Just 24 hours after a heartbreaking loss, the Colorado Rockies got sweet revenge against the Los Angeles Dodgers by erasing a two-run deficit in the ninth inning and winning 7-6 in walk-off fashion on Wednesday night. Nolan Arenado hit a walk off sacrifice fly to complete the comeback victory and split the four-game set with the division rival Dodgers.
Arenado’s teammates rewarded his effort with two complimentary ice water showers and a shaving cream pie to the face.
#RoxWin! pic.twitter.com/hSj3wEkZ0u
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) June 4, 2015
Colorado showed a lot of heart and fight in the bounce-back, come-from-behind win after blowing a two-run lead in the seventh inning. The club has now won nine of their last 12 games as they look to right the ship.
“Guys kept fighting, we’ve been doing that,” Rockies manager Walt Weiss said at his post-game presser. “Fighting till the last out of every game. After a really difficult loss last night, to come back and win a game like that, I think it speaks volume about were all about.”
Wednesday’s game was delayed two and half hours due to weather – but the Rockies rewarded the faithful fans that stuck around and sent them home with smiling faces.
Troy Tulowitzki ripped off five RBIs on a three-run homerun, an RBI single, and a clutch walk. The 30-year-old shortstop appears to have shaken off his early season struggles as he has four homeruns in the last five games. He patiently drew a walk on a 3-2 inside pitch from Yimi Garcia with the bases loaded to pull the Rockies within one run and start the ninth inning rally.
J.P. Howell relieved Garcia at that point, but he was unable to stop the bleeding. Charlie Blackmon – who got on base with a ground rule double – came home to tie the game on a wild pitch to Carlos Gonzalez that got passed catcher Yasmani Grandal.
The Dodgers then elected to walk Gonzalez – setting up Arenado for his fourth career walk-off hit. The third baseman brought DJ LaMahieu home with a fly ball to left field to win the game.
“[Arenado] impacts the game on both sides of the ball,” said Weiss. “Tough at-bat right there against Hatcher. He paints him two fast balls away in the upper 90s and Nolan kept his composure, fought off a tough pitch, and got the job done.”
Not surprisingly, Arenado also made two great defensive plays including a remarkable barehanded flip in the infield to get Alberto Callaspo out at first base.
Not to be outdone, Brandon Barnes made two impressive catches in the outfield. The Rockies’ spark club stole a homerun from Andre Ethier early in the game and a triple from Enrique Hernandez in the eighth inning.
Blackmon delivered a season-high four hits, including two doubles, a stolen base, and scored three runs.
Chad Bettis was solid yet again on the bump. The 26-year-old gave the Rockies six solid innings – allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits with five strikeouts and three walks. He is 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA on the season.
Dodgers’ emerging star Joc Pederson hit one homerun in all four games of the series and now has a streak of five-consecutive games with a jack.
The Rockies have Thursday off before they host they Miami Marlins for a three-game set starting on Friday at Coors Field.
Nathan is a staff writer for Mile High Sports. He can be reached on Twitter at @TheRealNatron.