It was supposed to be a weekend of celebration. The Los Angeles Dodgers headed to the Mile High city of Denver with their magic number to clinch the NL West at 3.
Instead the Dodgers got altitude sickness, getting swept by the Rockies in three consecutive lopsided losses.
Nolan Arenado hit another home run, and the Rockies routed the Dodgers 12-5 in the series finale at Coors Field on Sunday afternoon.
The three-game sweep was the first time Los Angeles has been swept in Colorado since dropping four straight from Sept. 18-20 in 2007.
"It's pretty embarrassing to come in here and get swept this late in the year," Dodgers' starting pitcher Alex Wood said. "If you look at the two teams today and don't know anything about baseball, I think you would've guessed the Rockies were about to head to the postseason and we weren't."
The Dodgers got on the scoreboard first thanks to a throwing error by sure-handed Rockies third baseman Arenado. The Gold Glove Award winner launched the ball over first baseman Wilin Rosario's head allowing Alex Guerrero to score.
The Rockies would tie the game in the bottom half of the inning after Rafael Ynoa knocked in Corey Dickerson with an RBI double to right field.
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The Dodgers added three runs in the third inning thanks to three consecutive singles by Jimmy Rollins, Howie Kendrick and Scott Van Slyke.
For a minute, it seemed as if the Dodgers could take the champagne off ice, but the three-run lead would not last long as Arenado redeemed himself in the bottom half of the fourth.
Arenado hit a three-run home run to left-center field off Wood as the Rockies hung four runs on the Dodgers in the inning, taking a 6-4 lead. The homer by Arenado was his second is as many days as the third baseman hit a grand slam in the first inning on Saturday night.
"It means a lot to sweep LA," Arenado said after the game. "We didn't quit. We're not quitting. We never have."
Wood continued the starting pitching struggles in Colorado. With the playoffs around the corner, the backend of the Dodgers rotation is still a question mark as Mike Bolsinger, Brett Anderson and Wood have all been hit hard in recent days.
The Dodgers 3, 4 and 5 starters in the rotation allowed 21 runs over the weekend series on 28 hits in just 13.1 innings. They combined for a 12.15 ERA with six walks, four strikeouts, serving up five total home runs to the Rockies.
Wood allowed eight runs on 11 hits in just 5.1 innings, falling to 11-12 on the season.
Chris Rusin (6-9) pitched well for Colorado allowing just three runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings picking up the victory for the Rockies.
Leading 9-4 in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Rockies added three more runs off Dodgers' relievers Ian Thomas and Jim Johnson before LA finally waved the white flag.
The Dodgers loss and the Giants win on Sunday means that Los Angeles needs to just win one game in their four-game series in San Francisco to clinch their third consecutive NL West Division title.
"We're about to get a real big wakeup call here in San Francisco," Wood concluded.
Game Notes:
The Dodgers were an atrocious 4-for-18 with runners in scoring position on the afternoon.
