Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
What looked like was going to be another pathetic and frustrating loss for the Dodgers against the Rockies turned out to be a dramatic 6-5 victory instead.
While the Dodgers were put in a hole yet again by their starter, the offense chipped away at the deficit despite stranding a small village on the bases, and that set up Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts for heroic back-to-back homers to walk it off.
Oops.
I mean … still kinda. pic.twitter.com/PvJCmVsfa5
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) September 22, 2024
======
Yoshinobu Yamamoto was looking to use today as another step towards normalcy on his road back from injury, instead he looked like dogshit against the Rockies.
He labored through three innings and put the Dodgers in a hole early against the road Rockies. Doomerism, activate.
3 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 4 K, 79 Pitches.
——
The other side of things was arguably even more frustrating to watch. The 1st saw a pair of singles and then Freddie Freeman killing the rally with a double play on a 2-0 count. The 2nd saw yet another double play ensure the minimum was faced, but the 3rd was the worst. Back-to-back one-out singles and a walk loaded the bases, then Freddie again grounded into a double play on a 2-0 count.
Just … brutal.
Arguably worse was Teoscar Hernandez doing it the easy way in the 4th, hitting his 31st homer to make it 4-1 Rockies.
¡Teoscar sobre la barda! pic.twitter.com/PjcrWMCCsv
— Los Dodgers (@LosDodgers) September 22, 2024
Anyway, because Yamamoto couldn’t last more than three damn innings against the Rockies, Joe Kelly came out of the pen in the 4th and Ryan Brasier got the 5th, both posting scoreless frames.
Ben Casparius then gave up two walks, a double, and a single in the 6th, but somehow only gave up one run to make it 5-1 Rockies, then faced the minimum over the 7th and 8th, seeing a single erased by a double play. Closing the book on the Rockies’ offense was Blake Treinen in the 9th, striking out the side.
Surprisingly, that effort proved important.
——
That left it up to the offense to get the four runs somehow.
The bats went quietly in the 5th and stranded a single and walk in the 6th, but made it a game in the 7th. A Miguel Rojas walk was followed by an Enrique Hernandez homer (11th) that cut the deficit to 5-3.
Kiké for two! pic.twitter.com/zqy48UtQwv
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 22, 2024
Ohtani then followed with a single and stolen base, and scored on a Freddie single to make it 5-4. However, after he advanced into scoring position, Freddie was stranded at second.
Another runner was stranded in the 8th as two walks amounted to nothing, and it seemed to be shaping up for a frustrating close loss, but all it did was setup a 9th with the top of the order coming up.
Well, time to find out something about this team, I guess.
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) September 22, 2024
Well … going back-to-back, Shohei (53rd) and Mookie (19th) won it for the Dodgers.
SHOHEI TIES IT, MOOKIE ENDS IT! pic.twitter.com/41S4RcXCru
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 22, 2024
Absolutely massive win.
——
Oh yeah, Ohtani stole bases 54 and 55 as well.
That's 54 stolen bases for Shohei! pic.twitter.com/XERK3QoQPF
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 22, 2024
52/55 for Shohei! pic.twitter.com/mlGxkK7H3u
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 22, 2024
======
| NL WEST | RECORD |
|---|---|
| Dodgers | 93-63 |
| Padres | 90-66 (3 GB) |
| Diamondbacks | 87-69 (6 GB) |
| NL | RECORD |
|---|---|
| Dodgers | 93-63 |
| Phillies | 92-63 (0.5 GB)* |
| Brewers | 89-67 (4 GB) |
*Still playing.
The Dodgers will remain in Los Angeles during the day off and will then welcome the Padres for the biggest series of the season with the NL West on line. The three-game set will start at the usual time of 4:10 PM HT/7:10 PM PT/10:10 PM ET and will be on TBS. The Dodgers will run out Landon Knack looking to build on his last outing, facing off against Michael King‘s breakout season as a starter.
