On the heels of arguably their most painful loss in an endlessly painful season, the Rockies discovered some joy with a clutch string of at-bats.
Brenton Doyle delivered a game-tying sacrifice fly in the seventh and another sac fly in the ninth to hand Colorado a dramatic 7-6 win over the Dodgers on Wednesday. It was his first career walk-off plate appearance.
Jake Cave, who was left fuming in the on-deck circle without a chance to bat in the ninth inning of Tuesday’s 11-9 loss, got to lead off the ninth this time in a stalemate. He and Elehuris Montero singled to set the table for Adael Amador, who grounded into a force out at second after a long battle with Los Angeles reliever Yohan Ramirez. It was just enough to move Cave into a position where he could tag up on Doyle’s high fly ball to center.
“Jake, Montero and Amador made my job easy,” Doyle said. “I just had to get a ball elevated and put it in the outfield to drive in Jake. Hell of an at-bat by Amador. He grinded it out.”
The game-winning run, which Cave scored directly in front of home plate umpire Lance Barksdale, tasted especially sweet. The right fielder was Colorado’s most visibly furious player after Barksdale’s missed call from first base on a check swing robbed the Rockies of the final out Tuesday.
“It’s cool, especially when the guy that (Cave) was fired up at was behind the plate tonight,” Doyle said.
“I think baseball is kind of poetic sometimes,” Cave said, “and I think this is a little glimpse of that.”
The Rockies are now 5-14 against the Dodgers since the start of the 2023 season. They will attempt to earn a split Thursday in a matinee at Coors Field.
They earned another head start against their seemingly insurmountable division rival when Michael Toglia took Bobby Miller deep for a 3-0 first-inning lead. Toglia was on cycle watch after tripling his next at-bat, but that fizzled out by the end of a 2-for-4 night.
“I think (Toglia’s) swings are crisper,” manager Bud Black said. “That’s what we’ve noticed from the coaching staff. But the swings are crisper and a little bit of the zone control is improving.”
The Dodgers didn’t need all nine innings to conjure a comeback this time. They only needed one opportunity. Shohei Ohtani, attracting an enthusiastic reception before every plate appearance, cleared the bases with a two-out double into the left-center alley. He scored on a Freddie Freeman single, and it was 4-3 Los Angeles by the bottom of the second.
Miller shook off the early home run and settled in for the Dodgers in his first appearance since April 10, carrying a 6-4 lead into the seventh after Jason Heyward’s go-ahead two-run double. But Dave Roberts might have left his starter on the mound a tad too long. Miller gave up a leadoff double to Sean Bouchard then got the first out before exiting to a small ovation from Dodgers fans.
Their bullpen’s first pitch was grounded to third by Montero and bobbled by Cavan Biggio, a run-scoring error that breathed new life into Coors Field. The tying runner was on, and eventually around the bases after an Amador double and the first of Doyle’s clutch productive outs. The final line for Miller included five earned runs.
Rockies starter Ryan Feltner gave up all of the Dodgers’ six runs in a five-inning performance, striking out six and walking two. The bullpen was Colorado’s most heroic unit. Four relievers combined for four scoreless innings with five strikeouts, punctuated in the eighth when Jake Bird escaped a jam by punching out the lethal Ohtani on three pitches. The two-time American League MVP was frozen by the third pitch while Bird stomped toward the dugout, amped.
“They stressed him, he had to empty the tank there a little bit there, and made some good pitches to Ohtani,” Black said. “I think the first pitch looked pretty hittable; he fouled it back. … Looked like a backdoor breaking ball for strike three. So Bird let it all hang out, man. He did. That was a good inning. We needed that one. And he showed his emotion obviously, which is fine. Let guys do what they do.”
Blackmon day-t0-day with a hamstring injury
Charlie Blackmon did not play in Wednesday’s game due to right hamstring tightness, an injury Rockies manager Bud Black described as day-to-day moving forward. Black didn’t rule out a Blackmon appearance when he spoke to reporters pregame, but he said the veteran designated hitter would “probably not” be available.
Blackmon was removed from the game Tuesday after injuring his hamstring while running the bases. He was hit by a pitch in the first inning and advanced gingerly to third base after pulling up as he rounded second.
Rockies left fielder Nolan Jones was also scratched from the lineup before the first pitch due to illness. Batting sixth in his place, Bouchard went 1 for 3 with a run and an RBI.
Thursday’s starting pitchers
Rockies LHP Ty Blach (3-4, 4.65 ERA) vs. Dodgers RHP Gavin Stone (7-2, 3.01 ERA)
1:10 p.m. Thursday, Coors Field
TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).
Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM
Blach is scheduled to make his ninth start of the season and 12th overall appearance, coming off a winning decision in his last start. He is 3-2 with a 3.76 ERA in eight outings at Coors Field in 2024. His numbers have also been impressive against the Dodgers: a 3.13 career ERA in 77.2 innings pitched. Blach has faced exactly 25 batters in each of his last three starts, allowing seven or more hits including a home run and not making it through the sixth inning. He has a 5.74 ERA during that stretch, but he struck out 10 and walked only two across those starts. This will be Blach’s first time facing the Dodgers this season.
Stone is fresh off a seven-inning no-decision on June 14 against the Royals. He pitched against the Rockies on June 2, tossing five scoreless while striking out six in a win for Los Angeles. The 25-year-old has a 5.11 career ERA on the road in 44 innings. He boasts a 1.82 ERA in his last four appearances, including an impressive start into the sixth inning against the AL-best Yankees.
Pitching probables
Friday: Nationals TBA at Rockies TBA, 6:40 p.m.
Saturday: Nationals TBA at Rockies TBA, 7:10 p.m.
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Originally Published: June 19, 2024 at 9:31 p.m.
