Mike Salas
Game 162, 9/29/2024: Dodgers 2, Rockies 1
DENVER, CO — It was the final game of the regular season at Coors Field and the Dodgers reflected back on 162 games played, six big pitching arms on the injured list, shuffled the infield and outfield around due to injuries and/or performance, the most minor league call ups in recent memory, and win the final game of the regular season. Colorado fans and the Dodgers team cheered and Congratulated Number 19, Colorado’s right fielder Charlie Blackmon who played his last Major League game before retiring.
After a scoreless inning and half, the Rockies got on the board first with a Sam Hilliard upper deck home run off of Landon Knack. The bottom of the second ended with Colorado up 1-0 over the Dodgers. After Anthony Banda was the opener, Knack went 4.0 innings, only giving up the Hilliard homer, which was a tank job for sure at 476 feet off the bat, one of the longest homers of the year. Let’s hope Landon doesn’t throw that four-seamer when it counts! But overall, a good tuneup for Knack, who probably won’t pitch again until the middle of next week. His line for the day: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. So both Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Knack had good outings, giving up just three runs between them. Not bad for Coors Field.
In the top of the seventh James Outman walked and was moved to second base after a Teoscar Hernandez line drive single to left field. Tommy Edman gave it a run, hitting a fly ball opposite field that was barely caught on the warning track moving Outman to third base. Kiki Hernadez came up to bat with runners on the corner and hit a hardline drive that was caught by second baseman Aaron Schunk for the third out and leaving two on base.
Chris Taylor got the Dodgers on the board in the top of the eighth inning with a solo opposite field home run tying the game up one a piece. Austin Barnes hit a ground ball up the middle putting the go-ahead runner on with Shohei Ohtani at the plate. Ohtani hit a line drive single to right field moving Barnes to second. After a double steal by Barnes and Ohtani, Colorado Pitcher Seth Halvorsen was called for a balk which scored Barnes giving the Dodgers their first lead of the game.
It was Ohtani’s 59th steal of this remarkable year. And, if not for a balk call in Saturday’s game, he’d have hit the 60-steal plateau. He end the regular season with 54 steals and 59 steals. However, one record did evade him. Going only 1-for-4 at the plate in the finale left him with a batting average of .310. Which is four points off the .314 mark that the Padres’ Luis Arraez put up to stave off the hard-charging Ohtani, who finished just a couple of hits short of winning the first triple crown in the NL since Ducky Medwick back in the 1930s. Ah well.
Edgardo Henriquez came into the nineth inning to close the game out and became the 14th different Dodgers pitcher to record a save. The Dodgers end the 2024 season with 98 wins, 64 loses, NL West winners and the best record in the Major Leagues.
Dodgers finish the season at 98-64, five games ahead of the second place Padres. They get the next five days off with Game 1 of the NLDS starting Saturday, October 5; time and opponent to be announced. What a season for Dodger fans, we have a lot to be thankful for and look forward to seeing how far this team will get in the post season.
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