Steve Webb
DENVER, CO — It shouldn’t have been this close. The Dodgers should have piled up all kinds of runs en route to a big victory. Instead, they left a boatload of runners on base, and had to rely on five early runs to hold up in Coors Field, which is not always the safest bet. Especially, when you’ve got Craig Kimbrel throwing the ninth inning.
So, instead of patting each other on the back and enjoying a second straight big victory over the Rockies, the Dodgers had to content themselves with heaving a sigh of relief and shaking their heads as they left the field, knowing that it might have ended in disaster. As it was the team was 5-4 winners over Colorado, and now have a little three-game win streak working.
Big Willy Style in the first
When you’ve got three dynamic players like Betts, Turner, and Freeman at the top of your lineup, you pretty much figure that at least one of them is going to get a hit every time they come up in a game. In the top of the first, it was Trea Turner who did the honors with one out, banging yet another single through the left side of the infield. Freddie Freeman made solid contact, but flew out to center, leaving the inning up to Will Smith.
Smith quickly fell behind Rox starter Chad Kuhl 0-2, but got on his battle gear to fight through the at-bat. He fouled off a couple of pitches before he finally got one that he could handle. And handle it he did; he blasted a no-doubt two-run shot to left that staked the Dodgers to an early 2-0 advantage.
Trayce’s turn in the second
The top of the second started off even better than the first. Cody Bellinger hit a one-out double that glanced off the glove of left fielder Kris Bryant, and the Dodgers were threatening once again. Then, on the next pitch of the inning, Trayce Thompson hit a two-run shot of his own to clear the bases and put the Dodgers up 4-0. The Dodgers should have savored that Thompson hit; it was the last Dodger hit of the night with runners in scoring position. And that fact would come back to haunt the Dodgers later in the game.
Dodgers cash in one more but leave a lot of meat on the bone
The Dodgers scored yet again in the top of the third, getting a single run on an RBI sac fly from Gavin Lux, but that was it for the rest of the night. The rest of the evening was a study in frustration. In all the team stranded 13 men on base in this one, going a paltry 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position. So, the Dodgers’ struggles in that key stat still continue, even in the midst of a nice team win.
Urias pitches a strong outing
Luckily for the Dodgers, they got a very strong start out of Julio Urias on Friday night, so the offensive struggles were less apparent. Julio was efficient and deadly all evening, needing only 89 pitches to go seven full innings. The only rough inning came in the bottom of the 2nd, when he surrendered a double to Jose Iglesias, a run-scoring triple from Randall Grichuk, and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ryan McMahon in rapid succession. Within the space of six pitches, the Rockies had scored a couple of runs and were right back in the game.
However, Urias was flawless after that, only giving up a couple of harmless knocks the rest of the way. His line for the night: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K. And when Evan Phillips pitched another lights-out inning in the 8th, it seemed like the game was well in hand.
Another wild ride from Craig Kimbrel
So here we go again. I’ll have to hand it to Craig Kimbrel. No matter how big the lead, he somehow makes the game seem close until the very end. Which is great if you’re a TV analyst. Not so great if you’re a Dodgers fan.
This time the fun started with one out, when Kimbrel gave up a single to Kris Bryant. When Kimbrel struck out CJ Cron, though, it seemed like the Rockies were goners. However, they still had some life left in them. Brendan Rodgers hit a single and Jose Iglesias walked, and lo and behold, the bases were loaded. When Randall Grichuk singled to left, two runs came home, and a nation of Dodger fans got very, very nervous.
Now clinging to a 5-4 lead, Kimbrel stared in against Ryan McMahon, who had already driven a run home earlier in the evening. And, when McMahon lofted a lazy fly down the left field line it looked like it might drop and the Rockies might just walk the whole thing off. However, out of nowhere, Trayce Thompson came streaking across the outfield grass and chased down the ball in foul territory. The game wasn’t pretty, but it was over. The Dodgers had emerged victorious and could only shake their heads and think what might have happened with just one more well-placed hit. Whew. 5-4 Dodgers. A W is a W, amirite?
Kershaw Day on Saturday
As the series with the Rockies rolls on, it’s Clayton Kershaw‘s turn on the bump. Dodger fans will recall it was Colorado where Kersh turned in his worst performance of the year, getting absolutely shelled on June 28 of this season. In that one, he gave up 6 runs on 9 hits over just four innings. We can only hope that the Colorado air will be kinder to his slider on Saturday. Game Time is 5:10 pm. Kersh’s mound opponent will be Kyle Freeland, the Rox best pitcher this year. Should be a good one.
