Recap: McCarhty Is Sharp, Dodgers Erupt In 6th To Sweep Rockies
McCarthy ended the inning on a strikeout of Descalso, which increased his streak of consecutive batters retired to seven and the Dodgers continued to lead, 2-0. Ellis got his first hit of the season on a bloop single that landed just fair between a trio of Rockies attempting to track it down off the right field line.
Ellis was moved into scoring position on McCarhty’s sac-bunt and the Dodgers loaded the bases on consecutive walks by Rollins and Turner. Gonzalez again failed to deliver in the RBI situation as he fouled out to McHenry.
Rafael Ynoa pinch-hit for Butler and drew a leadoff walk in the sixth inning. The Rockies then executed a hit-and-run with Blackmon at the plate and his single to left field put runners on the corners with no outs.
McCarthy got a big out when Carlos Gonzalez popped up to Rollins, and the Dodgers’ right-hander ended the threat by snagging a comeback and starting a 1-6-3 inning-ending double play. Scott Oberg came on in relief of Butler and promptly gave up a solo home run to Kendrick.
Oberg walked Ethier and the game quickly began to unravel for the Rockies. Van Slyke skied one in foul territory in front of the Rockies’ dugout that Morneau inexplicably dropped. Van Slyke wound up hitting a two-run home run that extended the Dodgers’ lead to 5-0.
It went from bad to worse as Pederson hit a solo shot into the right field pavilion to give the Dodgers back-to-back home runs. Ellis added to Oberg’s troubles with a double and later came around to score on Turner’s RBI double before the Rockies reliever could get out of the inning.
After scoring five runs in the sixth to jump out to a 7-0 lead, the Dodgers turned the ball over to Adam Liberatore, who struck out two in a scoreless seventh inning. After Liberatore retired the side in order in the eighth, Rollins recorded his first hit of the game with a two-out single.
Turner then hit his third double on the day that left two runners in scoring position for Gonzalez, who came up empty and thus brought an end to his 13-game hitting streak. Juan Nicasio came on in the ninth against his former team for his first action since April 14.
Nicasio gave up a leadoff single and issued a two-out walk before finishing out the game and extending the Dodgers’ winning streak to seven games including a three-game sweep of the Rockies.
[divide]Adrian Gonzalez Discusses Approach To Hitting
How about that win today? 7 in a row now. We are on a roll. We are making great defensive plays when we need to (McCarthy/Rollins/Gonzo double play, outfield speed, etc.) and just wearing out opposing pitchers. Then throw in some high heat late innings and the opposition just doesn’t have a chance. We look great and the confidence is there.
These next two weeks against SF and SD are gonna be tough; you know they always bring their A-game against us. Hopefully we can go at least 6-3, but 5-4 won’t be the end of the world.
And another thing: defense wins again.
LF Corey Dickerson didn’t cut off SVS’s hit in the 1st, which led to a run by Kendrick. Also in the 5th, he failed to cut off Turner’s hit, and just let the ball roll to the wall, which led to a double instead of just a single.
Don’t forget Morneau’s missed foul catch (probably the sun?) that led to SVS’s home run. That’s about 3-4 runs right there capitalized on mistakes. Great to see our players not making too many.
I noticed the same thing about Dickerson when I was watching the replays in At Bat this morning.
Looks like this is going to be a fun season to be a Dodgers fan.
Personally, I think that Friedman and Co did an outstanding job. I liked the way the team was shaping up as I read about and researched the trades and it’s exciting to see it come together on the field.
The bench continues to come up huge. Pederson is as advertised. Puig is more mature. Adrian is Adrian.
Mccarthy was outstanding again today. If he keeps that up, we have a dominant rotation.
The bullpen has been lights out, even with all the “worn out arms” and lack of superstar relievers.
Good things are happening in LA!