The Colorado Rockies made hits that were out of the Dodgers reach and found ways to round the bases, spoiling Mookie Betts night with their 2-1 victory. General Manager Dave Roberts noted that he remains confident in the club’s offensive ability.
“They’re playing their tails off, they’re trying to win every game,” Roberts said. “But I do think that when you’re sniffing the finish line of the regular season, that little edge might not be quite as finite, but I’m still not concerned with the offense.”
Dodger fans had a chance to receive a Mookie Betts bobblehead during the matchup. Betts’ daughter Kynlee sent out the ceremonial first pitch.
Pitcher Tony Gonsolin started his first game in six weeks, he was on the injured list since August 29 due to forearm tightness. Although He felt that he threw “uncompetitive pitches,” he feels confident that he’ll be granted some innings to pitch in the National League Division Series (NLDS).
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“I think it just comes down to executing pitches, I didn’t do a great job of that today,” Gonsolin said. “Just being around the zone more and throwing some better-quality pitches will allow that.”
Roberts noted how he wanted Gonsolin to pitch three innings but felt positive about his pitching selection.
“I thought velocity good, command was just a tick off. There’s some good sliders, there’s some good changes in there,” Roberts said. “The plan is probably Sunday … build him to three, four innings, something like that.”
Nine Dodgers pitchers reached the mound during the contest, Gonsolin and Evan Phillips made three strikeouts with the L.A. bullpen striking out 11 batters in total.
Rockies pitcher José Ureña pitched six innings and made four strikeouts while allowing five hits and one run and making one error. He was the first of three Colorado pitchers; Jake Bird was the winning pitcher by making two strikeouts in two innings.
Colorado reached the scoreboard first when Alan Trejo scored an RBI single in the second inning. Gonsolin had allowed three hits and made one error before being swapped out for Alex Vesia.
After an out at the bottom of the third, designated hitter Trayce Thompson batted out a homerun, tying the game.
“I feel like I made some good adjustments these last couple weeks, results are pretty feeble in this game sometimes,” Thompson said. “You just got to stick with the process and trust that if you prepare and you go out with conviction, good things are gonna happen.”
In the ninth, Michael Toglia hit a line drive towards left field, ultimately becoming an RBI single. Trea Turner hit a single in the bottom of the ninth with no avail as the next three batters were put out.
The Dodgers have two games left in the season, their first-round bye will give them a five-day break before the NLDS.
