Charlie Blackmon, Sam Hilliard’s heroic homers lift Rockies over Dodgers – The Denver Post
From the Rockies’ point of view, their 9-6, 10-inning win over the Dodgers Friday night was indescribably delicious.
This was “Cuckoo For Cocoa Puffs” kind of stuff.
For the record, the Rockies scored three runs in the 10th on an RBI single by Trevor Story and a two-run home run from Charlie Blackmon, who blasted a Jimmie Sherfy slider deep into the night.
But that was just part of the story.
In the ninth, outfielder Sam Hilliard donned Superman’s cape.
Hilliard, who’s spent most of the season at Triple-A Albuquerque, blasted a two-out, pinch-hit, solo home run off of lefty reliever Darien Núñez to give Colorado a 6-5 lead. It was Hilliard’s sixth career homer at Dodger Stadium, which is really something when you consider he has just eight at Coors Field.
Oh yes, it was also Hilliard’s first major-league hit on the road all season.
But the lead didn’t hold, because Colorado closer Daniel Bard blew the save and nearly had a nuclear meltdown in the bottom of the frame.
Austin Barnes opened the ninth with a single off Bard, followed by another single from Chris Taylor. Bard then gave up back-to-back walks to Billy McKinney and Justin Turner, the latter forcing in a run to tie the game at 6-all.
But with the bases loaded, Bard suddenly found the lost command of his slider and struck out Will Smith, Sheldon Neuse and AJ Pollock to send the game into extra innings.
Rookie lefty, Lucas Gilbreath, from Legacy High School in Broomfield, shut down the Dodgers in the 10th for his first career save.
The Rockies, who have been so bad on the road this season (10-34), have now won three straight, going back to two consecutive wins on the road at San Diego on July 10-11.
Since July 1, 2018, Colorado had been 3-20 at Chavez Ravine, but the hex didn’t hold Friday night as Colorado took advantage of a wobbling Dodgers bullpen.
Colorado’s offense, which has averaged just 2.8 runs per game on the road, finally sprouted signs of life outhitting L.A. 12-10 with three homers.
Their two-run eighth inning, featuring an RBI double by Blackmon and an RBI single by Ryan McMahon tied the game at 5-all.
It was that kind of night the Rockies, who kept producing mini-rallies.
Facing Dodgers starter David Price, Elias Diaz led off the third with a solo homer, cutting the Dodgers’ lead to 3-1.
In Colorado’s two-run sixth, Story led off with a massive home run to dead center off of Price. Story’s 12th homer of the season was his first since July 1 — a span of 43 at-bats. A walk by Blackmon and back-to-back singles by C.J. Cron and Ryan McMahon brought home Blackmon to cut L.A.’s lead to 4-3.
But the Dodgers wasted no time extending the lead to 5-3 in the bottom of the frame. Cody Bellinger, showing hints that he might be busting out of a horrific slump, led off with a triple against reliever Ben Bowden. The lefty committed the cardinal sin of throwing a 0-2 fastball right down the middle. Pollock drove in Bellinger with a single to left.
Toss out the first inning and Rockies right-hander Chi Chi Gonzalez pitched pretty well. From the second inning through the fifth, he allowed just one hit — a leadoff solo homer by Justin Turner in the third — and two base runners.
That first inning, however, was a killer, especially considering that the Dodgers entered the game with a 43-15 record in games in which they score first. L.A. scored three runs, powered by RBI doubles by Smith and Bellinger and an RBI single by Matt Beaty. All three runs came with two outs.
Gonzalez has struggled out of the gate this season, posting a 9.6 ERA in the first inning.
Source: Read Full Article