The Rockies, a team with just over half as many wins as the Dodgers (37 vs. 72), absolutely dominated Los Angeles on Wednesday thanks to a gem by Tanner Gordon. Colorado handed Shohei Ohtani his first loss of the season on the mound, recording nine hits, which tied a career high for Ohtani, and scoring five runs on the two-way megastar. Ohtani struck out three, but was outdueled by a rookie.
The Rockies (37-90) now lead the series 2-1 going into Thursday’s finale against the Dodgers (72-55).
Rockies Unleash on Ohtani
The Rockies
went on a hit parade in the fifth, connecting for five hits in a row to start it off on their way to a six-hit, three-run frame. Beck, with his second hit of the night, led off with a single. Warming Bernabel then drove a double into left field, but Miguel Rojas misplayed the relay and Beck was able to score. Bernabel tried to advance to third, but was thrown out.
The party kept rolling as Mickey Moniak, Brenton Doyle and Orlando Arcia hit back-to-back-to-back singles and bringing Moniak home. Aricia’s RBI single was a 93.7 mph line drive that hit Ohtani in the leg. Despite showing grit to get the ball, he was unable to make a play. The single put Colorado up 4-0. Ohtani was tended to by the L.A. medical staff, threw a few warmup pitches and stayed in the game.
Ryan Ritter came up and broke the hit streak, hitting into a fielder’s choice where Ohtani threw home to trap Doyle in a short pickle for out number two. Tyler Freeman finished the hit party with an exclamation point, hitting another RBI single to put the Rockies up 5-0. The inning ended Ohtani’s night on the mound, but he stayed in the game at DH until he was pinch hit for in the eighth inning.
Gordon Great Again
Tanner Gordon has notched some big wins this season, starting with the Yankees. Winning a head-to-head showdown with Ohtani is even better.
It didn’t start great as Ohtani knocked a double down the first baseline on the first pitch of the game. After Will Smith grounded out, Gordon walked Freddie Freeman. Teoscar Hernández then hit into a double play, ending the most serious threat Gordon faced all night.
By hammering the strike zone, with 60 of his 92 pitches being strikes, Gordon dominated through five innings. He gave up three hits and one walk, and saw another base runner thanks to an Orlando Arcia fielding error. No Dodger got past second base through the first five innings as Gordon made the L.A. leave three runners on base and go 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
In the sixth, Gordon made his only mistake, giving up a solo homer to Hernández to erase the shutout. Gordon struck out three as he advanced to 4-5 and lowered his ERA to 7.11.
Bullpen Locks it Down
The Rockies bullpen ran into some bad luck late, but was otherwise outstanding on Wednesday night. It started with Jimmy Herget pitching a three-up, three-down seventh with a strikeout. Then it was Luis Peralta’s tur and he also made quick work of the Dodgers, striking out two of the three batters he faced.
The only trouble came in the ninth, but it wasn’t Jaden Hill’s fault. Hill first got Hernández to ground out. Andy Pages then reached on a Bernabel fielding error. Hill bounced back by striking out Michael Conforto. Alex Freeland then hit a grounder that seemed like it would end the game, but it hit second base and bounced by Ezequiel Tovar. With runners at the corners Miguel Rojas smashed a two-run double to score two unearned runs. Buddy Kennedy then hit a fly ball to left field where Beck was waiting, and ended the game.
An Early Lead
In the second inning, Beck led off with a single and Bernabel took his place on a fielder’s choice. With one out, Moniak singled to put runners at first and second. Doyle dropped a single into left field to score Bernabel.
Arcia followed with a sac fly to deep right to score Moniak, and the Rockies went up 2-0.
Goodman Adds Buffers
Hunter Goodman went 3-for-5 and drove in three runs for the Rockies. The first came in the sixth inning with a single past third baseman Buddy Kennedy to score Arcia. That helped the Rockies go up 6-1.
Going into the eighth inning, only two Rockies didn’t have a hit: Tovar and Ritter. Both took care of that with singles to put runners on first and second with two outs and Goodman coming to the plate. The All-Star catcher hit his 22nd double of the season to bring home Tovar and Ritter and cushioned that lead, ensuring the Dodgers and all their fans in the stands took that L with them on the way out (to borrow a Denver Nuggets phrase when beating the L.A. Lakers).
Charity Night
It’s hard to imagine, but the night was even better than just beating the Dodgers. On Charity Night, which highlighted Access Opportunity, raised over $125,000 for the organization, which helps low-income, high-potential students from 10th grade through college and into successful careers.
Up Next
The Rockies and Dodgers will conclude their series at Coors Field on Thursday at 1:10 p.m. Rockies rookie Chase Dollander (2-9, 6.43 ERA) will take on future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw (7-2, 3.01 ERA).
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