The Los Angeles Dodgers are heavily owned by the Rockies. But not Wednesday night at Coors Field.
The Rockies’ powerful home-field offense cranked out 12 hits in a 10-5 victory, including mammoth homers by Brendan Rodgers and Sam Hilliard, and a 4-for-5 knight by CJ Crohn.
And one night when the pitching started faltering from both sides, the Rockies’ bullpen was delivered. Robert Stephenson, Jordan Sheffield, Tyler Kinley, Daniel Byrd and Lucas Gilbraith combined for five scoreless innings allowing only one hit and no walk.
“It was one of our better bullpen games, for sure,” said manager Bud Black. “Part of the success of our second half, when we win, is the bullpen. The bullpen has been straight for the most part over the past few months.”
Hilliard’s three-run, 438-foot homer in the seventh over from lefty reliever Alex Vescia put an exclamation point on the win and dented LA’s National League West title hopes. It was Hilliard’s 12th homer of the season and his 10th in 51 games since being recalled on 16 July.
LA went 12-5 against the Rockies this season and 19-8 in their last 27 matches against them since the start of 2020. But the Rockies overtook him on Wednesday night.
The Dodgers (97–55) entered the night after San Francisco from a game in the NL West. The Giants were playing in San Diego in the late game.
The game promised to be a showcase for the two starters. But neither Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler, nor Colorado’s right German Marquez lasted very long.
A candidate for the National League Cy Young Award, Buehler went after 3 2/3 innings, giving away five runs on seven hits, including a single homer to Rodgers.
Marquez, who became a first-time All-Star, didn’t do any better. In more than four innings, he was charged with five runs off six hits, including a two-run homer to Luke Raleigh in the fourth. The right fielder crushed Marquez’s first pitch fastball into the seats 472 feet of center-field. Marquez, who struggled for his second straight start, opened two wild pitches and scored four runs.
In his first two starts at Coors Field this season, Buehler dominated Colorado, posting a 2.77 ERA. And he was in command early Wednesday night.
But then Rodgers took the fourth with his 425-foot bomb to left field, opening the floodgates for the Rockies’ five-run knock. Singles from Charlie Blackmon, Trevor Story and Crone set the ground for Ryan McMahon, who hit a two-run single from the left, to tie the game at 3-all.
Buehler looked like he could avoid major damage in the next two dismissals, but Marquez took a two-run right-centre for a 5-3 Colorado lead.
“I was surprised he threw me a fastball in there,” said Marquez, who has a chance to win his second Silver Slugger award to go with the one he captured in 2018. Marquez has scored nine runs this season and is tied with it. Dodgers for the NL Julio Ureas lead by a pitcher. He is second in the NL with 13 hits, behind Atlanta’s Max Fried, who has 15.
But Marquez could not maintain the lead he had given himself. He drives Mookie Bates to open the fifth, hits a single to Corey Seeger, and then loads to the base and goes to Tree Turner. When Marquez went on to force Max Munsi into a run, Black had seen enough.
“In the fifth inning the Germans came a little out of their ball,” Black said. “He was trying to get the ball down. He was trying to get the double-play ball.”
Black brought in Stephenson to face Justin Turner, who drew the game at 5-5, flying to right field with a sacrifice. LA’s innings could have been bigger, but Blackman intelligently threw Tree Turner back and grabbed him from second base for a double play.
Blackman’s throw was a major turning point in the game. He called it “a speed changer.”
“Like a rumble in football in the NFL, isn’t it?” Black said. “When you’re driving and then maybe you stumble and the other team recovers.
“They had loads of hideouts, no outsiders. The game was a game to watch from the start and the momentum was back in their favor. So it was definitely a speed-shifter. It was a big drama.”
Stephenson then ended the innings by dismissing Will Smith.
Both the teams will play the third match of the series on Thursday afternoon.
