The Colorado Rockies defeat the Washington Nationals 12-0 Sunday afternoon, clinching a one-game tiebreaker, game No. 163 against the Los Angeles Dodgers scheduled for Monday in Los Angeles.
Rockies’ starting pitcher Tyler Anderson managed to escape the first inning unscathed with just four pitches despite allowing two singles.
And then the Rockies got going on offense when Charlie Blackmon hit a triple to right field in the bottom half of the first inning, the 40th triple of his career. Nolan Arenado later blasted a two-out home run to let field to establish a 2-0 lead for Colorado.
Anderson found himself in a bit of trouble in the second inning, surrendering back-to-back walks to Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto. With two runners on, former Rockie Mark Reynolds flew out to deep left field. Adrian Sanchez then hit a line drive back to Anderson who then threw to first base to solidify an inning-ending double-play.
The Rockies added to their lead in the fourth inning where Anderson helped his own cause with leadoff single. Blackmon then proceeded to blast a two-run home run to right field, extending Colorado’s lead to 4-0.
David Dahl crushed a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to extend the Rockies’ lead to 7-0. It was the sixth home run in seven days for Dahl.
Colorado put the icing on the cake in the bottom of the seventh inning where Arenado and Trevor Story hit back-to-back home runs, extending the Rockies’ lead to 9-0. It was the sixth time this season the Rockies have hit back-to-back home runs in a game, the second time on this homestand. It is also the second time Arenado and Story have accomplished the feat.
Blackmon put a cap on his afternoon in the bottom of the eighth inning where he hit a double down the right-field line to complete the cycle. It was the ninth cycle in Rockies history, the first since Arenado’s infamous walk-off cycle on Father’s day last season.
Anderson put forth arguably his best performance of the season Sunday afternoon, logging 7 2/3 innings pitched, allowing four hits while striking out five batters on 98 pitches.
The hidden gem in Anderson’s start was his ability to pitch deep into the seventh inning to preserve the Rockies bullpen for their impending challenges.
The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Francisco Giants Sunday, resulting in both the Dodgers and Rockies finishing with identical records of 91-71. With that, the two teams will play in a tiebreaker game Monday afternoon in Los Angeles to decide which team will win the National League West and who will play in the Wild Card game.
This is the first time in MLB history that this kind of scenario has come about since the sport added an official Wild Card round to the postseason in 2012.
The Rockies and Dodgers will play game 163 Monday afternoon at Dodger Stadium with first pitch set for 2:09 MST.
