The Machine delivers in extras

DENVER — You don’t get to over 2,000 RBI by accident. Albert Pujols‘s eyes get wide when he sees those ducks on the pond, and Tuesday night was no different. Tio Albert came off the bench in the top of the tenth to drive in Gavin Lux from second base to break a 4-4 tie. And Brusdar Graterol and Alex Vesia came on in the bottom of the tenth to preserve the 5-4 over the Colorado Rockies in the first of three in Denver.

Urias, Senzatela both perfect the first time through the lineup

Lefty Julio Urias took the mound on Tuesday night at Coors Field with a chance to become MLB’s first nineteen-game winner of the season. And for the first three innings, he looked like he might do just that. He mowed through the Rockies’ batting order, pitching three straight 1-2-3 innings to begin the game. Only problem was that Rockies’ starter Antonio Senzatela was equally effective early. He retired the first eleven Dodgers he faced, and it wasn’t until Trea Turner got an infield single in the fourth that the Dodgers could get any traction against the Venezuelan right-hander.

Rockies break through in the fourth, but Dodgers answer back

Julio Urias finally got touched up a bit in the bottom of the fifth, when back-to-back two-out doubles from Charlie Blackmon and C.J. Cron plated the Rockies’ first two runs of the game. However, the Dodgers struck right back in the top of the next inning. After a couple of strikeouts opened the inning, Gavin Lux continued his hot-hitting ways with an opposite field single. Then, Luke Raley, taking the injured Cody Bellinger‘s spot on the roster, came through with a single of his own. It would be nice to see Raley produce in the bigs, as he has been raking all year down in OKC.

With runners now on first and third, Julio Urias came to the plate with a chance to help his cause. And he did just that, ripping a single through the right side of the infield to score Lux from third. Raley came into score on a lucky bounce infield single from Mookie Betts. The ball bounced high off the plate, and by the time Trevor Story retrieved the ball, everybody was safe, including Raley with the tying run.

Dodgers get on top in the sixth

In the sixth inning, the Dodgers got on top and put Urias in position for that 19th win of the year. Trea Turner led off with a nifty piece of hitting, drilling a ball the other way for a single. Max Muncy followed up with a blast to the left centerfield gap that just did stay in the park. It bounced off the wall for a double, and needless to say, the speedy Turner was able to scamper home from first with the go-ahead run.

Then the Dodgers played a little small ball to get another one home. Muncy took third on a Justin Turner lineout to right, and he then came home when Will Smith got ahold of one and sent Charlie Blackmon deep into the corner for an easy sac fly.

Urias can’t hold lead

Pitching with a 4-2 lead, Julio Urias was looking for one more shutdown inning in the bottom of the sixth to secure the win. And he almost did it, but his luck ran out when he saw the heart of the Rockies order for the third time that night. He gave up back-to-back doubles to C.J. Cron and Elias Diaz that scored a couple of runs. Urias got the final out in the inning, but not before the Rox had tied it, and he left the mound stuck with a no decision. Still, it was a pretty solid effort, considering it was Coors Field after all. Julio’s final line for the night: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 5 K.

Battle of the bullpens

With both starters out of the game, it was up to the bullpens to keep the score tied. For the Dodgers, it was Joe Kelly, Blake Treinen, and Kenley Jansen for the seventh, eighth, and ninth. And while none of them had their best outing, they all were able to work around some traffic on the bases and put up zeroes. In fact, the Rockies will be kicking themselves after this one, as they collectively went 4-for-20 with runners in scoring position and left eleven men on base.

Pujols for the go-ahead knock

So, even though the pen wasn’t the sharpest it could have been, the Dodgers were able to get the game into extra innings with the score still knotted at four apiece. And as usual, the notorious “Manfred Man” was put on second base to start the innings. Although this time, things couldn’t have gone better for the Dodgers. Due to a freak bounce on a wild pitch in the ninth, Gavin Lux got thrown out trying to advance to second base. He was the third out of the inning, and thus became the designated runner in the tenth. It’s nice when your second-fastest guy gets that gig in extras. Makes things a lot easier.

Luke Raley led off the inning but couldn’t get the runner to third, striking out swinging. So with one out and the pitcher’s spot due up, manager Dave Roberts trusted his gut and sent Albert Pujols up to face Joulys Chacin. Usually, Pujols is used only against lefties off the bench, but Roberts went with his feelings on this one, even though he had Austin Barnes at the ready.

And there is a reason they call the guy the Machine. The guy is clutch. In this one, he coolly stepped up to the plate, looking to collect another ribeye. He got ahead 2-0 and then took a strike and fouled one off before he saw one he liked. And Chacin must not have read the scouting report. Because he threw Tio Albert the fastball.

Kids. You DON’T give one of the best hitters of all time the cheese in a clutch situation. Pujols didn’t do too much with the ball, but he drilled it through the infield past a diving Trevor Story and into centerfield to score Lux easily from second. The Dodgers had gotten that all important first run home in extras, something they have failed to do countless times this season. Mookie Betts lined into a double play a couple of pitches later and the inning was over.

Graterol and Vesia combine to shut down Rockies

Having already used Kelly, Treinen, and Jansen, the Dodgers called upon some of the second-tier guys to bring home the win. Brusdar Graterol started out with a strikeout and a groundball to second base for the first two outs, but when he walked the potential winning run, Dave Roberts went to Alex Vesia to get the final out. He faced Rox rookie Colton Welker, who only had a handful of big-league at-bats. Vesia didn’t have his best command, but got a foul ball and a chase from Welker to get him into a 2-2 count. Then, Vesia threw 95-mph four seamer toward the heart of the plate. Welker made contact, but flew out to straight-away center to end the game.

Dodgers can only scoreboard watch

Winning their third straight and ninth out of the last ten, the Dodgers know that the only thing they can do the rest of the way is take care of business and hope for help from somebody with the Giants. As long as the Dodgers are on the road, they will finish their games before San Francisco, so the Giants will always be aware of what they need to do each night. Fasten those seatbelts, folks. We’ve got a pennant race on our hands…