Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers and Rockies met tonight in what was technically a battle of the two teams at the top of the NL West, the caveat being there were 12 games between them.
That gap didn’t seem to matter much tonight, as the two teams engaged in a high-scoring back-and-forth affair that totaled 20 runs and 33 hits, but the Dodgers just had more firepower than the Rockies in their 12-8 win.
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The Dodgers struck first in the 2nd against starter Peter Lambert with back-to-back dongs by Cody Bellinger (27th) and Max Muncy (18th) on back-to-back pitches to put them ahead 2-0.
That didn’t last long, as the Rockies responded in their half of the 2nd against Walker Buehler. They put together three singles and a triple in the inning for two runs to make it 2-2, and the only reason it wasn’t more is because one runner was thrown out at third in the middle of all that.
Colorado then took the lead in the 3rd behind three doubles that added another two runs and made it 4-2. You didn’t think a 2-0 lead would hold up in this park, did you? Surely not.
Thankfully the same applies the other way around as well. In the 5th, Joc Pederson lashed a single and then Alex Verdugo followed with a two-run oppo shot to tie the game, his 8th of the year. Justin Turner then made it back-to-back dongs again by going oppo for his ninth dong of the year to make it 5-4.
Now hitting against the Rockies relief corps, they added on in the 6th as Chris Taylor started things with a double, he advanced on a ground out, and scored on a Pederson single to make it 6-4.
That lead didn’t last either. In the Rockies half of the 6th, they put up a walk, a single, a triple, and a sac fly against Buehler to plate three runs to take a 7–6 lead. When he was removed, Buehler had went 5.2 innings on 96 pitches, giving up the seven runs on 13 hits and a walk, also striking out four.
Newly promoted Zac Rosscup then entered in relief, walking the first batter he faced but then getting a strikeout to mercifully bring the inning to an end.
But if you were fretting about the deficit, you shouldn’t have because it works both ways. Bellinger drew a walk to start the 7th and Muncy followed by flipping his 19th ding dong of the year to the opposite field for an 8-7 lead.
Yimi Garcia then immediately gave that back in the Rockies half of the 7th, surrendering a homer to Ryan McMahon to start his appearance, which tied the game at 8-8. However, he rebounded to get the next three hitters and got through the inning.
Well, Pedro Baez did more than his job then as he got a scoreless 8th to keep the game tied, allowing just a walk.
That bought enough time for the offense, and in the 9th they rallied. Muncy drew a walk, Matt Beaty singled, and then CT3 fisted a ball into short right for the go-ahead single to put the Dodgers up 9-8.
Still, the Dodgers needed insurance to feel anywhere near confident, and Enrique Hernandez provided that by smashing a pinch-hit three-run ding-dong to center, his 13th of the year.
That made it 12-8 and provided a four-run cushion for Kenley Jansen, who returned to his personal house of horrors.
Things didn’t start well as he gave up a single to start, but he rebounded quickly with a double play. Because it can never be easy, an error allowed the inning to continue and then a single saw the Dodgers on the verge of disaster, but Kenley buckled down and recorded a strikeout to secure the game.
Sheesh.
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The Dodgers improve to 56-27 on the year. They are now 13 games up on the Rockies in the NL West, 7.5 games up on the Braves in the NL, and 2.5 games up on both the Twins and Yankees in the MLB.
The two teams do this again tomorrow night at 2:40 PM HST/5:40 PM PST/9:40 PM EST. Hyun-Jin Ryu (LHP/1.27 ERA/2.51 FIP/2.19 DRA) will face off against Antonio Senzatela (RHP/4.91 ERA/5.29 FIP/5.61 DRA).
