FSM Essential Recap: Dodgers vs Rockies - Series 4

FSM Essential Recap: Dodgers vs Rockies – Series 4

www.FranchiseSportsMedia.com

Los Angeles Dodgers (11-2)  |  Colorado Rockies (3-10)

 

Good is not good when better is expected.

– Vin Scully

 

Game 3:

 

Twice on Thursday night, the Dodgers trailed by a pair of runs, and twice they got three-run home runs, one from each of their hottest hitters. It was Max Muncy’s three-run shot in the seventh that game L.A. the lead for good in a 7-5 win over the Rockies to complete the three-game sweep at Dodger Stadium.

Justin Turner continued his unprecedented April power barrage, giving the Dodgers the lead with a three-run home run in the third inning, this time homering to a nacho-less area beyond the center-field wall.

Turner also doubled against the left-field wall in the fifth inning, one of three hits he had against Rockies left-hander Austin Gomber. Turner walked twice against Gomber on April 4 in Denver, reaching base all five times against him this season. Dating back to 2018, when Gomber was in St. Louis, Turner has reached base nine times in 10 plate appearances against the left-hander, with three doubles and Thursday’s homer, hitting .857/.900/1.714 against him.

 

The Dodgers have swept the Rockies in five of their last seven series at home, winning 20 of their last 23 matchups against Colorado at Dodger Stadium.

Trailing 5-3 in the seventh, a pair of walks brought Muncy to the plate with two outs, against reliever Yency Almonte. Muncy slammed a 2-0 changeup 405 feet into the right-field pavilion.

Muncy’s blast gave the Dodgers the lead but didn’t end the scoring in the inning. Two singles and a walk against Tyler Kinney loaded the bases, then a wild pitch by Carlos Estevez brought in an insurance run.

The Dodgers made it hold up thanks to some unheralded members of the bullpen on what was pretty clearly a night of rest for the usual suspects. Dennis Santana pitched a perfect eighth inning on seven pitches, then David Price entered in the ninth for his second game in three nights after a week without pitching.

Price allowed singles to his first two batters faced in the ninth, then fell behind 2-0 to pinch-hitter Trevor Story before striking him out. Then Price struck out Garrett Hampson and got Raimel Tapia to ground out to end it, picking up his second major league save, and his first since Game 7 of the 2008 ALCS.

 

Game 3 Boxscore:

 

WP: Jimmy Nelson (1-1 / 4.23 ERA)

LP: Yency Almonte (1-1 / 9.45 ERA)

SV: David Price (1)

HR: Turner (4), Muncy (3), Ryan McMahon (6), Garrett Hampson (1)

 

The Dodgers travel to San Diego to take on the Padres, with Walker Buehler getting the ball on Friday night. The game can be seen on SportsNet LA and MLB Network. Ryan Weathers making his first major league start fpor the Padres.

 

Game 2:

 

The Dodgers become the first team in Major League Baseball to reach 10 wins in the 2021 season.

The Dodgers offense wasn’t as explosive on Wednesday night as they’ve been recently, but it was enough as they took down the Rockies 4-2. With the win, the Dodgers become the first team in the big leagues to reach 10 wins this season.

The Dodgers immediately jumped out to the early lead, as they put up two runs in the bottom of the first. Mookie Betts and Corey Seager reached base, while Justin Turner brought in a run with a single. Two batters later saw Gavin Lux bringing in a run with a sacrifice fly.

The third, and what turned out to be the game-winning run came via a Justin Turner home run. This homer was crazy for a lot of reasons. First of all, it was Turner’s third of the season and he now is tied for the lead in home runs on the club… halfway through April!? This was a guy who hated hitting dingers in April throughout his career and now he can’t stop doing it.

 

Up next was the highlight of the play of the night. This fan sitting in the home run seats didn’t need a glove, as his plate of nachos caught the ball. The nacho cheese exploded everywhere, and he was an instant sensation.

Alright, enough nacho talk, back to the game. The Dodgers offense would go quiet until the eighth inning, when rookie Zach McKinstry hit his third homer of the season, tying him with Turner for the team lead.

Dustin May made his second start of the season and was cruising until he reached the fifth inning. After being nearly untouchable through four, the Rockies did some damage in the fifth. They started the inning with a strikeout, but four consecutive Rockies reached base and then a forceout made it a 3-2 ballgame. With runners on second and third with two outs, Victor Gonzalez got the clutch out to escape the inning with the lead.

