Dodgers finally end up on the right side of a nailbiter in win over Rox

LOS ANGELES — Some order finally restored to the universe on Saturday night. After a run of four losses in which the Dodgers had led going into the ninth inning, they finally were able to put away an opponent in a tight ball game. And of course, Kenley Jansen was on the mound when it happened. With a classically-styled Jansen save, the Dodgers sealed their 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies in the second game of the weekend series.

Pitchers’ duel between Gonsolin and Freeland

Not a whole lot to report on either side offensively. Both starters, Tony Gonsolin for the home team and the Rockies Kyle Freeland, were excellent. Gonsolin seemed to have his splitter working a little better this evening and his fastball command was much improved over his last outing against San Francisco earlier in the week. He was on the verge of his first quality start, but found himself pulled in favor of Alex Vesia after a one-out walk in the sixth inning. Still, his line for the night was exactly what you want to see as Gonsolin continues to stretch out and get ready for the final two months of the regular season: 5.1 IP, 2 H, O ER, 7 K.

Austin Barnes with the long fly

But the Rockies’ Freeland was probably pitching his best game of the year as well. He went all the way through the seventh inning, and only surrendered five hits of his own. However, he made one mistake early in the game and it cost him the victory. Austin Barnes, who seems to be swinging a pretty hot stick right now, broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the second inning. He took a 1-2 slider at 87 miles an hour and put a fantastic pull swing on it. The only question about the blast was which side of the left field foul pole it would fly by. The ball managed to squeeze by fair and landed deep into the seats in left. Dodgers were up 1-0 with a whole lot of ball game left to go.

For a change, the bullpen was perfect

But that one run was all that they would need on Saturday. On this night, the pitching showed up big time. After Gonsolin and Vesia, Joe Kelly came in for one out in the seventh, and Blake Treinen pitched another quick and scoreless inning in the eighth. But the Dodgers were unable to tack on anything else beyond Barnsy’s solo shot, so the game went to the ninth with the Dodgers in an all-too-familiar position this week. Ahead by one, needing a clean inning to seal a win. And just to make things extra dramatic, it was Kenley Jansen right back on the horse to do it for us.

Jansen for the save

Truth be told, this was one of Jansen’s best outings of the last month or so. He got hot-hitting Charlie Blackmon to hit a harmless pop up to Justin Turner for the first out. Then, Trevor Story gave one a ride, but right fielder Billy McKinney had no trouble camping under it for the second out. We were four pitches into the inning and suddenly there were two outs.

The next hitter, Ryan McMahon was a little more pesky, and with Jansen getting squeezed on a couple of calls, McMahon was able to work the two-out walk. It just wouldn’t be a Kenley Jansen save without at least a little drama, right? However, the drama was short-lived, as Jansen struck out the next hitter CJ Cron to end the game and save the day for the home team. It was maybe about as big a save as the big fella has ever had this early in a season, as he proved, at least for now, that reports of his death are greatly exaggerated.

100 down, 62 to go

The Dodgers finish their first one hundred games with a tidy record of 60-40, which puts them on a pace for a 97-win season. I’m guessing they’ll be able to break 100 this year, but we’ll see how quickly the lineup returns to its full strength.

With this much-needed win under their belts, Dodger fans who glanced up at the scoreboard on the way out of the Stadium tonight saw that the Giants dropped another one to the Pirates up in San Fran, so the Boys in Blue were able to inch to within two game of the division leaders. Which means, that for all the chest beating and wailing of this week, the two teams are exactly where they were in the standings on Monday morning.

Gray vs. Gray in series finale

Sunday will be a rare Gray on Gray match-up as the Dodgers rookie Josiah will take to the bump for his first-ever start against the Rockies’ veteran Jon, in what might be Jon Gray‘s last start in a Rockies’ uniform. Plus, tomorrow will be a special tribute to the wacky 1981 World Champs, so a lot of fun on tap to close out the homestand. And then, after an off day, it’s up to the City by the Bay for a crucial three-gamer.