Dodgers’ bats turn cold during road loss to Colorado Rockies

DENVER— Happens to one of the best of ’em.

Runners stranded in scoring place. Hitters chasing, squandering possibilities, failing to help a pitcher preventing with out his finest stuff. A highlighter off the mark, his few errors a number of too many.

All including up to a loss. Rare and deserved.

For simply the fifth time in 20 video games to date this season, the Dodgers got here out on the fallacious finish of the ledger, losing 4-3 to the Colorado Rockies on Saturday earlier than a blue-and-purple crowd of 47,925 at Coors Field.

“Up to this point with runners in scoring position, we’ve been able to — whether it be earn a walk or swing at good pitches — get hits,” Dodger supervisor Dave Roberts he mentioned. “Today it just seemed like we chased a lot more than we have.”

Kyle Tuckerthe Dodgers’ new $240-million man, had his second three-hit recreation this season — however he scored solely eleven, within the first inning, on his 435-foot two-run house run into the second deck.

Freddie Freeman went two for 3, together with a triple, however he was stranded each occasions he reached.

And Shohei Ohtani made extra historical past — he prolonged his career-best consecutive on-base report to 50 video games with a ninth-inning single to tie Willie Keeler’s 1901 mark for third in franchise historical past — however he additionally scored solely eleven, having reached on an error earlier than Tucker’s first-inning homer.

In all, the Dodgers left eight runners on base — together with Ohtani and Will Smith within the ninth — and went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring place.

“I mean, it happens at times,” mentioned Tucker, who jumped on pitches early in counts Saturday in an try to construct a constant rhythm from at-bat to at-bat, recreation to recreation.

“We’re facing big league pitchers and they got some guys in their bullpen that can pitch really well. But at the same time, we gotta do our part. We had some opportunities with guys on base, especially late. Just gotta find ways to get hits or just get those guys in. Happens at times, but we just gotta do a better job at it.”

These have been atypical postgame lamentations for the Dodgers, whose steamroll hit a pace bump as they misplaced for the primary time all season to a National League opponent.

Starter Emmett Sheehan He wasn’t as sharp as in his prior outing, however he left after 5 innings with a one-run lead, having thrown 77 pitches, giving up 4 hits and two runs with 4 strikeouts and two walks.

“I think last time we made a lot of progress on mechanical stuff,” mentioned Sheehan, who gave up two runs within the first two innings however then held the Rockies at bay. His finest inning was his remaining one, the 1-2-3, nine-pitch fifth.

“Definitely happy with some of the pitches I made later, but I got to be better earlier in the game,” Sheehan mentioned.

Dalton Rushing attend

“He fought, he showed how tough he is out there,” mentioned Rushing, the Dodgers’ hot-and hard-hitting backup catcher who obtained the beginning. “He didn’t have his best stuff. He knew that. He knew he was going to have to pivot a little bit, figure some things out. I’ll give it to him. He grinded out there. But there’s some things we can work on, both of us, about understanding a game plan. But overall I’m proud of the way he grinded.

“Obviously I’m not happy with the outcome. We misplaced a baseball recreation. But on the identical time I feel there was some good popping out of the grinding.”

Rushing’s only hit Saturday was a 371-foot solo home run in the second inning that gave the Dodgers a 3-1 lead that lasted until reliever Will Klein gave up three consecutive hits and two runs — and the one-run lead he was staked — in the sixth inning.

“I thought tonight his sweeper, the feel for spin wasn’t good,” Roberts said. “He didn’t have it and I think a couple of those early hits were just cement mixers that just didn’t do anything.”

Right-hander Roki Sasaki (0-2, 6.23) is scheduled to take the mound for the Dodgers at the famously hitter-friendly ballpark for a 1:10 pm game Sunday. Right-hander Michael Lorenzen (1-2, 8.10) is scheduled to start for the Rockies.

Train is okay

Dodgers aid Blake Treinen was struck by a batted ball whereas he was within the bullpen earlier than the sport, however he mentioned afterward that he was “fine.”

The Dodgers’ right-handed reliever mentioned he did not expertise any concussion-like signs and will have come on to pitch after being examined to guarantee he didn’t, in actual fact, have a concussion.