Coors Field has long been known as a hitters’ haven and ballpark where expectations can be thrown out the window. Both of those have held true through the first three games between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies, and then some.
Each of the matchups has featured at least one unique — or oddity — setting the stage for the four-game series finale on Sunday. “Expect the unexpected, I guess, is what we should expect in the fourth game of this series,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
“When you play here that’s kind of what happens. Not necessarily cats, but crazy things happen here.”
The Dodgers will take the field Sunday afternoon a respectable 128-109 all-time at the Rockies’ home ballpark.
Bellinger loses home run
The first sign of what was ahead came on Opening Day when Cody Bellinger hit what appeared to be a two-run home run. Raimel Tapia briefly had the ball in his glove, but it popped out and carried into the stands when he collided with the fence.
However, Justin Turner did not realize that and in his hast to avoid what he thought would be a double play, crossed Bellinger on the basepaths. The home run was taken away as Bellinger was only awarded a single and RBI, but also ruled out.
“It was just a screwed up play,” Turner said the following night. “Cody thought he caught it as well, so just a tough play. Obviously, I would rather for him to have a homer and two RBIs, but it just didn’t work out that way.”
Bauer flirts with ho-hitter, cat runs onto field
The second game between the Dodgers and Rockies saw Trevor Bauer get through six no-hit innings. He lost it on a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh and wound up allowing a pair of home runs in the inning.
The sudden turn of events was drastic, but later overshadowed when a cat ran onto the field. It took a brief moment of rest in center before being carried out by security.
“I don’t know if that was a lynx, a cat. I don’t know what that was. It kind of went right by me and it was an aggressive size of a cat breed,” Roberts said. “Had some big ol’ ears. I’m glad those guys did a good job of rescuing it and we got to play some baseball.”
Plexiglass intervenes, McKinstry hits inside-the-park home run
On Saturday, a plexiglass installed at the end of the Rockies’ dugout prevented Max Muncy from making a catch in foul territory. The image served as a reminder of the current climate as the United States continues to work toward emerging from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Then later in the game there was a delay as the fountains in center field remained on as Gavin Lux stepped into the batter’s box. “It was kind of in the way of the hitter and right below the hitter’s eye,” Roberts explained.
“It kind of gets into the vision of the hitter, so I just asked them to stop it. It just took a little bit longer than we expected. I just felt that I didn’t want to distract our hitters. They usually go on in between innings, and they didn’t turn them off once Gavin came to bat.”
Finally, the Dodgers produced their first home run in unlikely fashion and from an unexpected batter. Zach McKinstry’s drive to left field was nearly caught by Tapia, but he again lost control upon crashing into the fence.
Only this time the ball remained in the field of play as Tapia laid on the ground in pain. McKinstry raced around the bases for an inside-the-park home run.
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