Wednesday’s matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies featured a pair of rookie starters who began the season in A-ball. For Brock Stewart, it was just his second start in the Majors. Tyler Anderson took the mound for his ninth outing with the Rockies.
After giving up a one-out single to Corey Seager, Anderson found himself staring at a deficit as Justin Turner followed with an opposite-field, two-run homer. However, Colorado quickly went to work on erasing the Dodgers’ 2-0 lead.
Charlie Blackmon and DJ LeMahieu connected on back-to-back singles in the bottom of the first. After being brushed back by a pitch that got away from Stewart, Nolan Arenado crushed a high fastball for a three-run home run.
Stewart then allowed a two-run homer to Mark Reynolds before he could get out of the inning. A Joc Pederson walk and A.J. Ellis base hit put runners on the corners with one out in the second.
But Pederson was then caught in a rundown on Stewart’s sacrifice bunt attempt, which thwarted any chances of a rally. Stewart was efficient and improved in the second and third innings, retiring eight consecutive batters to that point.
Adrian Gonzalez led off the fourth with a base hit to left field, only for Anderson to retire the next three batters faced. Stewart worked around a Reynolds leadoff single in the bottom half of the inning to keep the Dodgers within three runs of the Rockies.
However, that changed in the fifth when LeMahieu hit a two-run home run, followed by a Carlos Gonzalez solo homer. Stewart walked Arenado and gave up a base hit to David Dahl, which knocked the right-hander out of the game.
Josh Fields, recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City prior to Wednesday’s game, inherited runners on the corners with no outs in his debut with the Dodgers, and promptly gave up an RBI single to Reynolds.
Fields later walked Anderson to load the bases but escaped the jam by getting Blackmon to line out. Turner singled in the sixth but the Dodgers again were unable to build on having their leadoff man reach.
Julio Urias, who also was recalled on Wednesday, entered in the bottom of the sixth for his 10th game with the Dodgers but first out of the bullpen. After issuing a leadoff walk, Urias was tagged for a two-run homer by Gonzalez.
Arenado and Dahl singled, and a run scored on Reynolds’ double play. Kiké Hernandez drew a leadoff walk in the seventh but was erased on a Pederson double play. Urias struck out after Ellis kept the inning alive with a single, and the Dodgers’ deficit remained 12-2.
Urias wound up throwing three innings of relief, with the aforementioned three runs allowed, and three strikeouts. The Dodgers never threatened in the final three frames and lost a second consecutive game to the Rockies.
Colorado improved to 54-53 with the victory to move above .500 for the first time since May 18.
