Walker Buehler labored through another short start and the Los Angeles Dodgers had a modest three-game winning streak snapped in a 10-5 loss to the Colorado Rockies.
Buehler faced one over the minimum through three scoreless innings, only to come undone in the fourth. Brendan Rodgers ambushed the first pitch for a home run that cut the Dodgers’ lead to 3-1 and sparked a rally for the Rockies.
Line-drive singles by Charlie Blackmon and Trevor Story put two on, and C.J. Cron’s fly ball into shallow center field dropped due in part to miscommunication between Mookie Betts and Trea Turner, loading the bases with nobody out.
Ryan McMahon’s two-run base hit tied the game before Buehler managed to get an out in the inning. He nearly kept the game there but allowed a two-run double to opposing starter Germán Márquez and was chased with two outs.
The 3.2 innings marked Buehler’s second-shortest start of the season as he previously went just three frames and allowed a season-high six earned runs to the San Francisco Giants on Sept. 5. The five runs the Rockies scored tied for the second-most Buehler has allowed this year.
He was accompanied by Márquez also not pitching deep into the game as the Dodgers loaded the bases with nobody out in the fifth inning. Max Muncy then drew a walk, which marked the end of the road for the Rockies’ starter.
Although Justin Turner’s sacrifice fly tied it, Trea Turner potentially took the Dodgers out of a big inning as he ran into an out on the bases.
The back-and-forth affair continued in the bottom of the fifth when Brusdar Graterol inherited two runners with no outs and immediately allowed a go-ahead RBI base hit to Story. Colorado added an insurance run in the seventh inning on an RBI double from Cron, and Sam Hilliard broke the game open with a three-run homer.
All of that came after Alex Vesia picked up a dribbler along the first-base line but lost control of the ball when colliding with Blackmon on the tag attempt.
Cron finished the night 4-for-5, leading all players in hits.
The Dodgers had just one batter reach after Muncy’s walk in the fifth inning — on a Betts two-out single in the ninth that extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
Dodgers slip in race with Giants
With their loss, the Dodgers fell to 1.5 games back of the San Francisco Giants for first place in the National League West. That could increase to two games come Thursday morning as the Giants held a lead on the San Diego Padres when the score went final at Coors Field.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers will begin selling postseason tickets to the general public at 10 a.m. PT on Thursday for potential Wild Card, NL Division Series and NL Championship Series games at Dodger Stadium.
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