DENVER — It’s a quirk of the schedule that has the Dodgers enjoying 4 video games with the last-place Rockies in between two essential collection with the archrival Padres.
Colorado has the worst report in baseball and can end final within the division for a fourth straight 12 months. The Padres are the final workforce standing between the Dodgers and their twelfth division title in 13 seasons. The Dodgers swept them final weekend at dwelling and can play them once more subsequent weekend in San Diego.
But Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts insisted there could be no overlooking the lowly Rockies and no waiting for the Padres’ collection.
“Where we’re at, mid-to-late August, all these games matter,” he stated earlier than Monday’s sport. “So I don’t expect a letdown.”
“We’ve got work to do here,” he continued. “We are in control of things, but we’ve got to focus on right now.”
That focus was at greatest just a little fuzzy within the collection opener, with the Dodgers twice blowing leads in a 4-3 loss at Coors Discipline. The successful run scored with one out within the ninth inning when Warming Bernabel singled off reliever Justin Wrobleski (4-5) to drive in Ezequiel Tovar.
Tovar was on second after a present double dropped between second baseman Alex Freeland and proper fielder Teoscar Hernández with one out within the ninth. Three pitches later Bernabel bounced a single up the center and Tovar bounced dwelling with the successful run.
The victory was the Rockies’ first in seven video games in opposition to the Dodgers this season and first in 11 video games courting to final 12 months, which got here as a disappointment to the tons of of followers who got here out in crisp white Dodgers jerseys to see Shohei Ohtani play. And Ohtani, who got here into the collection hitting .391 with six homers, 17 RBIs and 17 runs in 17 video games at Coors Discipline, didn’t disappoint, singling on the second pitch of the sport from left-hander Kyle Freeland.
Dodgers aid pitcher Justin Wrobleski delivers in the course of the ninth inning in opposition to the Rockies on Monday.
(David Zalubowski / Related Press)
He knocked in his workforce’s second run on one other single within the second inning, spinning Freeland round with a depraved shot again by means of the field. The Dodgers’ first run had scored two pitches earlier on a Dalton Dashing sacrifice fly that Mickey Moniak caught with a leap on the wall in right-center.
The Rockies obtained each runs again off Yoshinobu Yamamoto within the third. After retiring the primary six batters, Yamamoto, pitching a day after his twenty seventh birthday, walked third baseman Kyle Karros, the son of former Dodger star Eric Karros. Brenton Doyle adopted with a single and continued to second on a throw to 3rd that was too late to get Karros. Ryan Ritter then drove in each runners with a comfortable liner to proper.
Freeland lasted simply 4 innings, leaving with what seemed to be a blister on his left hand after giving up six hits and a stroll however stranding 4 runners. Two innings later the Dodgers went forward in opposition to reliever Jaden Hill, with Freddie Freeman opening the sixth with a stroll, stealing second and scoring on a two-out double from pinch-hitter Alex Freeland.
Yamamoto, who matched a season excessive with seven innings pitched, failed to carry the lead once more when Tovar evened the rating with a solo homer one out into his final inning of labor.
Roberts then turned the sport over to his bullpen, which has hardly ever proved a clever determination. After Edgardo Henriquez labored an ideal eighth, the Rockies walked it off after simply three batters.
