Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
On a blustery Monday night at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers’ bats exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the 5th inning off the Rockies’ bullpen in a commanding 13-4 win. The Dodgers’ roughed up Colorado for three home runs, two triples and two doubles. The Dodgers bullpen also got the job done, picking up after Michael Grove for five innings of one-run ball.
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Michael Grove and Ryan Feltner started for their respective teams and both struck out the side in the 2nd inning, but neither young pitcher would go long for the game.
The Dodgers jumped on Feltner in the bottom of the 3rd with three straight hits to start the scoring. It was the first time the Dodgers scored since the first inning Sunday, and they didn’t stop.
Jason Heyward made his first start in center field with the Dodgers, and the former five-time Gold Glove Award winner also collected his first hit, an infield single to third base. That ignited a mini rally for the Dodgers, as Chris Taylor followed by crushing his first home run of the season, a two-run shot against the wind and over the center field fence.
As a part of four consecutive base runners reaching to open the 5th for the Rockies, Grove walked the first two batters of the inning after cruising through the first four frames. After Elias Diaz doubled to third, Grove’s night was done early, as the lead was cut to 2-1 and two runners were in scoring position with nobody out.
The Dodgers’ bullpen continued to look shaky early on in the season. Yency Almonte came in to relieve Grove, and he quickly served up a 2-RBI single to Harold Castro to give the Rockies the temporary lead. The fourth run of the inning came on a Jurickson Profar scoring double play to make it 4-2.
That advantage did not last long for the Rockies.
After making the first two outs of the 5th, the Dodgers rallied to load the bases and took back the lead with a seven-run frame. J.D. Martinez was at the plate and hit a fly ball over toward the right field foul pole, one that the umpire crew reviewed and was confirmed to have barely missed being a grand slam. Not a problem for the professional DH. Martinez simply tied up the game at 4-4 with a clutch 2-RBI single to left. James Outman then continued the two-out onslaught on the Rockies’ bullpen with a triple to give the Dodgers a 6-4 lead.
Miguel Vargas joined the RBI party by driving in the fifth run of the inning off the flustered Colorado pen. Still with two outs, Heyward then went deep for a two-run shot, the first of his Dodger career to make it 9-4.
The Dodgers pen, on the other hand, settled in. Alex Vesia looked a sharper than his last outing, and he set the Rockies down 1-2-3 in the top of the 6th. Phil Bickford struck out three in the 7th to escape a minor scoring threat on a double by Bud Black‘s Rockies.
Meanwhile, after a J.D. double for his second extra-base hit of the game, Outman continued the offensive onslaught with his second triple of the game to push the lead to 10-4 in the 7th.
The Dodgers notched their 11th run of the night on Heyward’s sac fly later in that same inning.
Then in the 8th, Will Smith‘s second homer of the year extended the Dodgers lead by another two runs to 13-4, the eventual final.
The score stayed that way thanks to Shelby Miller‘s two scoreless innings in the 8th and 9th that closed things out for the Dodgers.
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3-2.
The Dodgers finish their opening homestand and go for the two-game series sweep against the Rockies on Tuesday at 7:10 PM PST. Julio Urías (0 BB, 6 K, 6 IP) makes his second start of the season. The Rockies counter with right-hander German Marquez (0 BB, 5 K, 6 IP).
