The Dodgers fall 9-8 to the Rockies in a wild back-and-forth game
Colorado Rockies #25 C.J Cron (1B) had a single in the bottom of the second inning. Photo by Laura Domingue/TGSportstv1.
DENVER, COLORADO – It was a game of runs, literally and figuratively, as the Colorado Rockies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-8 in a back-and-forth battle at Coors Field on Wednesday night.
The Dodgers gave up four runs through the first three frames after Harold Castro singled and Nolan Jones scored in the bottom of the second inning, C.J. Cron singled, Ezequiel Tovar scored, and Randal Grichulk singled, and Cron scored in the bottom of the third inning to give the Rockies a 4-0 lead.
The Boys in Blue scored six unanswered runs in the top of the fourth inning. The Rockies bounced back with five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, which was enough for the win.
Pitching was a major issue for the Dodgers with Michael Grove, who was given the start despite recently being demoted to the bullpen.
"I thought Michael made some mistakes with the fastball, where there were some flair hits that cost him some runs," said Roberts.
Grove had four earned runs and gave up eight hits through five innings for the Dodgers. He had only 78 pitches on the night, one less than Clayton Kershaw had the night before.
"It's not ideal to get your closer in the game with a five-run lead in the first nine, and it just had an effect on tonight's game," said Roberts.
After trailing 4-0 entering through three innings, the Dodgers bats came alive in the fourth inning with six runs.
Los Angeles Dodgers #50 Mookie Betts (RF) two-run home run in the top of the fourth inning. Photo by Laura Domingue/TGSportstv1.
Mookie Betts capped off the scoring with a 404ft-home run into the left-field bleachers that scored three runs, giving the Dodgers a 6-4 lead. It was Betts's 20th home run of the season. Betts also had a steal and three walks.
"A lot of runs are scored here. Neither team was really out of it," said Betts.
The bullpen imploded in the top of the sixth inning, giving up five runs, hitting batters, walking batters, and giving up extra-base hits.
"Lot of hits out there; when you hit guys, walk guys, give them free bases, big numbers are gonna happen like that," said Roberts. "I thought we were fantastic all night long and scored enough to win. It was just tonight the sixth inning got away from us."
In the eighth inning, the Dodgers cut the lead to 9-8 and had the bases loaded for J.D. Martinez, but he went down swinging as the Rockies escaped catastrophe.
The Dodgers left five batters stranded in the last four innings of the game. With the series split one game apiece, the Dodgers will look to avenge the loss and take the series Thursday night at Coors Field.