LOS ANGELES, CA — There must be something in the air of Los Angeles.
This week, as the Rockies and Dodgers squared off in a three-game series, featuring one team at the bottom of the National League and another at the top, each contest was decided by one run. And except for the eleven-inning game on Monday, the winning runs were all scored in the last two innings.
The Rockies (38-56) made the Dodgers (61-33) work hard for their two wins in this three-game set. In Wednesday’s series finale, it was Mookie Betts coming through for LA in the eighth inning with a hard single to center field that scored Tommy Edman to give LA a 4-3 lead.
Mookie Betts was the difference maker Wednesday night in LA vs. the Rockies, coming through on an eighth inning go-ahead RBI single – Image Credit: Emma Sharon/Latino Sports
Tanner Scott closed it out soon after, striking out two of the three batters he faced in the top of the ninth inning.
Colorado’s starting pitcher Gabriel Hughes, starting for the first time in the Major Leagues, took the Dodger Stadium mound with just three innings under his belt, which the veteran Dodger lineup took advantage of quickly. Not kind to him early is one way to put it.
Three runs on the board for LA in the first inning after seven batters came to the plate.
During the Dodgers’ three-run first inning, Freddie Freeman was driven in on a Kyle Tucker line drive single to left with two outs – Image Credit: Emma Sharon/Latino Sports
In the second inning, Dodger starter Roki Sasaki threw two pitches down the middle of the plate, resulting in a Kyle Karros 417-foot home run into the left-field pavilion, followed by a 423-foot home run into the right-field pavilion by Edouard Julien to make it a 3-2 game. Colorado would tie the score an inning later without even getting a hit.
But after that, both pitchers shut it down. Following the first inning, Hughes retired 14 in a row, finishing with a line of six innings pitched, four hits, three runs, two walks, and seven strikeouts. He threw 94 pitches, of which 68 were strikes.
Sasaki also settled down and left after six innings, giving up three runs on four hits, walking one and striking out five. He threw 78 pitches, of which 56 were strikes.
Most of the time throughout 2026, the Dodgers, with their powerful lineup, would put away struggling teams, but putting the Rockies to bed was not the case throughout this series and again on Wednesday night.
“They got some good arms. They got some good talent. They played us tough,” Betts said in the postgame. “Fortunately, we were able to come out on top. But I don’t think anybody in here takes any series for granted.”
Up Next: LA will finish the first half of the season with a three-game series at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks this weekend as they prepare to send off five of their marquee names to the 2026 MLB All-Star Game next week—Andy Pages (Havana, Cuba), Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Max Muncy, Freddie Freeman.
Fortunately for the Dodgers, after Wednesday, Los Angeles only has to face Colorado three more times this season.
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