Three fielding errors, a balk and a wild pitch by the Rockies — along with a shutdown performance from L.A.‘s reliever-turned-starter Justin Wrobleski — helped the Dodgers (16-6) defeat Colorado on Monday night and settle for a series split.
Max Muncy hit two homers, making it four in the series, and Colorado fans will not be sad to see him leave town. The Rockies (9-14) couldn’t come up with the rally or clutch hit they needed, going 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and leaving nine runners on base in the game.
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Quintana’s Command Improves, But D struggles
On the bright side, José Quintana only walked one batter in five innings compared to the eight he’d walked in eight innings in his first two outings. The bad news is that Kyle Karros had a fielding error that gave way to a two-run third inning. Quintana also got in his own way, getting called for a run-scoring balk in the fourth. Instead of inducing an inning-ending double play, it scored a run and helped the Dodgers take a 5-1 lead.
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In the first inning, Quinanta was also charged with an error when he couldn’t catch a lob from Troy Johnston to allow Shohei Ohtani to reach. Luckily, it didn’t turn out to hurt Quintana as Ohtani was stranded at third. What did hurt Quintana was giving up back-to-back solo homers to Muncy and Miguel Rojas in the second inning to give the Dodgers a lead (2-1) that they never lost.
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On the night, Quintana (0-2, 6.53 ERA) gave up six runs, only four earned, on eight hits and one walk with one strikeout in five innings. Quintana started the sixth inning, but gave up singles to Muncy and Rojas to start the frame and got the hook from manager Warren Schaeffer. In the postgame press conference, Schaeffer called the game “a night to forget.”
Gordon Also Scores Own Goal
Tanner Gordon relieved Quintana and was also his own worst enemy. While he almost escaped damage despite inheriting two runners, he intentionally walked Ohtani after getting two outs, but then accidentally walked Alex Call to walk in a run and make it 6-1.
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In the seventh inning, Gordon made a fielding error when he couldn’t scoop up a bunt by Rojas, which allowed Andy Pages to score and increase L.A.‘s lead to 7-1. In the eighth, Gordon threw a wild pitch, which allowed Ohtani to move from second to third and then come around to score on a Teoscar Hernández single.
While Gordon recorded six strikeouts, he didn’t have the same swing-and-miss magic he had in his season debut when he threw four scoreless innings on April 15 against Houston. Instead, the Dodgers teed off on Gordon with Dalton Rushing hitting two homers and Muncy adding his second of the day.
When all was said and done, Gordon (7.04 ERA) gave up six runs on seven hits with three walks.
Rockies Score First
It’s hard to believe, but the Rockies actually jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Jordan Beck led off with a double and Brenton Doyle followed with another double to bring him home and put the Rockies up 1-0.
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Then Wrobleski took over and gave up zero runs in the next six innings. The Rockies only got six hits in innings two through seven, struck out three times and didn’t draw a walk. Wrobleski is now 3-0 on the season with a 1.88 ERA in 24 innings.
The offense did better as soon as Wrobleski left the game. In the eighth inning, TJ Rumfield earned a stroll through the dugout in the purple coat when he sent an Edgardo Henriquez slider 440 feet to the second deck in the right field stands. It was Rumfield’s third homer of the season.
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Beck, taking advantage of a left-handed pitcher, went 3-for-4 with a sacrifice fly and a run scored from the leadoff spot. All three of his hits came against Wrobleski. Willi Castro and Brett Sullivan each added two hits for the Rockies.
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The Rockies will now host the San Diego (15-7) for a three-game series beginning Tuesday. The Padres swept the Rockies in a four-game series earlier in April. On Tuesday, RHP Randy Vásquez (1-0, 2.49) will get the start for San Diego. The Rockies have yet to announce their starter.
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