Dodgers' late rally caps 3-game sweep
Coors Field is a thousand miles away from Dodger Stadium over land and a million miles away in spirit. Somewhere above the Continental Divide, the hitters haven that the Colorado Rockies call home disappears like a fly ball into a thick marine layer. At night at least, Dodger Stadium will always be a pitcher's park.
The Dodgers' offense Wednesday night consisted of a run that scored on a passed ball, and a walk-off infield single. Starting pitcher Mitch White and three relievers combined to allow one hit and one run. Only the in-stadium disc jockey played the hits in the Dodgers' 2-1 win before the announced crowd of 45,098.
By sweeping the threegame series from Colorado (35-47), the fifth-place team in the National League West, the Dodgers (52-29) extended their division lead to a season-high six games over second-place San Diego.
The Dodgers loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth inning against Daniel Bard (3-3), who did not record an out. Cody Bellinger singled, went to third base on a shift-busting single by Gavin Lux, and watched with anticipation as pinch hitter Will Smith drew a walk.
That brought up Mookie Betts, who chopped the second pitch he saw over Bard's head into the teeth of a drawn-in infield. Surehanded shortstop Jose Iglesias could not get off a throw, and Bellinger scampered home with the winning run.
Bellinger had three of the Dodgers' nine hits. Justin Turner and Lux each had two. Craig Kimbrel (2-4) was credited with the victory in his first game back from a back injury.
The Dodgers tied the game 1-1 with a run in the bottom of the seventh inning. The bases were loaded for Betts when a pitch glanced off the glove of Rockies catcher Brian Serven. Bellinger raced home and slid under the tag of pitcher Jose Ureña.
An extra day's rest served White well. The velocity on each of his pitches — fastball, slider, sinker and curveball — ticked up above their season averages. He threw first-pitch strikes to 14 of the 22 batters he faced, a nominal improvement for a pitcher who has struggled to get ahead in the count.
The result? White did not allow a hit for 5 1/3 innings. The game was tied 0-0 into the sixth inning.
With one out, Rockies left fielder Kris Bryant laid off a pair of two-strike sliders, drawing a walk. The next batter, Brendan Rogers, also worked a full count. White placed a sinker low and inside, but Rogers roped it into center field single. The no-hit bid was over.
A few seconds later, the shutout was over too. Bryant sprinted from first base to third. Bellinger overthrew Turner, the third baseman, and White, who was backing up the play. Bryant had already reached third by the time the ball reached the camera well adjoining the Dodgers' dugout. Bryant was able to walk home unencumbered with the game's first run.