This was not Rocky Mountain refreshment.
Nick Hundley hit a two-run homer and the Rockies only piled on from there as Colorado crushed the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-1 on Monday night at Coors Field.
The highest scoring stadium in baseball played host to an abnormally low-scoring affair for the first seven frames before the Rockies opened the floodgates with a five-spot in the bottom of the seventh.
Colorado batted around after the singing of the seventh inning stretch as D.J. LeMahieu and Nolan Areando broke the game open with a pair of RBI doubles.
Kenta Maeda has pitched well at Coors Field this season, but made one mistake in the game when he hung a slider to Hundley with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning.
"Overall I thought I pitched well, that one pitch, a slider inside, that was a mistake," Maeda said through an interpreter. "That one pitch led to the team losing. I regret it."
Maeda (13-8) lost for the first time in his last six starts, allowing two runs on four hits with six strikeouts in five innings. Despite the defeat, Maeda still leads the Majors in wins (13), strikeouts (148) and starts (26) amongst rookie starters this season.
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Rockies right-hander Jon Gray (9-6) had one of his best outings at home this season, scattering four hits over six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts in the victory.
"You have to give credit to Jon Gray," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "We got runners on base and had opportunities to score, but just couldn't get the big hit."
Adam Liberatore—one of the best relievers in the Majors during the first half of the season—has been a shell of his former self in the second half. Liberatore posted a paltry 0.56 ERA at the All-Star Break, but has an ERA of 10.98 since, including a short stint on the disabled list.
Los Angeles avoided their first shutout at Coors Field for the first time in four years when Andrew Toles hit a pinch-hit triple with one-out in the top of the ninth. One pitch later, Charlie Culberson grounded out to score Toles.
The Dodgers saw their lead in the National League West get shaved to 1.5 games over the San Francisco Giants following the loss.
Players of the Game:
Nick Hundley: Two-run home run.
Jon Gray: 6 shutout innings.
D.J. LeMahieu: 2-for-5 with a double, 3 RBI and a run scored.
Three Takeaways:
1. Dodgers Win The Division: Okay, so it's not those Dodgers, but the team's Triple-A Oklahoma City affiliate won their second consecutive Pacific Coast League Division title on Sunday with a 6-1 win over Colorado Springs. Current utility player Rob Segedin was named to the All-PCL team on Monday.
Congratulations to Rob Segedin on being named to the 2016 All-PCL Team! https://t.co/qR3funZii5 pic.twitter.com/eKYOhzGZMZ — OKC Dodgers (@okc_dodgers) August 29, 2016
2. Cold at Coors Field: Two pinch-hitters with one out in the top of the ninth are all that stood between the Dodgers and their first shutout at Coors Field in over four years. Andrew Toles hit the first triple of his career and Charlie Culberson hit an RBI grounder as L.A. avoided their first shutout in Colorado since Aug. 27, 2012.
NO SHUTOUT TONIGHT — Chavez Ravine Fiends (@RavineFiends) August 30, 2016
3. Rocky Mountain Runs: Coors Field leads the Majors with the most runs, hits and doubles than any other stadium in all of baseball. They are second to the New York Yankees for most home runs.
Checking in from Coors Field: pic.twitter.com/sJ2wzKn7dl — DodgersReddit (@DodgersReddit) August 30, 2016
Up Next:
Dodgers (73-58): Los Angeles will look to repeat the success of Rich Hill when he heads to the mound on Tuesday.
Rockies (63-68): Tyler Anderson looks to make it two-in-a-row for Colorado on Tuesday night at 5:40PM PST.
All quotes courtesy of TWC's SportsNetLA.
