Dodgers 4, Rockies 3: Mookie Betts comes up clutch to end 9-pitch at-bat as Dodgers take series with late heroics

Chad Moriyama 07/08/2026 Game Recaps Leave A Comment

Two wild games in a series with the Rockies isn’t anything new, but it is rather unique when it’s not at Coors Field. In the rubber match, they played another thriller, as the Dodgers took an early lead but the Rockies fought back again to tie things into the later innings. That’s where the Dodgers took the lead behind a clutch Mookie Betts single to give them a 4-3 lead.

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Against Gabriel Hughes making his first career start, things got off to a rough start for the Rockies in the 1st. Tommy Edman singled with one down, and Freddie Freeman followed with an oppo double. Mookie Betts then drew a walk to load things up, and Moriyama Special arrived in the form of a “wild pitch” that was more like a passed ball for the game’s first run.

Max Muncy then followed with a walk himself to reload the bases, and with two down, Kyle Tucker came up with a clutch single to plate two and make it 3-0 Dodgers.

Unfortunately the last out of the inning was also extremely costly, as Alex Call inexplicably burned two challenges on two consecutive pitches and sent Eric Karros into meltdown mode.

Brutal.

Unfortunately, after that rough first inning where it looked like he might get yanked, Hughes settled down … to say the least. He retired 15 in a row before giving up a two-out double in the 6th, and then got the final out of that inning on the very next pitch. Just dominated the lineup to close.

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Roki Sasaki‘s night started with great promise, as he got through the 1st on just five pitches, including a three-pitch strikeout.

However he came back in the 2nd and made two mistakes, a center-cut fastball to Kyle Karros and a hanging splitter to Edouard Julien, both hammered for solo homers to cut the lead to 3-2 Dodgers.

His 3rd started with a walk, which advanced to second on a wild pitch, and got to third on a groundout. That then scored on a sac fly by Mickey Moniak to tie the game at 3-3 before he was able to end the frame.

Roki began the 4th with a mess, as he gave up a lead-off single, and then a grounder down the line went for a “double” after Max Muncy sorta whiffed on the ball. Seemed like disaster would follow, but instead Roki came right back with a pair of big strikeouts and a lineout to right that had Karros on the edge of outburst due to the call for a fastball instead of just continuing with the splitters that had him lost. Valid.

The 5th was a nice rebound with a clean 10-pitch frame, and he got two more strikeouts (including of his nemesis Kyle Karros) for a clean 6th.

Roki ended his outing with a string of nine in a row retired: 6 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 78 Pitches.

Would’ve liked to see what he did in the 7th, but it was Jack Dreyer instead, who cruised through a dominant five-pitch inning that included a strikeout.

In the 8th it was Alex Vesia, and things … did not go smoothly. He got a groundball to Muncy to start, but he threw high to first for an error. That seemed like it would cost them when a ground-rule double followed that put a pair in scoring position. However, Vesia came right back with a strikeout, issued an intentional walk to load things up, and then got another strikeout to put the Dodgers on the verge of escape. Edgardo Henriquez then entered and got a flyout to right to wiggle out of a massive jam and keep things tied.

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For the Rockies pen, Brennan Bernardino cruised through a clean 7th, then Antonio Senzatela entered for the 8th. After he retired the first batter, the Dodgers got fortunate with a bloop single for Tommy Edman and a flair single for Freddie Freeman to corner things up. Mookie Betts then stepped up and fell behind in the count 1-2, but then worked things back full and lined the ninth pitch back up the middle to score the go-ahead run and make it 4-3 Dodgers.

That set things up for Tanner Scott to try again in the 9th after he blew the first game in the series for quite frankly a rare stinker this year for him. He resumed his great year by getting a flyout and then a pair of strikeouts to seal the win and the series.

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61-33, still have the best record in baseball by two games.

The Dodgers will have a welcome day off tomorrow but will remain at home for the last series before the All-Star break, a three-game set against the Diamondbacks. That will start at the usual time of 4:10 PM HT/7:10 PM PT/10:10 PM ET with Shohei Ohtani making his final start of the first half against Eduardo Rodriguez.

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