DENVER — Happens to the very best of ‘em.
Runners stranded in scoring position. Hitters chasing, squandering chances, failing to support a pitcher fighting without his best stuff. A reliever off the mark, his few mistakes a few too many.
All adding up to a loss. Rare and deserved.
For just the fifth time in 20 games so far this season, the Dodgers came out on the wrong end of the ledger, losing 4-3 to the Colorado Rockies on Saturday before a blue-and-purple crowd of 47,925 at Coors Field.
Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing follows the flight of his solo home run off Colorado pitcher Ryan Feltner Saturday in Denver.
(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
“Up to this point with runners in scoring position, we’ve been ready to — whether or not it’s earn a stroll or swing at good pitches — get hits,” Dodger supervisor Dave Roberts stated. “Today it just seemed like we chased a lot more than we have.”
Kyle Tucker, the Dodgers’ new $240-million man, had his second three-hit recreation this season — however he scored solely as soon as, within the first inning, on his 435-foot two-run house run into the second deck.
Freddie Freeman went two for 3, together with a triple, however he was stranded each occasions he reached.
And Shohei Ohtani made extra historical past — he prolonged his career-best consecutive on-base report to 50 video games with a ninth-inning single to tie Willie Keeler’s 1901 mark for third in franchise historical past — however he additionally scored solely as soon as, having reached on an error earlier than Tucker’s first-inning homer.
In all, the Dodgers left eight runners on base — together with Ohtani and Will Smith within the ninth — and went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring place.
“I mean, it happens at times,” stated Tucker, who jumped on pitches early in counts Saturday in an try to construct a constant rhythm from at-bat to at-bat, recreation to recreation.
“We’re facing big league pitchers and they got some guys in their bullpen that can pitch really well. But at the same time, we gotta do our part. We had some opportunities with guys on base, especially late. Just gotta find ways to get hits or just get those guys in. Happens at times, but we just gotta do a better job at it.”
These had been atypical postgame lamentations for the Dodgers, whose steamroll hit a pace bump as they misplaced for the primary time all season to a National League opponent.
Starter Emmet Sheehan wasn’t as sharp as in his prior outing, however he left after 5 innings with a one-run lead, having thrown 77 pitches, giving up 4 hits and two runs with 4 strikeouts and two walks.
“I think last time we made a lot of progress on mechanical stuff,” stated Sheehan, who gave up two runs within the first two innings however then held the Rockies at bay. His greatest inning was his ultimate one, the 1-2-3, nine-pitch fifth.
“Definitely happy with some of the pitches I made later, but I got to be better earlier in the game,” Sheehan stated.
Dalton Rushing concurred.
“He fought, he showed how tough he is out there,” stated Rushing, the Dodgers’ hot-and hard-hitting backup catcher who bought the beginning. “He didn’t have his best stuff. He knew that. He knew he was going to have to pivot a little bit, figure some things out. I’ll give it to him. He grinded out there. But there’s some things we can work on, both us, about understanding a game plan. But overall I’m proud of the way he grinded.
“Obviously I’m not proud of the result. We lost a baseball game. But at the same time I think there was some good coming out of the grinding.”
Rushing’s solely hit Saturday was a 371-foot solo house run within the second inning that gave the Dodgers a 3-1 lead that lasted till reliever Will Klein gave up three consecutive hits and two runs — and the one-run lead he was staked — within the sixth inning.
“I thought tonight his sweeper, the feel for spin wasn’t good,” Roberts stated. “He didn’t have it and I think a couple of those hits early were just cement mixers that just didn’t do anything.”
Right-hander Roki Sasaki (0-2, 6.23) is scheduled to take the mound for the Dodgers within the famously hitter-friendly ballpark for a 1:10 p.m. recreation Sunday. Right-hander Michael Lorenzen (1-2, 8.10) is scheduled to begin for the Rockies.
Treinen is ok
Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen was struck by a batted ball whereas he was within the bullpen earlier than the sport, however he stated afterward that he was “fine.”
The Dodgers’ right-handed reliever stated he didn’t expertise any concussion-like signs and will have come on to pitch after being examined to guarantee he didn’t, the truth is, have a concussion.
