Bullpen implodes again, Rockies drop first game to Dodgers

DENVER – Before it even began, the focus on the first game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies was elevated above the typical June 1 matchup on both sides. Sure, the Dodgers are surging and trying to catch back up both to the expectations put on them and the first-place Rockies.

That would have been narrative enough. But injury complications early in the day made this a must-watch game for fans of either team.

For the Rockies, they got back their All-Star second baseman DJ LeMahieu in time to insert him into the lineup, but at the expense of a disabled list trip for David Dahl, who figures to miss at least a month and a half with a broken foot. For an offense that has picked it up in the recent weeks, the one-for-one exchange created a shake up. But the more interesting adaptation coming into the night was on the Dodgers’ side, with their starting pitcher.

Scott Alexander, a left-hander who had never started a game at the MLB level, became the 500th person to do so in a Dodgers uniform as Dave Roberts got creative and borrowed a page from the playbook of Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash. Alexander served as an “opener” which is the exact opposite of a closer, who comes in to work the first inning (or in Alexander’s case, 1.2) before handing the game over to the “starter.”

With the Rockies being the home team, all eyes would have to pass over Rockies starter Tyler Anderson as he took the ball in the first. Right away, it looked as though the pitcher who was assumed to pitch the majority of the game might not make it much farther than the short reliever on the other side, giving up a triple to lead off hitter Chris Taylor to start the game.

He scored on a sacrifice fly by the next batter Justin Turner. Matt Kemp followed that up with a 400 foot home run to continue his rise-from-the-ashes season and give his team a 2-0 lead in the first inning.

After the Rockies escaped that jam, it was time for the main act. Alexander, who has struggled to repeat the successes he had last season in Kansas City, took the mound to try to give the game’s “starter” Dennis Santana relief from the top half of the Rockies’ order in his MLB debut. But those struggles would continue, as DJ LeMahieu picked up right where he left off before his injury with a patented line drive to right field on a base hit. LeMahieu would score on a Carlos Gonzalez triple to pull the Rockies within a run.

Alexander completed the inning without further damage and retired Gerardo Parra in the second before being pulled in favor of Santana, closing his line at 1.2 innings pitched, one run allowed on two hits with a strikeout.

Santana, meanwhile, was not greeted to the big leagues kindly by the Rockies. After getting Ian Desmond to line out, he ceded a double to Chris Iannetta, plunked Anderson, gave up a single to LeMahieu and capped it all off with a triple off the bat of Charlie Blackmon, allowing three runs over the sequence. Even the inning-ender, a line drive to center by Nolan Arenado, was a well-hit line drive that necessitated a nice sliding catch by center fielder Kike Hernandez. After two, the Rockies held a 4-2 lead.

Santana earned some redemption back in the fourth, driving a ball of the bottom of the left field wall with the bases loaded to score a pair and tie the game in his first MLB at-bat. A sac fly from Taylor put the Dodgers on top in the fourth 5-4, but LeMahieu continued his hot return by scoring Iannetta on yet another base hit in the fifth and knotting the game at 5-5.

The Rockies took the lead in the fifth on a Gerardo Parra single that scored Arenado from second.

The lead would be short-lived, though. Brooks Pounders took over for Anderson in the sixth but failed to record an out. After giving up a three-run home run to Taylor, Turner hit one of the auxiliary scoreboards for a double, chasing Pounders from the game. His relief, Scott Oberg, hit Kemp with a high-and-tight fastball on his fifth pitch of the game. A fielder’s choice and a walk later, Logan Forsythe drove in Hernandez with a sacrifice fly, giving Los Angeles a 9-6 lead.

LeMahieu kept raking, recording his fourth hit of the game in the sixth, tying a career high. The next inning Arenado lined one just over the left field wall for his 12th home run of the year, pulling the Rockies within two.

In the top of the seventh, Yasiel Puig blooped a pitch in the right-center gap that skipped past Blackmon and Gonzalez kicked, allowing Puig to reach second with nobody out. The Rockies third outfielder, Parra, bailed out the other two and the Rockies by cutting Puig down trying to advance to third on a sacrifice fly.

He redeemed himself in the ninth with his fourth hit of the game, a home run that gave Los Angeles two insurance runs.

Tony Cingrani recorded two outs in the eighth before giving the ball to closer Kenley Jansen, who allowed a hit to Noel Cuevas in the eighth and a pair to Blackmon and CarGo in the ninth, plating another run, but locked down the win for the Dodgers.

The Rockies did get the tying run to the plate but Parra and Desmond each grounded out to end the game.

Final: Rockies 8, Dodgers 11

The Rockies fall to 30-27. With Arizona’s victory over Miami, Colorado’s division lead falls to 0.5 games.

Final Stats

Tyler Anderson: 5 IP, 7 H, 5 R (5 ER), 4 K, 3 BB

Brooks Pounders: 0 IP, 3 H, 4 R (4 ER), BB

Scott Oberg: 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, BB

Mike Dunn: 1 IP, 0 R, H, K

Bryan Shaw: 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H

Chris Rusin: 1 IP, 2 R (2 ER), H, BB

DJ LeMahieu: 4-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI

Charlie Blackmon, 1-for-3, 3B, 2 RBI

Carlos Gonzalez: 1-for-3, 3B, RBI

Nolan Arenado: 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI

What’s Next

The Rockies are back in action on Saturday against the Dodgers. German Marquez will match up with Walker Buehler, both of whom started on May 21 in Los Angeles. Each only allowed one run while pitching seven innings. First pitch is at 5:15.