Hours after placing Kenley Jansen on the 10-day disabled list, the Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen failed to protect a lead, resulting in a 5-4 loss to the Colorado Rockies.
Granted, had Jansen still be on the active roster, the same scenario may have very well unfolded. Zac Rosscup entered in relief of Kenta Maeda and promptly picked up a pair of strikeouts to end the sixth inning.
Rosscup allowed a leadoff single in the seventh but struck out Carlos Gonzalez to remain perfect against left-handed batters. Ryan McMahon snapped that in emphatic fashion, crushing a go-ahead two-run home run that proved to be the difference for the Rockies.
Facing a reality of not having the option to deploy Jansen at the backend of a game, the Dodgers would need Kenta Maeda to provide some length for a shaky bullpen that no longer had its anchor.
The start of the first inning proved ominous as DJ LeMahieu’s home run gave the Rockies a 2-1 lead two batters into the game. Carlos Gonzalez followed with a triple, but Maeda induced a fielder’s choice that resulted in Gonzalez being thrown out at the plate.
Two more groundouts followed, and Maeda successfully limited the damage. A single and throwing error on Jon Gray’s sacrifice bunt attempt put two on with one out in the second inning, though both runners were stranded.
Maeda couldn’t escape a leadoff walk in the third as Trevor Story’s RBI double extended the Rockies’ lead to 3-1. Maeda faced more traffic by issuing a pair of walks in the fourth inning, though Colorado failed to capitalize.
It wasn’t until the fifth inning that Maeda retired the side in order. Nonetheless, Maeda got through 5.1 innings and exited with the Dodgers ahead, 4-3.
Their offense quickly went to work against Gray, who entered having allowed just five combined runs in his last four starts. Justin Turner’s double in the first inning was cashed by Yasmani Grandal on an RBI single.
Max Muncy then continued to show signs of emerging from his slump by hitting a second home run in as many games. The two-run shot pulled the Dodgers even with the Rockies in the fourth inning.
Cody Bellinger pushed them ahead with an RBI single that found a hole in the shift and at that point improved to 3-for-3 on the night. It also gave Bellinger a hit in five consecutive plate appearances.
Already with one double and the homer, Muncy legged out a second extra-base hit with two outs in the eighth inning. He finished the game 3-for-4. One night after Wade Davis surrendered two home runs, the Rockies handed the ball to Adam Ottavino for the save.
The loss snapped the Dodgers winning streak at Coors Field, which dated back to last season, at six games.
