Roger Arrieta
LOS ANGELES—Dodgers’ reliever Blake Treinen summed up Game 2 of the series against Colorado in one sentence, “we’ve won a lot, but losing – it sucks.”
The loss was even more painful for Treinen who allowed three go-ahead runs in the top of the ninth after the game was tied 2-2 after eight innings. The 5-2 loss for the Dodgers was only the second defeat against the Rockies in the last 14 games between the clubs at Dodger Stadium.
The lone bright spot on the night for Los Angeles was that San Diego also lost so the Dodgers remain 6.0 games ahead of the Padres for first place in the NL West. LA is now 30-11 on the year while Colorado wins for only the third time in the last eight games. The Rox are 19-20 in 2020.
GAME RECAP: Colorado scored single runs in the second and fourth frames before the Dodgers scored twice in the fifth to set the stage for the ninth inning. Charlie Blackmon had a hand in the first two runs for the Rockies. He doubled to start the second inning and then scored on a strange fly out to right field. Kevin Pillar’s long fly to right drove Mookie Betts back to the base of the wall and Betts had to jump high in the air to corral the ball. After making the catch, he went to quickly throw the ball to keep Blackmon from advancing on the tag-up but the ball popped out of his glove on the exchange to his throwing hand. The ball rolled away from Betts which allowed Blackmon to round third and score the first run of the game. Blackmon would double the lead in the fourth when he connected on a 3-2 splitter and lined it inside the right-field foul pole.
Los Angeles used the top two hitters in their order to stage a 2-out rally to tie the game in the fifth. Gavin Lux started the inning with a 5-pitch walk, and moved up to second and third after successive ground outs from Edwin Ríos and Austin Barnes. Betts made the score 2-1 when he singled to left field on the second pitch of his at-bat. Corey Seager would tie the game when he split the gap in left center for a run-scoring double.
Neither team would push a runner past second base in the sixth, seventh or eighth innings. The only run-producing chance in that stretch came in the bottom of the seventh when Barnes lined a 2-out double down the left-field line. He was stranded at second when Betts flew out to right field.
Colorado won the game in the ninth with four opposite-field hits. Raimel Tapia, Trevor Story and Nolan Arenado started the ninth with three “throw the bat at the ball” singles to the opposite field. Arenado’s punch to right scored Tapia with the game-winning run. The Rox added a pair of insurance runs two batters later when right-handed, pinch hitter Josh Fuentes poked a 1-2 off-speed pitch down the right field line for a double.
ALL STREAKS MUST COME TO AN END: The loss snapped the Dodgers’ 11-game win home win streak and their 6-game overall victory string. LA is now 15-6 at Chavez Ravine this year.
OBSCURE STATS OF THE NIGHT: Los Angeles is now 4-3 on Saturdays this year. The three losses are the most of any day of the week in 2020. The three runs by Colorado in the ninth give LA opponents a 9-6 edge in the ninth inning of games this season. The third inning (32-25) is the only other inning where the Dodgers don’t have a decided lead over their opponents.
SPLITTER SUCCESS: Dodgers’ starter Tony Gonsolin tied his season high for innings pitched. He went 6.0 innings and allowed only one run on three hits. Gonsolin had to rely on his secondary pitches to record eight strikeouts which also ties a career high. If you take Blackmon out of the equation, Colorado hitters were only 1-for-19 (.053) against the “Catman”. The HR from Blackmon was the first long ball of the year given up by Gonsolin. The one earned run in 6.0 innings pitched actually raised his season ERA to 0.72. Gonsolin has now pitched in 63.2 innings in his career for LA and has compiled an impressive 0.79 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP.
CAN A GUY GET A DECISION: Gonsolin has now started five games this year, pitched 23.2 innings and has yet to get a decision. On the bright side, he is one of the three Dodgers’ starters who is still unbeaten.
HE SAID IT: “Overall the fastball command wasn’t great but it’s nice to be able to throw strikes with your other stuff. The slider was working today and I think I got most of my swing and misses with that. Then the splitter started to come around at the end.”—Tony Gonsolin on his fifth start of the year.
HE SAID IT 2: “I missed a few balls over the plate and he made me pay. I left the splitter over the plate for the home run.”—Gonsolin on the pitches against Blackmon that led to a double and home run.
STRONG STARTING 5: The Dodgers’ starting rotation of Gonsolin, Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Dustin May and Julio Urías are a combined 10-2 on the year with a 2.48 ERA and a 0.973 WHIP. And yes, that starting five leads MLB in ERA and WHIP. The future is very bright for the LA staff.
A GOOD BETTS: Betts continued his recent hitting tear by going 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. He has now hit safely in eight straight games which ties his season-best streak. During that stretch he has a .433 (13-for-30) average and has driven in seven runs. He has at least one RBI in four straight games. Betts is second on the team in average as he raised his season mark to .316. His slash line reads .316/393/.625.
ON-BASE STREAK SUCCESS FOR SEAGER: Seager extended his on-base streak to 14 games when he doubled home Betts in the fifth. He was 1-for-4 on the night and leads the team with a .326 average. His 2-bagger was his team-leading 10th of the year which is second among NL shortstops (Dansby Swanson (Atl.) – 12). Seager also has an 8-game hit streak going which ties his season-best string.
8-GAME TEAR FOR THE TOP 2: Betts and Seager, who are the Top 2 hitters in the LA order both have 8-game hit streaks and during those eight games are hitting a combined .419 (26-for-62) average.
ON DECK: The Dodgers’ series unbeaten streak to start the season will rest on the left arm of Julio Urías. LA is 10-0-3 in series this season and needs a “W” in the finale against Colorado on Sunday at 7:10 p.m. to keep that streak alive. Urías is one of three unbeaten LA starters and enters the game with a 3-0 record, a 3.27 ERA and a 1.273 WHIP. He is coming off his best start of the year when he went 6.0 innings, allowed only one run and struck out five against Arizona on Sept. 1. Urías hasn’t faced the Rox this year and is 0-1 with a 5.92 ERA and a 1.562 WHIP in his five career starts against Colorado. The good news out of his history is that he has only pitched 8.0 innings against Colorado at Dodger Stadium. He has only allowed two runs in those three appearances. The Rockies have announced that rookie righty Ryan Castellani will get the start on Sunday. Castellani is 1-2 with a 4.81 ERA and a 1.192 WHIP in his six major league starts since getting called up on Aug. 8.
