After dropping their first game to the Colorado Rockies, the Los Angeles Dodgers took the W in the next 3 games at Coors Field to win their first mini-series of the season. A 4-2 victory Sunday afternoon sealed the deal for the Boys in Blue.
Weird energy
The series saw some interesting occurrences that included a cat running on the field and spraying fountains that distracted hitters. Saturday night, Dodgers infielder/outfielder Zach McKinstry hit an inside-the-park homer for his first career home run. The last Dodger to do that was Hall of Famer Duke Snider in 1948.
“There’s always a relief when you get out of Coors,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Our guys do a great job of embracing the schedule, and this is part of the schedule. It’s taxing, physically, mentally on the players, myself. It was exciting baseball all the way around and ultimately to win three of four here was a good start for our season.”
The good and the bad
Julio Urías (1-0) had an exceptional outing in his first start of the season, giving up just 1 run and 3 hits Sunday. The young lefty pitched into the 8th inning and struck out 6 while walking just 1. After 77 pitches, Urías’s day came to a close.
Urías played an instrumental part in the Dodgers winning their first World Series since 1988 last postseason against Tampa Bay. He took no losses while allowing just 3 earned runs and averaging over a strikeout per inning in 23 innings. Urías also put a save under his belt in Game 6 with 2 1/3 hitless innings that capped off the clincher.
Unlike Urías, Austin Gomber (0-1) struggled a bit in his debut for the Rockies. Seven total walks (a career-high) included a 1st inning stretch in which he issued 4 walks and had a throwing error that led to 3 Dodger runs without a hit.
“I don’t think I pitched bad,” Gomber said. “I just didn’t throw strikes. I gave up one hit, I walked seven guys in three innings. I don’t think that’s nerves; it just wasn’t my day.”
The lone home run of the afternoon came from the Dodgers’ Will Smith leading off the 8th. Colorado’s scoring came from Garrett Hampson’s 2-run double in the bottom of the inning.
Up Next
Dodgers RHP Dustin May will make his season debut at Oakland on Monday. May went 3-0 with a 2.37 ERA in 5 Cactus League games that included 4 starts.
Rockies RHP German Marquez will get his second start when Colorado opens a series against Arizona on Tuesday. Marquez allowed just 1 run in 4 innings against the Dodgers on Thursday.
