Rockies lose series and continue to lose against the Dodgers

Colorado Rockies pitcher Ty Blach (50) while Los Angeles Dodgers DH Shohei Ohtani (17) runs the bases after hitting a solo home run in the first inning at Coors Field in Denver on Thursday, June 20, 2024. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)

No, “I Love LA” wasn’t blaring from the speakers at Coors Field on Thursday afternoon. But that didn’t stop the Dodgers from feeling at home. Like always.

Thanks to a strong start by rookie right-hander Gavin Stone and home runs by the three best hitters in their lineup – All-Stars Shohei Ohtani, Will Smith and Freddie Freeman – the Dodgers beat the Rockies 5-3 to win the four-game series.

“Even without Mookie, this lineup is still ridiculous,” said Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon, referring to the injured Dodgers star shortstop Mookie Betts. “Their first four batters are all MVP candidates. It’s a really good lineup, but honestly I think we’ve been pretty tough on them.”

But not hard enough.

Since 2018, Los Angeles is 74-33 against Colorado. During Colorado’s six-season losing streak dating back to 2019, Los Angeles is 29-16 at Coors.

Trailing 5-0 through five innings, the Rockies made it a real game and McMahon had an All-Star day. In the sixth inning, he channeled his inner Brooks Robinson, collecting Miguel Rojas’ grounder at third base and throwing it to first base with a quick throw to get a half-step ahead of Rojas.

“I practice that play every day,” McMahon said. “It was a slow top spinner down the line. It wasn’t hit that hard, but to get to the ball I had to go quite a distance. But I practice that delivery every day. I have confidence in myself and I threw it over there.”

McMahon opened the eighth with a 462-footer to the second deck above the bullpen in right field, cutting the lead to 5-3. McMahon used left-hander Alex Vesia’s 2-0 fastball for his team-best 13th home run.

McMahon’s moonshot was the Rockies’ longest home run of the season and the fifth-longest of his career. He is responsible for four of Colorado’s five longest home runs this season.

However, Stone dominated Colorado through the first five innings, allowing no runs on three hits. He lost his mojo in the sixth inning when he allowed a leadoff walk to Sean Bouchard, a walk with one out to Michael Toglia and a single to Elehuris Montero to load the bases.

Manager Dave Roberts recognized the signs of the times and replaced Stone with Blake Treinen, who promptly allowed a two-run single to Jake Cave. The Dodgers’ big lead had shrunk to 5-2.

Stone first stepped onto the Coors Field mound on a great streak, going 6-1 with a 2.06 ERA in his last nine starts.

“He has a good changeup and good placement with the fastball with enough speed,” said Rockies manager Bud Black. “And he can pitch effectively both downfield and upfield.”

Rockies veteran left-hander Ty Blach is a contact pitcher. Sometimes his style works, sometimes it doesn’t. That certainly wasn’t the case on Thursday.

The Dodgers scored five runs against Blach on 10 hits, including a solo home run by Ohtani early in the game and back-to-back home runs by Smith and Freeman in the fourth inning.

Blach entered the game with a solid record against the Dodgers, going 4-3 with a 3.13 ERA in 20 appearances (nine starts). Blach’s ERA was the eighth-lowest against the Dodgers of all active pitchers (minimum 50 innings).

But as Black pointed out, Blach’s track record doesn’t include many innings against players like Ohtani and Freeman, who are relatively new to the Dodgers’ lineup. Most notably, Black said, Blach lacked control on key pitches during Thursday’s game.

“I’d say that’s a pretty fair assessment,” Blach said. “I didn’t quite get close to Smith. The pitch to Ohtani wasn’t bad; honestly, I didn’t think he hit it that well. But he got it. And the pitch to Freddie (Freeman) was a breaking ball that just didn’t get far enough away from him.”

Freeland’s start. Veteran left-hander Kyle Freeland has recovered from a left elbow injury and is ready to return to the major league rotation, slated to start Sunday against the Nationals at Coors Field.

Black said he is not yet ready to announce what steps he will take when Freeland returns to the starting lineup.

Freeland made two rehab starts at Triple-A Albuquerque. In his final start for the Isotopes in Oklahoma City, Freeland threw 67 pitches in four innings and allowed two runs on two hits, four strikeouts and four walks.

“I lost a little bit of control, but the most important thing is that my elbow is healthy and I’m ready,” Freeland said.

Amador injured. Rookie baseman Adael Amador left Thursday’s game in the eighth inning with what Black called a “mild oblique strain.” The 21-year-old suffered a similar injury this season at Double-A Hartford. It remains to be seen whether he will be placed on the injured list.

The pitching duel on Friday

Nationals LHP DJ Herz (1-1, 3.77 ERA) at Rockies RHP Dakota Hudson (2-9, 4.89 ERA)

6:40 p.m., Friday, Coors Field

TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).

Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM

Hudson’s loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday (three runs allowed in 5 1/3 innings) was his ninth, the most in the National League. The right-hander has been pitching much better lately, however, posting a 3.63 ERA in his last seven starts. He is still looking for his first win at Coors Field in a Rockies uniform. He is 0-4 at home this season with a 7.16 ERA. Against Washington, he has pitched well, going 3-1 with a 2.74 ERA, including a 1-1 record with a 2.40 ERA in three starts.

Herz, a talented rookie, is off to a historic start. In the Nationals’ 4-0 win over Miami last Saturday, he joined former Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg as the only major league pitchers with 13 or more strikeouts and zero walks in any of his first three career starts. Strasburg accomplished that feat on June 8, 2010, with a 14-strikeout game against the Pirates. Herz, who has never played against the Rockies, limited the Marlins to one hit in six innings.

Probable pitching

Saturday: Nationals’ LHP Mitchell Parker (5-3, 3.06) at Rockies RHP Cal Quantrill (6-5, 3.43), 7:10 p.m.

Sunday: Nationals RHP Jake Irvin (5-6, 3.24) at Rockies LHP Austin Gomber (1-4, 4.36), 1:10 p.m.

— Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post

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