Julio Urias was plagued by familiar troubles but he got into a rhythm and the Los Angeles Dodgers used a six-run seventh inning to cruise to a 9-3 comeback win against the Colorado Rockies.
Urias again labored through the first inning, allowing a single and double to the first two batters faced. Charlie Blackmon’s sacrifice fly gave the Rockies an early lead, and Kevin Pillar’s two-out RBI single doubled it.
Urias threw 26 pitches in the opening frame, but like he has done on several occasions this season, settled in from there. He needed just 17 pitches to get through the second and third innings, which was part of retiring 13 in a row.
The streak was snapped on Edwin Rios’ error at third base that allowed Raimel Tapia to reach to start the bottom of the sixth. Urias picked up two outs and gave way to Dylan Floro, who finished the inning.
Urias managing to quiet the Rockies after the first inning proved key for the Dodgers and their efforts to mount a comeback.
Kyle Freeland held them to just two baserunners and one hit through three scoreless innings. That changed in the fourth as Corey Seager led off with a home run. Justin Turner followed with a base hit and Cody Bellinger’s two-out single sparked a bit of a rally.
Chris Taylor’s walk loaded the bases and Kiké Hernandez took a pitch off the elbow to bring in a run that tied the game.
Freeland was removed after allowing a double and issuing a walk to put two on with one out in the seventh inning. Carlos Estevez was greeted by a Mookie Betts go-ahead single, Seager hit an RBI double and another run scored on a wild pitch.
Will Smith’s RBI base hit then knocked Estevez out of the game. Jairo Diaz didn’t fare much better as he issued two walks, with the second resulting in a passed ball that allowed the Dodgers to score a sixth run in the inning.
Rios provided more separation with a solo home run in the eighth. The night largely belonged to Seager, who finished 3-for-5 with two RBI and a triple shy of hitting for the cycle.
After a lengthy stint on the 10-day injured list and serving a five-game suspension, Joe Kelly made his first appearance since Aug. 8. He spun seven straight breaking balls before going to his heater to get a groundout to end the seventh — retiring the only batter faced.
Dodgers inch closer to division title
The San Diego Padres were idle Thursday night, so the Dodgers’ magic number to clinch the National League West was only reduced to five.
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