The Colorado Rockies once again lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but not without some drama in the middle with a 1:25 rain delay. The Rockies hung in there pre-delay, but the Dodgers did Dodger things after the delay and blew things open en route to a 8-1 victory.
Chase Dollander held his own
Chase Dollander pitched a solid game until he ran into the third time through the order. He sent the first six Dodgers down in order before Tommy Edman doubled to lead off the third inning. Michael Conforto reached on a fielder’s choice, but then Dalton Rushing flied out. Shohei Ohtani walked, but Mookie Betts flied out to right to end the threat.
Dollander then came back with a 1-2-3 fourth and 1-2-3 fifth.
However, things started to fall apart in the sixth — both on the field and in the sky.
Pre-Rain Delay
The rain delay helped the Rockies stall some momentum, as the Dodgers scored twice in the sixth before a massive storm rolled in.
Rushing walked to kick things off, and then Ohtani singled to move him to second. Betts lined out before Freddie Freeman grounded out to what could’ve been a double play, but ended up being just a 3-1 to get Freeman. However, it advanced the runners to second and third.
Noted Rockies killer Max Muncy, though, was able to score both of them on a pop-up single that got caught in the rain before the tarp was rolled out as neither Thairo Estrada nor Michael Toglia was able to field it. But to be fair to them, it started absolutely pouring so they were probably having trouble seeing the ball while trying to make the play.
Post-Delay
Immediately following the delay, which last just under 90 minutes, Jake Bird came on to relieve Dollander. He finished the inning by allowing a base hit to Teoscar Hernández. Andy Pages singled to score Muncy and run the score up to 3-0. Edman grounded out to finish the inning, though.
In the Rockies half of the sixth, things got a little goofy.
Orlando Arcia popped to first, and Sam Hilliard popped to third. But the offense began to come to life when Tyler Freeman laid down a bunt to reach base followed by a Hunter Goodman single to center. Freeman ran to third, but then a throwing error by Pages meant Goodman could go to second, and Freeman jogged home to score. Goodman then advanced to third, but then the Dodgers challenged the call. It was overturned, and he was forced to return to second, but the score was 3-1.
After that, Jordan Beck walked, but Ryan McMahon struck out swinging to end the threat.
Don’t See Kinley
After a 23-pitch top of the seventh (32 pitches overall), Bird was finally relieved by Tyler Kinley with the bases loaded.
He immediately gave up a grand slam to Muncy to blow the game open 7-1. His last two home runs have been grand slams (he has eight in his career), and he recorded six of the Dodgers’ eight RBIs. He also became the fourth Dodger with at least 50 RBIs on the season, in case you were wondering how things were going at the top of the division.
Things didn’t get much better in the eighth, as Conforto hit a solo shot to tack on another run. The Dodgers have hit 127 home runs this season, which leads MLB. The Rockies, meanwhile, have hit 77.
Tyler Freeman keeps going
Tyler Freeman has been a positive in the Rockies’ lineup. Since May 30, Freeman has been hitting over .410 and tonight went 2-for-4 with a run scored. He’s currently hitting .333/.414/.444, and has hit safely in 12-straight games, including multiple hits in four of his last five games.
Up Next
The Rockies will finish the series against the Dodgers tomorrow afternoon and look to avoid the sweep. Austin Gomber (0-1, 8.38 ERA) will face Clayton Kershaw (3-0, 3.31 ERA) in what could be his final game at Coors Field. First pitch is at 1:10pm MT. See you then!