Following Gonzalez were Blake Treinen, Scott Alexander, Corey Knebel, and Kenley Jansen, who all combined for 5 ²⁄₃ innings of scoreless relief. Jansen pitched the ninth, issuing a leadoff walk. He settled down though, striking out the next three hitters to record his third save of the season.

 

Game 2 Boxscore:

 

WP: Corey Knebel (1-0 / 0.00 ERA)

LP: Jon Gray (1-1 / 2.87 ERA)

SV: Kenley Jansen (3 / 1.59 ERA)

HR: Justin Turner (3) Zach McKinstry (3)

 

The Dodgers will look for their second consecutive series sweep on tonight as Julio Urias takes the mound for L.A. First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. and can be seen on Spectrum SportsNet.

 

 

Game 1:

 

The Dodgers and Rockies kicked off a three-game series starting Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium. After sitting out the past series against the Washington Nationals due to lower back tightness, the World Champion Dodgers had Mookie Betts back in the lineup, hitting leadoff and being their catalyst. Betts injury was never thought to be severe, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts wanted to play it safe, which made sense given the depth that this Dodgers team has.

Zach McKinstry has filled in brilliantly while Betts and Cody Bellinger have both been nursing injuries, and he should continue to see regular playing time even with Mookie now back.

The Dodgers badgered Antonio Senzatela for the second time in 12 days, rolling behind Trevor Bauer, who was making his first start at Dodger Stadium, in a 7-0 win over the Rockies on Tuesday night at Chavez Ravine.

The scoring started early for the Dodgers, thanks to Corey Seager and Chris Taylor’s home runs in a span of three pitches in the first inning. It was the first home run of the season for Seager, who also hit his fifth double.

 

Mookie Betts — who noted the Dodgers’ 3-1 record in the four games he missed over the previous six days and joked, “I think that just shows how deep we are, and we don’t really need me” — welcomed himself back into the lineup with a towering home run of his own, this time to left field in the third inning.

That home run simultaneously ticked a pair of boxes for Betts, who has at least one hit and one run scored in each of his six games played, the first Dodger dating back to at least 1901 to do this.

It was also the third home run against Senzatela, who allowed five runs and was chased in the third inning.

The matchup with the Dodgers has not been kind to Senzatela, who pitched eight scoreless innings at Coors Field against the Diamondbacks in his other start this year, and posted a 3.44 ERA in 12 starts last year. This year, the Dodgers have scored 12 runs in six innings against Senzatela, who has thrown 143 pitches against Los Angeles.

In six career starts and one relief appearance at Dodger Stadium, Senzatela has allowed 24 runs (23 earned runs) and 10 home runs in 27 innings. That’s a 7.48 ERA, which helps explain why the Rockies have lost all six of those starts.

 

On the other side, Bauer looked roughly the same as he did in his first start against Colorado. On April 2 at Coors Field, Bauer allowed no hits and no runs in his first six innings, with nine strikeouts. On Tuesday, Bauer also held the Rockies scoreless through six with eight strikeouts, and their lone hit was a swinging bunt by Garrett Hampson in the third inning.

Bauer in Colorado got his 10th strikeout in the seventh inning and allowed a pair of two-run homers. He fared much better on Tuesday, getting through a spotless seventh inning for his longest start yet as a Dodger. Bauer retired his final 14 batters faced, allowing only the one hit and two second-inning walks, needing 99 pitches to get through seven.

Bauer had to “settle” for nine strikeouts after back-to-back starts with 10 strikeouts. Just as Karl Spooner (1954) and Yu Darvish (2017) before him, Bauer found a third straight double-digit strikeout game elusive, something no pitcher has done to start their Dodgers career.

 

Game 1 Boxscore:

 

WP: Trevor Bauer (2-0 / 2.70 ERA)

LP: Antonio Senzatela (1-2 / 7.07 ERA)

HR: Seager (1), Taylor (2), Betts (2), Muncy (2)

 

The Dodgers and Rockies are back at it Wednesday. Dustin May will take the mound Dodgers, while Colorado will have Jon Gray start. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m and the game can be seen on SportsNet LA.

 

Dodgers vs Rockies           Dodgers vs Rockies           Dodgers vs Rockies           Dodgers vs Rockies           Dodgers vs Rockies           Dodgers vs Rockies           Dodgers vs Rockies           Dodgers vs Rockies

Dodgers vs Rockies           Dodgers vs Rockies           Dodgers vs Rockies           Dodgers vs Rockies           Dodgers vs Rockies           Dodgers vs Rockies           Dodgers vs Rockies          

 

 

Joe Arrigo

Follow Joe on Twitter @JoeArrigo

Follow The Franchise on social media

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube