Steve Webb
Coors Field games are not so much won as survived. And that’s just what the Dodgers managed to do on Saturday night. Riding a good start from Walker Buehler and a strong 1.2 inning save from Kenley Jansen, the Dodgers were able to cobble together enough runs to eke out a 6-5 victory against the Colorado Rockies.
For a while though, it looked like the Dodgers’ bats had gone to sleep. Both Mookie Betts and Justin Turner were given the night off, so the offense looked a little sluggish in the first few innings. Plus, Rockies starter Jon Gray looked better than he has in quite some time. Over five innings, Gray held the Dodgers scoreless and the visitors had only managed to squeeze out four hits. But in the sixth, Gray gave up a sharp double down the right field line to Corey Seager, and seemed to be struggling physically afterward. Manager Bud Black and the training staff came out to the mound and Gray’s night was over. He left the game with what was called “body cramping”.
Trailing 2-0 at that point, the Dodgers’ offense finally came to life. After Seager moved to third on a Cody Bellinger ground ball, Max Muncy ripped a hot shot to short that ate up third baseman Josh Fuentes. Seager scored easily and the Dodgers were off to the races.
The Blue Crew scored five more runs over the next three innings, the highlight of which had to be Zach McKinstry‘s inside-the-park job that again was ALMOST caught by Raimel Tapia at the left field wall. Just like the Bellinger shot on Thursday, Tapia gloved the ball, but this time in flew back IN the field of play and by the time the Rockies had recovered their senses, McKinstry had scampered around the bases. It was his first big league homer, and one he will not soon forget.
On the mound the Dodgers got a solid, but not spectacular outing from Walker Buehler in his season debut. He scattered 4 hits over six innings of work, and was only touched up for a couple of two-out runs in the third and fourth innings.
The middle relief was a little shaky tonight, as both Blake Treinen and Victor Gonzalez gave up runs in their outings, and Kenley Jansen had to come in the 8th inning for a five-out save opportunity.
Now I know what you’re saying, Dodger fans. “Kenley’s on the mound with a one-run lead; what could go wrong?” We were all holding our breath as the big man from Curacao entered the game to face slugger CJ Cron with just one out. And it seemed like Cron had gotten all of a 2-2 pitch, but in the end he’d just missed it, sending the ball loudly but harmlessly into Zach McKinstry‘s glove in left. Other than a walk in the ninth, Jansen retired all the other Rockies he faced for the rest of the night, recording his first save of the year.
In the end, the Dodgers did just enough to hold off the Rockies. Hitting stars of the evening included the red-hot Seager (3-4, 1 RBI) and Austin Barnes (2-5, 2 RBI). World Series hero Julio Urias will be making his first start of the year in the series finale tomorrow in an afternoon game, facing lefty Austin Gomber in a 12:10 start.
