The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies Thursday night at Coors Field, 12-8 after closer Wade Davis fell apart once again in the ninth inning.
The game entered the top of the ninth inning with the score tied at eight runs apiece. Rockies’ manager Bud Black opted to deploy Davis in an attempt to preserve the score but to no avail.
Davis managed to get Cody Bellinger out with relative ease but then proceeded to issue a walk to Max Muncy. Matt Beaty followed with a single to push two runners on base with just one out. Chris Taylor then poked a single to right field, scoring a run to provide Los Angeles with a one-run lead.
Davis’ struggles did not stop there, as he proceeded to surrender a devastating three-run home run to Enrique Hernandez, establishing a 12-8 lead the Dodgers managed to hold.
Ahead are takeaways from the Rockies’ loss.
Lambert struggles
Youngster Peter Lambert struggled on the mound versus the Los Angeles Dodgers. Thursday’s start was Lambert’s fifth start as a big leaguer and his lack of experience was evident.
Los Angeles carved Lambert up from the jump, plating two runs in the second inning after surrendering a pair of home runs to Dodgers’ sluggers Cody Bellinger and Muncy.
Lambert managed to buckle down in the third and fourth innings before slipping up again in the fifth. The long ball continued to plague Lambert with Justin Turner and Alex Verdugo both cranking home runs to establish a 5-4 lead.
Lambert was unable to escape the fifth inning and departed with a line of 4.2 innings pitched, allowing five runs on nine hits while striking out a couple of batters.
Blackmon stays hot
Charlie Blackmon’s monstrous performance at the plate continued versus the Dodgers as the slugger collected three hits and two RBIs.
Blackmon nearly hit for the cycle by recording a single, double and triple throughout the ballgame.
Blackmon’s .330 batting average ranks third across the sport this month.
Blackmon had a rough go around out of the gate this season, hitting a measly .219 in his first 17 games through April 16. That said, Blackmon turned things around rather quickly, posting a .368 average (78-for-212) since April 18 which is the highest in the sport during that span. Additionally, his 18 home runs rank within the top-10 around the game.
Blackmon’s performance has been essential to the Rockies’ recent stretch of success as the veteran outfielder has reached base in all 27 games played at 20th and Blake this season while hitting nearly .500.
Charlie Blackmon now has three or more hits in five consecutive games at Coors Field, which is the longest single-season streak of its kind in the history of the ballpark and tied for the longest such streak over multiple seasons (Rondell White, July 30, 1997 – Aug. 14, 1999).
— Rockies Club Information (@RockiesClubInfo) June 28, 2019
Rockies rout Buhler
Walker Buehler has emerged as the ace of the Dodgers’ starting rotation and entered the series opener versus the Rockies riding an 8-1 record with a 2.96 earned run average.
After Los Angeles established a 2-0 lead in the second inning, Garrett Hampson managed to peg a two-RBI triple off of Buehler to wipe away the Dodgers’ lead.
The Rockies offense kept the pressure on Buehler in the third inning, where they added an additional two runs. Both Daniel Murphy and Raimel Tapia each collected RBI doubles to establish a 4-2 lead for Colorado after three innings of play.
Buehler settled in after the third inning, but the Rockies offense platted another three runs off of him in the sixth inning.
Buehler was unable to make it out of the sixth inning, departing after a line of 5.2 innings pitched, allowing seven runs on 13 hits.
Before Thursday’s outing, Buehler had never allowed more than eight hits and five runs in a single start.
Muncy’s hungry for home runs
Max Muncy has become a household name around the league for his ability to hit home runs, and his power stroke was on display at Coors Field.
Muncy blasted two home runs to raise his season total to 19. Muncy’s dinger in the second inning helped pad an early lead, and his seventh-inning blast established a late lead for Los Angeles.
Oops, @maxmuncy9 did it again. pic.twitter.com/Hld5pd0Zcg
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 28, 2019
Muncy has now blasted eight home runs in 13 career games played at Coors Field.