a nice start to his 2021 season, seemingly on pace to get his starting career back on track. He started well in the 1st, but with two outs Ryan McMahon ambushed a first-pitch curve that landed just over the wall and out of Zach McKinstry‘s reach.
The Rockies struck again in the same manner in the 3rd, with Garrett Hampson yanking a fastball in the middle of the zone for a solo shot and a 2-0 lead.
On the other side, Austin Gomber had a rough go of it against the Dodgers at Coors Field earlier this year, and things got off to a tough start in the 1st. Chris Taylor doubled to start things, and Justin Turner followed with a single to right, putting runners on the corners. However, a strikeout and a double play later, and Gomber was out of trouble.
The good times didn’t last, however, as a one-out rally in the 3rd started with Julio blooping a single, and he was immediately followed by a CT3 walk. Turner, or whoever has abducted him this April, then stepped up and stayed back just enough on a breaking ball to smash it over the wall in center for a three-run go-ahead homer to make it 3-2.
In the 5th, a two-out double off the wall by JT and then a walk by Max Muncy setup another chance, but the Dodgers couldn’t cash in. Aside from the JT blast, Gomber settled in nicely and made it through six frames without further damage.
Meanwhile, Urias was cruising along aside from the two homers, facing just one plate appearance with a runner in scoring position through the 5th. However, the 6th proved different as he ran into real trouble. With one out, Julio surrendered a double, but then seemingly got a strikeout to put him on the verge of escape. However, the potential third strike was called a ball, and the next pitch was smoked to center for a single to tie things at 3-3.
Another single led to another threat, and after Julio recorded the second out, yet another single was blooped into right. It looked like McKinstry had a shot at home, but he dropped the ball and the go-ahead run scored easily. After he threw in to second base the Dodgers got a runner hung up between first and second, but when the runner at third broke for home, CT3 decided to attempt getting him instead and his throw sailed over everybody to plate another run and make it 5-3 to the Rockies at the end of the disaster.
Urias was allowed to finish the 6th despite all this, and his line was mediocre in the end: 6 IP, 7 H, 5 R (4 ER), 2 BB, 6 K, 90 Pitches.
Jimmy Nelson took over in the 7th, getting a 1-2-3 frame, and seemingly rounding into form now. After struggling early, he’s now made back-to-back scoreless outings.
Yency Almonte was then trusted to protect the lead for the Rockies, but he issued two walks in the 7th and got into more trouble with a wild pitch to advance both runners. On the upside, that didn’t matter. On the downside, that was because Muncy pooped on a 2-0 change to right-center for a three-run dong and a 6-5 lead.
Tyler Kinley then took over but provided no relief, giving up back-to-back singles to Will Smith and AJ Pollock, then walking the bases loaded by issuing a free pass to Edwin Rios. Things didn’t get better when Carlos Estevez then entered, as he immediately threw a wild pitch to make it 7-5 before finally getting out of it. He did also get the 8th without issue, though.
With the best pen seemingly being rested, Dennis Santana was given a high-leverage look in the 8th. He cruised through a 1-2-3 frame on just seven pitches, though partially thanks to plays like this from Edwin Rios.
David Price was then chosen to close the game in the 9th, and trouble would come quick through back-to-back singles, though they were a blooper and a grounder against the shift. Trevor Story would then pinch hit, and after falling behind 2-0 in the at-bat, Price rebounded to strike him out. He then also struck out Garrett Hampson on a change that looked like a foolish swing, but Price had set him up with backdoor cutters. Raimel Tapia finished things off with a weak ground out, and Price had his first regular season save and second career save.
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Muncy good.
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A sweep of the Rockies results in an 11-2 record. It’s good.
The Dodgers will now travel to San Diego for a three-game set against the Padres, starting at 4:10 PM HST/7:10 PM PST/10:10 PM EST. Walker Buehler is set to face off against rookie Ryan Weathers.
