Dodgers vs. Rockies Recap: Dalton Rushing Homers as Dodgers Win in Scottsdale
Dalton Rushing’s Power Surge Continues
SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Dalton Rushing is starting to come alive at the plate. After collecting only one hit in his first four Cactus League contests, he’s homered in back-to-back games, hitting a bomb against Texas on Saturday and another on Monday against the Colorado Rockies. The second-inning home run got the visiting Dodgers off to a good start as they took care of the Rox by a score of 7-5.
Rushing’s blast, Mookie’s knock, Espinal’s heater
Rushing got his dinger in early. Batting cleanup, Rushing led off the top of the second against starter Jimmy Herget. He got ahead in the count, and then blasted a 3-1 curveball onto the grassy knoll beyond the right centerfield fence. The Dodgers were on the board and on their way to their eighth victory of the spring.
Monday’s game was a pretty quiet one for the LA regulars, although Mookie Betts did collect his first hit of the spring. After not getting the ball out of the infield in his previous four at-bat this year, Betts ripped a 2-2 changeup up the middle for a line drive single in the sixth inning. Nice to see. Getting Mookie off to a good start would go a long way toward erasing that sub-par season he had last year.
And do NOT sleep on Santiago Espinal. The former All-Star infielder had ANOTHER multi-hit game in this one and is charging hard to be added to the Opening Day roster. After today’s game, his average is a hefty .571. That’ll play.
Quiet Day for Pitchers
No real news on the pitching side today, as most of the innings were left to prospects. Ryder (not River) Ryan was the opener and gave up one run in two innings of work. Edgardo Henriquez got in the game, and though he pitched a scoreless inning, he was aided by a double play. He’s still searching for it this spring.
The Dodgers had a 3-1 lead going into the late innings in this one only to see it erased in the blink of an eye. Mickey Moniak and Kyle Karros went back-to-back bombs off prospect Carson Hobbs tied it up in the seventh. However, the pitching settled down after that and kept the Rox at bay the rest of the way.
Hainline bomb seals the win
However, the Dodgers weren’t going to roll over in this one. In the top of the eighth, they mounted their comeback. With most of the starters out of the game, Zyhir Hope stroked the first pitch of the inning into centerfield for a single. Then, with one out, OKC Comet infielder Elijah Hainline blasted a pitch over the right centerfield fence for the decisive runs in the win. They tacked on a couple more in the ninth (another homer), and though things got a bit hairy in the bottom of the ninth when the Rockies loaded the bases and walked in two guys, eventually they managed to escape with the win.
An interesting day for Dodger fans on Tuesday as Spring Training rolls on. This time, LA heads to nearby Goodyear, AZ for a match-up with the Cleveland Guardians. This one is worth circling on the calendar for one reason: Roki Sasaki is starting. Roki’s coming up a fairly shaky first start last week, so he will be eager to get back on the horse. Big as his contract might be, his spot in this rotation is far from secure at this point, especially the way some of the Dodgers’ spot starters from last year are throwing. Hopefully, we’ll be able to see good things out of him on Tuesday. First pitch, 12:05.
Have you subscribed to the Bleed Los Podcast YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows & promotions, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
