Rockies beat Dodgers 4-2 to end 12-game skid in LA
LOS ANGELES (AP) — With no postseason hopes on the line, the Colorado Rockies will still take any win they can get, especially at Dodger Stadium.
Ryan McMahon and Josh Fuentes hit solo homers, and the Rockies defeated Los Angeles 4-2 Saturday night to snap a 12-game skid in the Dodgers' home park.
It was the Rockies' first win in eight games in Los Angeles this season, and their first here since June 30, 2018.
"Anytime you play here the crowd is always going crazy and guys get a little energized from them," Fuentes said. "We got the dub and that was huge. We shut them down and that was great."
The NL West champion Dodgers were left sitting on 99 wins while trying to join Houston and the New York Yankees as the major leagues' third 100-game winner for the third straight season.
Kyle Freeland made his first start since Aug. 20 for the Rockies after earlier being reinstated from the injured list, where he'd been with a groin strain. The left-hander gave up three hits and struck out one in two innings.
"Felt great being able to get a couple innings in and have success," Freeland said. "I knew I had to get comfortable as quickly as I could. Didn't feel anything different after being down a month."
Freeland then turned it over to originally scheduled starter Chi Chi Gonzalez.
Gonzalez (2-6) gave up two runs and two hits in five innings. He struck out eight and walked one.
"Every time I had a 3-2 count, I executed the pitch," Gonzalez said. "The plan was to attack with all my pitches and I was getting ahead of these guys, so that's when you can experiment."
Jairo Diaz retired the side in the ninth for his fifth save.
Fuentes homered on the first pitch leading off the seventh to chase Walker Buehler and extend the Rockies' lead to 4-2.
"It was a hanging slider and I crushed it," Fuentes said.
Buehler (13-4) gave up four runs and five hits in six-plus innings. He struck out five and walked three.
"I felt good, but I was a little off," Buehler said. "I have one more start before the playoffs and that's a good thing. I'll be where I have to be."
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said his staff is close to being ready for the playoffs with a week left in the regular season.
"Walker was just missing on both sides of the plate," he said. "He was off by just a tick and wasn't able to put guys away."
The Rockies led 3-0 after three innings.
McMahon homered leading off the second. His only other hit off Buehler was a single on June 27 in Denver. He had been 1-for-15 with eight strikeouts against the right-hander.
Raimel Tapia and Charlie Blackmon added RBI singles in the third.
The Dodgers closed to 3-2 in the fourth on a pair of two-out unearned runs.
Corey Seager's RBI triple eluded a diving Sam Hilliard in center field, with the ball rolling to the warning track. That scored Cody Bellinger after he reached on a throwing error by Gonzalez. Russell Martin followed with an RBI single that scored Seager.
Hilliard robbed A.J. Pollock of a potential home run leading off the fourth with a scrambling catch at the wall.
Trailing 4-2 in the eighth, the Dodgers' defense saved at least one run. With runners on first and third, Hilliard singled to center and Kike Hernandez charged the ball, throwing it so hard to the plate that he tumbled over. Martin tagged out Tapia to end the inning.
In the bottom of the inning, the Dodgers had the potential tying run on when Hernandez singled with one out. But Pollock flied out to center and Bellinger fouled out to the catcher next to the netting near the Rockies' on-deck circle to end the threat.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Rockies: INF Nolan Arenado wasn't in the lineup because of illness.
Dodgers: INF Max Muncy was out of the lineup after experiencing his left thigh grab in the batter's box a night earlier. He's expected to start Sunday. ... RHP Joe Kelly will be limited until the postseason because of unspecified lower body issues.
TURNER'S ANKLE
Justin Turner started at third base for the Dodgers for the first time since Sept. 7 after nursing an injured ankle.
"I'm feeling better and I was comfortable in the box," said Turner, who went 0-for-2 before being pulled. "The MRI showed us it was worse than we thought, but I'm feeling better."
UP NEXT
Rockies: RHP Antonio Senzatela (10-10, 6.83 ERA) is 1-1 with a 5.65 ERA in three starts against LA this season.
Dodgers: LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (12-5, 2.35) is 0-1 with a 4.87 ERA in four starts against the Rockies this season.
