Emmet Sheehan became the latest Los Angeles Dodgers rookie pitcher to shine at Coors Field, and James Outman was a catalyst for the offense in an 8-2 win over the Colorado Rockies.
Outman’s solo home run in the third inning put the Dodgers ahead, though the Rockies immediately tied it in the bottom half on a leadoff blast by Sean Bouchard.
Sheehan responded by striking out the next three batters, but the inning was kept alive when Ezequiel Tovar reached on a wild pitch. That was followed by a base hit that put runners at the corners, though Sheehan escaped the inning with the game still tied.
It remained that way when Outman led off the fifth inning with his first bunt single of the season. David Peralta immediately cashed it in with an RBI double, and singles by Miguel Rojas and Mookie Betts made it four hits in row and extended the Dodgers’ lead to 4-1.
Freddie Freeman broke the game open in the eighth inning on a three-run homer. That gave him 101 RBI on the season, becoming the third Dodgers player to reach triple digits this year. Mookie Betts (106 RBI) and Max Muncy (104) also are part of that group, while J.D. Martinez (98) is on the cusp of joining them.
The Dodgers have never had four players with at least 100 RBI in the same season.
Freeman is the second player in Dodgers franchise history with at least 200 hits, 100 RBI, 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in the same season. The only other time it had been accomplished by Babe Herman in 1929.
Sheehan surrendered a second solo home run on the night but he and the Dodgers bullpen otherwise kept the lead before Freeman’s blast. Sheehan finished his night with a career-high 10 strikeouts over six innings.
It came on the heels of Ryan Pepiot and Bobby Miller both setting career highs with nine strikeouts each during Tuesday’s doubleheader. Sheehan’s previous career high was nine strikeouts, set in his last start against the San Francisco Giants that was part of making MLB history.
Dodgers postseason outlook
The Atlanta Braves’ walk-off win on Wednesday night guaranteed them the best record in the National League and locked the Dodgers into the No. 2 seed.
Thus, the Dodgers are on the side of the NL playoff bracket that has them matching up with the winner from the Wild Card Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and Miami Marlins. However, the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds remain mathematically available to catch the Marlins.
The Marlins hold a tiebreaker over the Cubs.
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