The Los Angeles Dodgers started their homestand with a comeback win against the Colorado Rockies in what was a low-scoring affair as Clayton Kershaw and Ty Blach both pitched well.
In his return from the 15-day injured list and first start since June 27, Kershaw held the Rockies to just one run over five innings. The lone run came via a homer hit by Elehuris Montero in the fifth to break up a scoreless tie.
That had Kershaw on the hook for a loss as Blach kept the Dodgers at bay while inducing multiple double plays to escape the few moments of trouble. That changed when Max Muncy led off the seventh inning with a game-tying home run that also chased Blach but he nevertheless was compared to a Hall of Famer.
“It was a game of adjustments,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the win. “Cy Blach — I know it’s Ty — but he’s like Cy Young against the Dodgers. Against us he just kind of ramps it up and makes pitches.
“I think with the lefties, he sort of bullies them with the sinker and it’s hard to get the ball in the air. You saw it in [Muncy’s] first at-bat, but that last at-bat, got a ball and he stayed inside of it to elevate it to the pull side. It was a good hit.”
Blach’s start was only his fourth of the season, with all coming since July 23. The outing additionally was his longest since 2018.
Fortunately for the Dodgers, Muncy was looking for an elevated pitch that he was able to get just enough of.
“I was just trying to get underneath it,” Muncy explained. “His sinker was working well and he was locating it. I kept beating it into the ground to the right side, so I was just focused on getting underneath it and trying to make something happen.”
Ty Blach stats against Dodgers
The bulk of Blach’s success against the Dodgers came during his time pitching for the San Francisco Giants. In just his second career game, Blach pitched three scoreless innings out of the bullpen against L.A. during the 2016 season.
Less than two weeks later he collected six strikeouts over eight shutout innings. Then on Opening Day of the 2018 season, Blach outdueled Kershaw in a 1-0 win for the Giants.
Blach went into the series opener 4-3 with a 3.27 ERA in 19 games (eight starts) in his career against the Dodgers. The 32-year-old had already been particularly dominant at Dodger Stadium, going 1-1 with a 1.16 ERA.
Prior to giving up the home run to Muncy, Blach lowered his ERA at Dodger Stadium to 0.92. After the outing it slightly rose to a 1.23 ERA over 29.1 innings pitched in the Dodgers’ home ballpark.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
