Dodgers Bullpen Nearly Implodes in Win Over the Rockies
The Los Angeles Dodgers kicked off their six-game road trip against the lowly Colorado Rockies with a tight win. Coming off their previous home series, where the Dodgers took two out of three against the struggling Washington Nationals, the Dodgers’ offense used a huge fourth inning to propel themselves to a 9-7 victory. It was another bullpen game for Los Angeles with Jack Dreyer getting the start while Justin Wrobleski got the long end of the stick, looking to build off his previous appearance. Germán Márquez would get the ball for the Rockies, where he has a record of 3-6 with an ERA of 4.36 and 95 strikeouts in 18 appearances versus the Dodgers in his career.
Márquez dealt a clean first inning, already surpassing his first start that came against the Dodgers this season, in a game where he went just 0.2 innings, allowing seven earned runs. It didn’t take long for the Rockies to get on the board, with Michael Toglia driving in a run with an RBI double. Fast forward to the third inning, with the score still 1-0, Toglia delivered for Colorado again, bringing in another run off a double. Wrobleski finished the inning, as the Dodgers now looked to get some offense going.
Throughout the first three innings, the Dodgers’ offense mustered up just two hits, but that all changed once the top of the fourth came around. The offense came alive and attacked Márquez, scoring six runs in the inning on six hits. Michael Conforto had the huge hit of the inning with a three-run shot to put the Dodgers up 5-2. In what has been a dismal season for Conforto, it had to feel good; Mookie Betts knocked in the last run of the inning, capping off the six-run rally. Márquez’s day was done after recording the final out of the inning, finishing with a stat line of four innings pitched, six runs, four of which were earned, six hits, and six strikeouts for the veteran right-hander.
Thairo Estrada gave the Rockies a run back in the bottom half of the fifth to make it 6-3; once the inning finished, the Dodgers responded almost immediately. Tommy Edman led off the top of the sixth with a single, setting up Shohei Ohtani for a scoring opportunity. With a 1-0 count, Ohtani sent a fastball up in the zone, soaring over the left field fence to put Los Angeles up 8-3. No further damage was done in the inning as the Dodgers looked to close this game out convincingly.
Once the bottom of the seventh, the Rockies posed a minor threat to the Dodgers, as Kirby Yates struggled in his appearance. Estrada knocked in another run for Colorado off a single to cut the lead in half. Yates recorded just one more out before being pulled for Alex Vesia. The Rockies were not able to cut into the lead any further, with Vesia shutting the door via a strikeout.
The Dodgers’ offense slowed down following the Ohtani home run, and it nearly came back to bite them. Anthony Banda relieved Vesia for the bottom of the eighth inning, and it was a near disaster as Banda recorded just two outs, allowing three runs. Tanner Scott relieved Banda of his duties for damage control, escaping the inning with just a one-run lead. Luckily for Los Angeles, the offense came alive in the top of the ninth, adding a run of insurance off a Teoscar Hernández double to make it 9-7. Scott was able to complete a four-out save, shutting down the Rockies in the bottom half of the ninth to give the Dodgers their 49th win of the season. Los Angeles will roll out Yoshinobu Yamamoto in tomorrow’s game, looking to grab a series victory, while Colorado will have Chase Dollander get the start.
