After going 4-2 on a marquee homestand, the Los Angeles Dodgers hit the road for a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies. The Dodgers’ visit to Coors Field this week is their last of the regular season.
Jon Gray gave up a leadoff single to Chase Utley in the first inning and walked Corey Seager to put two on with one outs. However, the Dodgers weren’t able to capitalize on the early baserunners as Adrian Gonzalez and Yasmani Grandal both struck out.
Kenta Maeda similarly worked around a base hit and walk in the bottom of the first, showing some emotion after striking out Nolan Arenado swinging. Josh Reddick’s run with bad luck continued as DJ LeMahieu made a diving stop to rob Reddick of a single to start the second inning.
Rob Segedin pulled a single into left field with two outs but was stranded when Gray struck out Maeda.
Gerardo Parra and Nick Hundley struck out in the bottom of the second, and Daniel Descalso grounded out to give Maeda a quick 1-2-3 inning.
Howie Kendrick walked with one out in the third and stole second base when Seager struck out swinging. Kendrick then advanced to third as the throw got away from Descalso and kicked into left field.
But again, nothing came of it for the Dodgers. Maeda struck out Arenado a second time after allowing a one-out double to Blackmon in the bottom half of the third. Maeda completed another scoreless inning by getting Carlos Gonzalez to foul out.
Reddick and Segedin both singled in the fourth, only to be stranded. Meanwhile, Colorado got on the board in the bottom half of the inning behind Hundley’s two-run homer. Gray walked Kendrick and hit Seager with a pitch to put two on with one out in the fifth.
Blackmon made a sliding catch to rob Adrian Gonzalez of a hit and likely RBI, and although he dropped his bat as he does on a home-run swing, Grandal’s fly ball was caught in front of the warning track in right field to end the inning.
The Dodgers were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and stranded eight overall to that point. Gray hit Segedin with two outs in the sixth, which prompted Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to pinch-hit for Maeda.
It didn’t make much of any difference for Gray, as he struck out Kiké Hernandez to end the inning. Grant Dayton came on in the bottom of the sixth and worked around a one-out broken-bat single to keep the Dodgers within two runs of the Rockies.
Chris Rusin struck out Utley and Kendrick to start the seventh inning. Rusin then plunked Seager on his left hand/wrist area, causing the young shortstop to immediately drop his bat and hop in pain. Seager was checked on by head athletic trainer Nate Lucero and remained in the game.
Gonzalez grounded out on the first pitch he saw, amounting to another baserunner stranded by the Dodgers. Adam Liberatore ran into some trouble, allowing a one-out single to Descalso, then walking pinch-hitter Ryan Raburn.
Blackmon followed with an RBI single and on the eighth pitch of his at-bat, LeMahieu drove a two-run double to the right-center field gap to extend the Rockies’ lead to 5-0. Pedro Baez replaced Liberatore and gave up a two-out, RBI double to Arenado.
Arenado tied former Rockies first baseman Andrés Galarraga for most RBI in a single month (33) in franchise history. Parra added an RBI single before Baez managed to get out of the five-run inning.
Jake McGee induced a force out and inning-ending double play after walking Grandal to start the eighth. Andrew Toles triple with one out in the ninth and scored on Utley’s RBI groundout. The Dodgers dropped the series opener to the Rockies, 8-1.
By scratching in the ninth the Dodgers avoided being shut out at Coors Field for the first time since Aug. 27, 2012.
