Noah Spirek | @NoahSpirek | June 20, 2024
The Los Angeles Dodgers secured a 5-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies, fueled by strong pitching from Gavin Stone and home runs from Shohei Ohtani, Will Smith, and Freddie Freeman. Despite a late offensive push from the Rockies, including Ryan McMahon‘s impressive home run, they fell short. The Rockies will face the Washington Nationals next.
Table of Contents
Game Story
The Dodgers jumped out to a 1-0 lead four pitches into Thursday’s matinee. Leadoff hitter Shohei Ohtani hit his 21st home run of the season 427 feet to center field, just beyond the reach of leaping center fielder Brenton Doyle.
The Dodgers added on in the 3rd. Following a one-out single by Teoscar Hernández, Andy Pages ripped an RBI double, making it 2-0 Dodgers. Two batters later, Miguel Vargas singled, scoring Pages.
In the fourth inning, the Dodgers tacked on another pair of runs, this time via the long ball. After Colorado starter Ty Blach struck out Shohei Ohtani, the depth of the Dodgers lineup was on full display. Will Smith hit his 11th homer of the season, and two pitches later, former MVP Freddie Freeman followed with his own 11th home run, going back-to-back. The pair of solo shots extended the Los Angeles lead to 5-0.
Offensively, the Rockies could not muster anything against Dodgers starter Gavin Stone for the first five innings. Stone limited the Rockies to four baserunners (three singles and a HBP) over that stretch.
In the 6th, Colorado finally broke through against Stone. Walks to Sean Bouchard and Michael Toglia, followed by a base hit from Elehuris Montero, loaded the bases with one out for Jake Cave. The newly dubbed “Man of the People” came through with a single to score two, cutting the Dodgers’ lead to 5-2.
After Ty Blach exited after four innings of work, the Rockies bullpen held the Dodgers in check. Reliever Anthony Molina tossed three scoreless innings, holding the Dodgers hitless in that span. Tyler Kinley followed Molina’s lead and pitched a shutout 8th, and Justin Lawrence tossed a scoreless 9th, giving the Rockies offense a chance to mount a comeback.
In the eighth inning, Colorado inched closer when Ryan McMahon launched his team-leading 13th home run, a 462-foot blast. The solo shot narrowed the Dodgers’ lead to 5-3.
Unfortunately, the Rockies went quietly in the ninth inning against Dodgers closer Evan Phillips, dropping the finale and three out of four games in the series to Los Angeles.
Quotes
Manager Bud Black on Dodgers starter Gavin Stone: “Good location with the fastball and enough velocity, with the ability to throw the ball down and throw it at the right height up… he got some strikeouts on fastballs at the right height at the very top of the zone… and [he has] a good changeup.”
Bud Black on Adael Amador‘s injury: “It looks to be a mild oblique strain. He suffered the same injury in Hartford (Double-A) in May, he missed three or four days. We’ll see how this plays out.”
Notes
The Colorado Rockies have lost 14 of 19 games in June.
Ryan McMahon’s 462-foot home run in the eighth inning was the Rockies’ longest of the season and the fifth-longest of his career. McMahon owns four of Colorado’s five longest home runs of the season.
Anthony Molina recorded his third consecutive scoreless outing. Since June 2, holds a 1.74 ERA (10.1 IP, 2 ER) with two walks and three strikeouts while opponents are hitting .216 (8-for-37).
What’s Next for the Colorado Rockies?
The Rockies continue their 10-game homestand by welcoming the Washington Nationals to Denver for a three-game series. In the series opener on Friday, probable starters are LHP DJ Herz (1-1, 3.77 ERA) for Washington and RHP Dakota Hudson (2-9, 4.89 ERA) for Colorado. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 MT.
Story by Noah Spirek.
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