Dodgers Weather The Storm, But Not The Rockies As Garcia Blows Save

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Van Slyke then reached on an infield single as Arenado’s throw this time brought Rosario too far off the bag and out of reach to make a tag. The walk came back to haunt Bettis as Gonzalez came around to score on Yasmani Grandal’s base hit up the middle.

Ethier drew a walk to load the bases for the suddenly sparingly used Juan Uribe, but it didn’t amount to anything as he flied out and the Dodgers settled for a 4-1 lead through five innings. A heavy rain began to fall in the sixth and it appeared to affect Anderson to a certain degree as he issued his first walk of the night.

Tulowitzki hit a slow roller to Rollins, whose only play was at first base. With Carlos Gonzalez standing on second base with one out, Rollins fielded another softly hit ball but his throw wasn’t in time to get Arenado and it left runners on the corners with one out.

As Rosario stepped to the plate in the RBI situation, the game entered a rain delay with thunder and lightning not too far off in the distance. Play resumed after the delay ran one hour and 25 minutes with Juan Nicasio pitching for the Dodgers as part of a double switch that also saw Justin Turner replace Uribe at third base.

The Rockies picked up where they left off in keeping Rollins busy as Rosario was the next player to hit a grounder to the veteran shortstop. Rollins committed an error on the play, which allowed Rosario to reach safely and a run to score.

After allowing a single to load the bases, Nicasio got out of the jam against his former team on back-to-back strikeouts. Ken Roberts opened the bottom of the seventh by issuing a walk to Turner. The Dodgers’ utility man easily stole second base as Nick Hundley lost control of the ball as he transferred it to his throwing hand.

Turner moved into scoring position only to be stranded by Rollins and Kendrick. Drew Stubbs went down swinging for the first out in the seventh, giving Nicasio three consecutive strikeouts in 1.1 innings. Blackmon snapped that small streak, though it didn’t equate to success for him as he grounded out.

After issuing a two-out walk to Carlos Gonzalez, Nicasio collected his fourth strikeout in two innings by getting Tulowitzki to chase a high fastball. Adrian Gonzalez hit a leadoff double in the bottom of the seventh and attempted to steal third base for just the second time in his career.

Gonzalez was called out and the ruling was upheld after Dodgers manager Don Mattingly challenged the play. The decision to send Gonzalez hurt the Dodgers as Grandal singled up the middle, presumably rolling through the infield and onto the outfield grass that Gonzalez would have scored from second.

Instead, Ethier followed Grandal’s base hit with a line out and the Dodgers settled for a 4-2 lead heading into the top of the eighth. Chris Hatcher replaced Nicasio and bounced back from a rough outing to retire the side in order.

Yimi Garcia entered in the ninth inning with the Dodgers ahead by two runs and allowed a pair of singles before giving up a towering three-run home run to Gonzalez with two outs that gave the Rockies a 5-4 lead.

John Axford walked Gonzalez with two outs but closed out the game and the Rockies ended their 11-game losing streak. Moreover, the loss snapped the Dodgers’ nine-game winning streak over the Rockies that extended back to last season.

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