The Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen blew a lead for a second time in as many games but it once again did not result in a loss. Cody Bellinger’s three-run, go-ahead home run in the bottom of the eighth inning propelled the Dodgers to a 6-4 win over the Minnesota Twins.
Taylor Rogers was the third Twins reliever to enter the game and the first to surrender a hit or home run. Chris Taylor led off the bottom of the eighth with a single, which was his third hit on the night.
Justin Turner lined a base hit into left field with one out, and Bellinger followed with his 28th home run of the season. It came one pitch after Bellinger hooked a curveball foul down the right-field line.
For Taylor, it was a second three-hit game since July 19, his third multi-hit effort in a row and eighth in his last 10 games. Taylor’s RBI single in the fifth gave the Dodgers a 3-2 lead.
That came in the same inning Yasmani Grandal and Joc Pederson combined for back-to-back solo home runs. Up to that point, the Dodgers had been inexplicably flummoxed by a steady dose of fastballs from Bartolo Colon that hovered in the low 90s.
Colon allowed just two hits — singles to Taylor and Yasiel Puig — through four shutout innings. By keeping the line moving the Dodgers forced manager Dave Roberts’ hand in pinch-hitting for Hyun-Jin Ryu after just five innings.
In the wake of a flurry of roster moves Monday, this loomed particularly large as the Dodgers began the game with only three bench players. Two walks handed out by Ryu in the fourth led to a pair of RBI doubles allowed.
Corey Seager threw a runner out at home plate to end the inning and prevent a third run from being added to Ryu’s ledger. It nonetheless was a fourth time in his last five starts where Ryu completed five innings or less.
Grant Dayton was the Dodgers’ first reliever called upon, and he immediately struggled. Eddie Rosario’s solo home run with one out in the sixth inning pulled the Twins even. A bunt single and double put two runners in scoring position and knocked Dayton out of the game.
Josh Fields issued a walk to load the bases, but escaped the jam on a strikeout and behind Puig’s running catch to track down Brian Dozier’s drive hit to the warning track. Fields wasn’t as fortunate in the seventh, as Rosario’s two-out fly ball bounced in front of Taylor and over his head for what was a go-ahead RBI double.
Edward Paredes, 30, was next out of the bullpen. After nine seasons spent in the Minors and 12 years overall as a professional, the appearance marked his MLB debut. Paredes received help from the corner infielders to throw a 1-2-3 eighth inning.
Paredes earned the win as Kenley Jansen shook off Sunday’s events to convert his 25th save of the season.
