Adrian Medina
Game 77, 6/20/2024: Dodgers 5, Rockies 3
DENVER, CO — A solidly played ball game on the Dodgers front this afternoon as they took the series from Colorado by a final score of 5-3. Gavin Stone proved yet again that he is the most well-rounded and consistent pitcher on the Dodgers’ pitching staff. Riding the coattails of his strong start, the offense got out to an early lead, led by Shohei Ohtani.
Ohtani continued to stay hot in June as he led the game off with his 21st home run of the year. He now stands alone at the top of the NL leader board for home runs and practically every other category. I am really starting to like his new moniker of “June-Tani.” This month, Shohei is slashing .292/.386/.689 with seven home runs and 15 RBI.
In the second, the Dodgers started to pile up some runs. Andy Pages doubled home a run after a Teoscar Hernández single that quickly put the Dodgers up 2-0. A few batters later, Miguel Vargas hit an RBI single to drive in Pages from second and the bats were just getting started.
In the top half of the 4th, we had ourselves back-to-back jacks from Will Smith and Freddie Freeman that put the Dodgers in a comfy lead 5-0. It was the fifth time that the Dodgers have had back-to-back home runs this season, and Freddie Freeman has been involved in every single one of the them.
For both Smith and Freeman, it was their eleventh home run of the year. If you haven’t heard, both these guys are trailing in their categories for the NL All-Star team, behind William Contreras and Bryce Harper respectively. Thursday’s game provided ample evidence that the pair is deserving of your vote.
Entering the 6th inning, Stone was still going strong in his scoreless outing, but the Rockies were starting to put together a little rally. A Sean Bouchard walk, followed by a wild pitch, a free pass to Michael Toglia, and an Elehuris Montero single had everyone going station to station to have the bases loaded full of Rockies. Montero would be Stone’s last batter as he finished his outing with only one out in the inning. Stone’s final line on the scorecard: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 7 K.
Blake Treinen came in to try and bail Stone out with all the runners being Stone’s responsibility. Trienen couldn’t work out of the jam as Jake Cave would spoil Stone’s scoreless outing with a single that cut the Rockies’ deficit to 5-2. Treinen, however, would get the next two Colorado hitters out to minimize the damage and get L.A back to the bat rack.
Reliable reliever Alex Vesia came in to work the 8th, but had himself a blip in his outing as he gave up a solo home run to Ryan McMahon which cut Colorado’s deficit to two. However, this would be their last runs of the game as Vesia retired the next three batters in order and Evan Phillips shut the door on the Rockies in the 9th to secure the victory.
The Dodgers take the series in Colorado, winning three of four. Stone had another quality start and the offense was good enough to keep the Rockies at bay. The Angels come into town for a short Freeway Series this weekend, starting Friday at 7:10 PM PDT. LA has still not yet announced a starter, but the Angels have Patrick Sandoval in line for the start. Then, it’s back on the road for a series with the hapless White Sox before they turn around and head back to California for an away series with the Giants next weekend. This little patch of ground gives the Dodgers a lot of games on the schedule that they “should win.” Stay tuned to see if they do.
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