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A frustrating series at Coors Field? So what’s new? The difference is there’s a division race this year, basically. Still, the Dodgers ran out a hilarious rest lineup and ended up putting up a bunch of runs to split the series with the Rockies in an 9-5 win.
I knew the problem with the lineup was Shohei Ohtani hitting too many homers.
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 21, 2025
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The Dodger offense got started early, as Mookie Betts drew a walk and Freddie Freeman homered for his 16th of the year and a 2-0 lead.
Freddie! Freddie! Freddie! pic.twitter.com/qfCl2AHIar
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 21, 2025
Unfortunately the vibes didn’t last.
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Clayton Kershaw took the mound and on the first batter he faced, Miguel Rojas lost a “single” in the sun. A sac bunt followed, and Kershaw seemed to forget the amount of times he stepped off, balking him to third after a third disengagement.
That ended up leading to a run on an RBI groundout for a run.
2-1.
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The bats at least responded back immediately in the 2nd, though barely. A one-out Andy Pages double saw him get to third thanks to an error, Alex Call drew a walk, and Rojas placed a perfect safety squeeze for a single that played off the Rockies’ defensive alignment to score a run.
Toque perfecto de Miggy para traerse a Andy. pic.twitter.com/gtRsujHmKI
— Los Dodgers (@LosDodgers) August 21, 2025
A Mookie single followed to load the bases, and with two down, Will Smith got hit to force a run in and make it 4-1. They couldn’t come up with more, but they got something.
They continued to barely add on in the 3rd, starting a rally with a Alex Freeland lead-off triple. Two strikeouts made things frustrating, but Call came through with a single to make it 5-1.
After a lead-off Freeland triple, Call bails out Rushing and Pages with a single. pic.twitter.com/aP3evXUxq5
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 21, 2025
For the fourth inning in a row, the Dodgers rallied, starting the 4th with singles from Mookie and Freddie to corner things. With one down, a Michael Conforto liner got a sac fly on a diving play, and Freeland doubled to plate another and push the lead to 7-1.
Conforto gets a run home by getting robbed, then Freeland gets his second XBH of the game to make it 7-1. https://t.co/ogqIVlfcg1 pic.twitter.com/h0CwEbeSSe
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 21, 2025
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On the other side, this time with the help of his defense, Kershaw rebounded in the 2nd, seeing a one-out single erased by an inning-ending double play.
Miggy and Mookie turn a nice double play. pic.twitter.com/Zsy2fJa54Q
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 21, 2025
He then got a clean 3rd, but did give up a single and double with one down in the 4th. Still, he managed to limit the damage to a sac fly, cutting the lead to just 7-2.
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No matter, the Dodgers made it five innings a row in the 5th when Pages hit his first road homer since April, his 21st of the year, to push the lead back to six at 8-2.
Cue the seeds for Andy! pic.twitter.com/gBIaNy4GI0
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 21, 2025
Finally, they followed with scoreless frames in the 6th and 7th to end the streak.
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Finishing his start off, Kershaw got a clean 5th, but couldn’t quite deliver a 6th inning of work. He got the first two outs, but then gave up a walk and back-to-back singles for a run to make it 8-3.
Not like a stellar outing, but once again basically a quality start at Coors Field when the Dodgers needed it: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 85 Pitches.
He also did this, which was funny.
His ledger stopped at three runs thanks to Ben Casparius entering for the final out and getting it, though not before issuing a walk to load things up.
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The Dodgers did get that run back as well in the 8th, as back-to-back one-out walks from Call and Mookie eventually saw a two-out single from Will make it 9-3.
Dills makes Total Coors Collapse less likely with a single for insurance. pic.twitter.com/gwVBf4rrhA
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 21, 2025
A quiet 9th closed the book on the offense.
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That left the rest of the game to call-up Matt Sauer, who did an important job again by soaking up innings. He worked around a lead-off double in the 7th, but gave up a single and a Brenton Doyle homer in the 8th to cut the lead to 9-5.
Unfortunately, the homer meant that Alex Vesia entered in the 9th with just a four-run lead (and that he had to enter at all), and it took him 25 pitches to end it.
Vesia likely being down tomorrow after this sucks.
— Chad Moriyama (@chadmoriyama.bsky.social) August 21, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Not the series result they wanted, but in general, it’s kinda what I’ve come to expect from Coors.
Anyway, my policy on games at Coors has always been that leaving without major injury is a win, it just feels worse now that the games actually matter.
— Chad Moriyama (@chadmoriyama.bsky.social) August 21, 2025 at 12:19 PM
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| NL West | Record | GB |
|---|---|---|
| Dodgers | 73-55 | – |
| Padres | 71-56* | 1.5 |
The Dodgers will now head to San Diego for another massive three-game series against the Padres, starting at 3:40 PM HT/6:40 PM PT/9:40 PM ET. It’ll be Blake Snell facing his old team for the second game in a row, and the same goes for Yu Darvish.
