The Los Angeles Dodgers needed a victory on Thursday at Coors Field to keep pace with the San Francisco Giants and avoid being swept in the three-game series by the Colorado Rockies.
Tyler Chatwood struck out Corey Seager and Justin Turner after giving up a leadoff single to Chase Utley in the first inning. Josh Reddick grounded out to end the inning and he remained hitless through his first five at-bats with the Dodgers.
Kenta Maeda retired the first two batters faced before allowing a two-out base hit to Nolan Arenado. David Dahl struck out swinging and the game remained scoreless after the opening frame.
With one out and Yasmani Grandal on first base, Joc Pederson pulled a double down the first base line that skipped off Mark Reynolds’ glove.
The ball died along the wall in foul territory and a fan reached over to grab it. That prevented a run from potentially scoring and limited Pederson to a ground-rule double.
Chatwood then retired Maeda to keep the Dodgers scoreless. After Utley was hit by a pitch to start the third, Daniel Descalso made a catch on the warning track in left field while falling down.
He crashed into the wall and was checked on by trainers before remaining in the game, though Descalso was replaced by Rafael Ynoa in the fourth. Chatwood then benefitted from another stellar defensive play as Arenado started a 5-4-3 inning-ending double play.
Maeda hit Charlie Blackmon with a pitch to put a runner on with two outs in the third before getting through another scoreless inning. Reddick’s leadoff walk and Adrian Gonzalez’s ensuing single put runners on the corners to give the Dodgers their first threat on the night.
Howie Kendrick jumped on the first pitch he saw, hitting an RBI single into left field. Pederson walked to load the bases, but Chatwood escaped the jam by inducing Maeda into a double play. In just his 10th career game, Dahl extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth.
Maeda hit a batter but otherwise struck out the side to get out of the fourth with the Dodgers only trailing, 2-1. That proved key as Seager tied the game with a solo homer in the fifth. The home run was Seager’s 19th of the year, which pulled him even with Hanley Ramirez for most in a season by a Los Angeles shortstop.
Turner followed with a double that hit off the wall in center field, and Gonzalez legged out an infield single two batters later. His ability to keep the inning alive paid dividends as Yasmani Grandal’s two-run triple gave the Dodgers a 4-2 lead.
Maeda set the Rockies down in order in the fifth but was lifted after allowing a two-out single to Reynolds in the sixth. Pedro Baez took over and retired Ynoa to end the inning. Baez retired the first two batters faced in the bottom of the seventh, then allowed a single to pinch-hitter Ryan Raburn.
Blackmon nearly tied the game but his fly ball to left field died on the warning track for the third out. Kendrick and Pederson hit back-to-back singles with no outs in the eighth, but Pederson was thrown out as he attempted to follow Kendrick’s lead in taking an extra base.
Pinch-hitter Scott Van Slyke struck out and so did Utley, stranding Kendrick at third. Joe Blanton came on in the bottom of the eighth and tossed a 1-2-3 inning to keep the Dodgers’ 4-2 lead intact.
Kenley Jansen bookended the bottom of the ninth with strikeouts as he retired the side in order to convert his 32nd save of the season.
