Dodgers Recap: Depth Charges at Coors; LA Rolls Behind Sheehan and the “Supporting Cast”

DENVER — The Dodgers didn’t just beat the Rockies on Tuesday night—they spread the wealth. Eleven runs on 18 hits, seven different Dodgers driving in a run, and a steady six from Emmet Sheehan added up to an 11–4 win in Denver that felt comfortable even when Coors Field tried to get weird.

A fast start, then full-throttle

Los Angeles landed punches right away. In the first, Will Smith worked a two-out walk, Freddie Freeman ripped an RBI double, and Teoscar Hernández followed with a run-scoring double of his own for a quick 2–0 cushion. The second inning brought the night’s first “supporting actor” moment: Alex Call ambushed Austin Gomber for a solo shot to left-center. Two batters later, Shohei Ohtani lined a no-doubt solo homer to right-center—his 44th—to make it 4–0.

The third inning turned the game into a rout. With one out, Freeman and Hernández singled, and Call—yes, that Alex Call—shot an RBI single to left. Miguel Rojas added an RBI knock to center, and Buddy Kennedy rolled a seeing-eye RBI single through the right side. Suddenly it was 7–0, and the Dodgers were 6-for-10 with runners in scoring position by the end of the frame.

Coors tries to tug it back… briefly

Coors Field rarely stays quiet. The Rockies got a two-run homer from Brenton Doyle in the fourth and a two-run line drive homer from (Eric’s son) Kyle Karros in the sixth to cut the lead to 7–4. Credit Sheehan for taking the altitude punch and staying on script: six innings, six hits, four earned, two walks, seven strikeouts on 91 pitches (61 strikes). He stranded two in the third with a pair of loud outs, limited the free passes, and kept the ball in manageable spots. In that park, that line plays—and it saved a bullpen that’s been leaned on plenty lately.

The “minor characters” steal scenes

If Tuesday’s win had a theme, it was role players making real noise:

• Alex Call: A career night—4-for-5 with a homer, double, three runs, and two RBI. He also ignited rallies in the 2nd, 3rd, and 7th, and his aggressive baserunning kept the Rockies scrambling.
• Buddy Kennedy: Collected a two-out RBI single in the third and handled third base cleanly before ceding to Alex Freeland.
• Alex Freeland: After a tough GIDP in the fifth, he drew a key walk in the seventh that set the table again.

Of course, the headliners ate, too. Will Smith went 3-for-4 with two RBI and reached four times (HBP), Freddie Freeman stacked a double, a single, and an RBI, Teoscar Hernández added two more hits and an RBI (and didn’t suck in the field), and Mookie Betts finished 2-for-6, scoring twice in late-inning add-ons. Miguel Rojas quietly did a little of everything: 2-for-3 with an RBI, a sac bunt, and the heads-up backup on an errant throw that turned a potential mess into an out in the fourth.

Putting it away—manufacturing in the thin air

Up 7–4 in the seventh, the Dodgers went back to the toolkit. Andy Pages singled, Call dropped another hit, Rojas laid down a sac bunt, and a passed ball plated Pages. Ohtani’s fielder’s choice cashed Call for a 9–4 lead, and the inning stayed alive long enough for Smith to line an RBI single. In the ninth, Smith struck again with his second run-scoring knock for the final margin.

That’s two-out thunder and small ball: the Dodgers logged eight two-out RBI (Rojas, Kennedy, Freeman, Smith ×2, Ohtani, Call, Hernández) and finished 7-for-15 with RISP. When this lineup strings at-bats together, the altitude just turns singles into problems for pitchers.

Quiet, efficient finish from the ‘pen

After Sheehan, Jack Dreyer, Ben Casparius, and Anthony Banda stitched up three scoreless frames, yielding just one extra-base hit (Ezequiel Tovar’s eighth-inning triple) and no walks. No drama, no traffic, just three clean handoffs to the handshake line.

Why this one matters

• Depth wins: With bench pieces like Call and Kennedy contributing and rookies like Pages doing the little things, the Dodgers don’t need a nightly Ohtani/Freeman rescue act—though Shohei’s 44th was a nice touch.
• A Coors blueprint: Early runs, competent run prevention, limit the freebies, and keep leaning on pressure offense. L.A. executed it to a T.
• Rotation momentum: Sheehan’s six strong at altitude is a confidence deposit. Getting length from him before a Shohei start is exactly the rhythm Dave Roberts wants.

Key numbers

• 11 runs, 18 hits, 0 errors
• 7 different Dodgers with an RBI
• 7-for-15 with runners in scoring position
• Ohtani: 2-for-5, HR (44), 2 RBI
• Smith: 3-for-4, 2 RBI, reached 4 times
• Call: 4-for-5, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R
• Sheehan (W, 4–2): 6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K

Up next: Sho Day in Game Three

The Dodgers (72–54) go for the series tomorrow in Denver with Shohei Ohtani taking the ball in Game 3 at Coors Field. If Tuesday is any indication, he’ll have a long lineup behind him—and a bullpen ready to close the book if he hands them a lead.

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