The Los Angeles Dodgers evened up the series with the Colorado Rockies after a 4-1 victory on Saturday night.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto provided six strong innings and the offense knocked in half their runs with two outs to pick up the win.
The Rockies got the scoring going in the second inning and utilized small ball to great effect, converting on a Brendan Rodgers lead off double. Elehuris Montero moved Rodgers over with a groundout to Gavin Lux and Brenton Doyle brought the runner home with a sacrifice fly to give the Rockies an early 1-0 lead.
The Dodgers employed an unusual strategy to tie the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the second, which mostly relied on the Rockies defense shooting themselves in the foot repeatedly. With a runner on first and one out, a routine Gavin Lux ground ball to the first basemen somehow turned into Teoscar Hernández scoring all the way from first base.
The Rockies are in peak form and it's not even Rocktober yet.
(🎥: @ChadMoriyama) pic.twitter.com/3hAHVHFczb— Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) June 2, 2024
The bottom of the lineup is getting it done.
(🎥: @ChadMoriyama) pic.twitter.com/L2hUiGMgIy— Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) June 2, 2024
Will Smith loves sending players back to the dugout, whether it's throwing them out or driving them in.
(🎥: @ChadMoriyama) pic.twitter.com/B9fDvKMjaF— Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) June 2, 2024
Career stolen base 💯 for Shohei Ohtani.
(🎥: @Dodgers) pic.twitter.com/HAGzw1leSF— Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) June 2, 2024
Actually, we are updating our stance. Opposing teams should keep running on Will Smith.
(🎥: @MLB) pic.twitter.com/eVxQGVm87y— Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) June 2, 2024
Later on in the inning, the Dodgers added one more run in a more conventional method with Jason Heyward driving in Andy Pages with a double to give the L.A. a 2-1 lead. Kiké Hernández added with an RBI double of his own in the fourth inning to make it a 3-1 game.
Will Smith extended the lead to 4-1 with the team’s third RBI double of the game, and Dodgers pitching handled things from there.
After allowing a run in the second inning, Yamamoto threw four scoreless innings before handing it off to the bullpen. Daniel Hudson, Blake Treinen, and Evan Phillips combined to throw the final three frames and secure the Dodgers victory.
Phillips, making his first appearance since he was activated from the injured list, pitched a clean ninth inning for his ninth save of the season.
Andy Pages’ adjustments help Dodgers in win
Andy Pages had himself a game and was a big reason for the Dodgers’ victory. He was 3-for-4 on the night and scored half of the team’s runs.
He found a lot of success attacking pitches that were middle down, something that he had identified as an area he needed to work on in the midst of his slump at the plate.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!