Steve Webb
DENVER, CO — Now, that is how you’re supposed to treat a last-place team! After the hiccup of losing two straight to the hapless Washington Nationals, the Dodgers appear to have righted the ship, to say the least. They threw up a six-spot in the first inning on Wednesday, and did it even better on Thursday against the Colorado Rockies. In the opening game of the series the took advantage of numerous Rockies mistakes, and got enough timely hitting to make the Rox pay for their sins. By the time the carnage was over, the Dodgers were walking out of Coors Field with a 13-0 victory.
Offense scores early and often…
The Dodgers were not showing any ill effects of the the flight to Colorado in this one, getting out of the gate with two quick runs in the first inning. With one out, Trea Turner hit one of his patented singles to the left side that split the defense. After a walk to Freddie Freeman, the Dodgers took advantage of some real sloppiness from the Rockies defense. With Jake Lamb up to bat, the Dodgers tried for a double steal, and the throw to third from catcher Elias Diaz went off Turner into foul territory, allowing Trea to score easily on the play. Rockies starter Jose Urena then uncorked a wild pitch that gave Freeman a free pass to home, and on just one hit, the Dodgers were up 2-0.
Trea strikes again…
In the second inning, the Dodgers scored again, and it was Trea Turner who was at the heart of the business once more. This time, Turner ripped a bases-loaded double down the left field line that cleared the bases. Will Smith followed up with a run-scoring double of his own, and it was 6-0 Dodgers. The rout was officially on.
The hits keep on coming…
In the top of the fourth, more hits, more baserunners, and more runs. Mookie Betts and Trea led off with back-to-back singles. Freddie Freeman reached on a throwing error from Urena and suddenly the bases were juiced with Dodgers with nobody out. Will Smith followed it up with a run-scoring single that sent the baserunners station to station. Then, after a Jake Lamb strikeout, Gavin Lux came through with an RBI single of his own to score a run and re-load the bases. Then, in the kill shot, Cody Bellinger smacked a double into right to score two more. It was 11-0 Dodgers, and if Bud Black could find a sponge, he’d have thrown it into the ring.
The Dodgers tacked on a couple more in the top of the 7th inning on a Freddie Freeman double, but by the then the Rockies were so punch drunk that it hardly mattered. It was a beatdown, in every sense of the word.
Anderson shines through seven scoreless
Meanwhile, Tyler Anderson pitched one of his best games of the year against the team that gave him his walking papers just a few years ago. The cambio was on point, the fastball was well placed, and the Rockies just couldn’t barrel up anything that TA threw at them in this one. He gave up a few meaningless hits, but nothing really serious. The biggest threat the Rox could mount was in the bottom of the 4th, when they got a double and an infield single. But once Anderson was able to wriggle off that hook, it was smooth sailing the rest of the way.
Jake Reed and Hanser Alberto finished up on the mound. And you know things are going the Dodgers way when that sentence makes its way into a recap. They both gave up a couple of hits, but nobody made it home, and the shutout was preserved. 13-0 Dodgers. How sweet it is.
Urías to throw on Friday…
Now with their road trip off to a good start, the Dodgers try to keep their Coors Field momentum going on Friday, with a game featuring Julio Urias against Chad Kuhl. Dodger fans will recall it was Kuhl who gave the team such fits the last time he pitched against them in Denver, pitching seven scoreless. We’ll see what he’s got on tap for the team this time around. Once again, it’s a 5:40 PDT start time for the ballgame.
Cans of Corn…
- So much hitting in this one. But gotta give the love to Trea and Gavin Lux, both of whom had three-hit nights.
- As of right now, the Dodgers have three of the top four in batting average. Freddie, Trea, and Luxy are 2-3-4 behind Paul Goldschmidt of the Cards. Each of them is hitting over .300.
- Down on the farm, Dustin May hit 99.9 on the gun in his rehab start. Much better control as well.
- Blake Treinen is going to throw a live BP back in LA. One of the hitters will be Chris Taylor.
- The Dodgers now have a better winning percentage than the Yankees, and trail them only by five in run differential.
