LOS ANGELES — There are loads of issues the Dodgers might — and must — repair earlier than the beginning of their postseason run. These are all fairly apparent, beginning with their beginning pitching.
Ohtani and Betts got here by when the Dodgers wanted them most, launching back-to-back homers within the ninth inning to erase a one-run deficit en path to a 6-5 walk-off win over the Rockies on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.
With the win, the Dodgers held onto a three-game lead within the Nationwide League West over the Padres, whom they’ll host for a pivotal three-game sequence in L.A. beginning on Tuesday.
“You want your stars to play like stars,” mentioned Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts. “For these guys to return by right this moment — it’s not simple, the accountability that these guys have. However the emotion was actual and it was good to see.”
Earlier than Sunday’s recreation, Roberts urged his workforce to play with a way of urgency because the NL West will come all the way down to the final week of the common season. By way of six innings, the Dodgers got here out flat and the Rockies made them pay, leaping out to a 5-1 lead as Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed 4 runs over three uninspiring innings.
“It wasn’t fairly early,” Roberts mentioned. “We fought. We had some alternatives. The bottom-ball double performs definitely killed some rallies. Nevertheless it was simply nice to see our guys nonetheless compete.”
The sense of urgency began to kick in for the Dodgers within the seventh inning. Betts admitted he noticed San Diego make a late comeback and win their recreation on the out-of-town scoreboard. They knew in the event that they dropped the sequence to Colorado, they’d be limping into the massive set towards their rival with only a two-game lead atop the division.
However because the Padres mounted their comeback towards the White Sox, the Dodgers have been decided to do the identical towards the Rockies. Kiké Hernández received the gang and residential dugout again into the sport with an enormous two-run homer to chop the deficit in half.
Freddie Freeman, who halted a pair of rallies earlier within the recreation by hitting into double performs, made amends with an RBI single. Impulsively, the Dodgers have been again inside placing distance.
“I feel Freddie getting the bottom hit to attain a run, that form of energized us,” Roberts mentioned. “Freddie’s been looking for his method. And we do go along with him so far as his emotion. And when he’s extra downtrodden, it looks like everybody form of follows go well with. However when he’s chipper and going, that vitality resonates with everybody else.”
That vitality was wanted within the ninth inning because the Dodgers have been all the way down to their ultimate three outs. Ohtani, nevertheless, continued to be a person on a mission late within the season, smoking a game-tying homer to right-center area off Seth Halvorsen.
After making contact, Ohtani instantly turned to his dugout, exhibiting extra emotion than normal. In some ways, in a season filled with dominance, Sunday’s homer was his most impactful in a Dodgers uniform.
“Nicely, he’s a famous person,” mentioned Rockies supervisor Bud Black. “He’s an ideal participant. He’s received 50-plus house runs. That’s what he does, what the Dodgers do, proper?”
Sure, Ohtani is a famous person. He’s on his technique to a 3rd profession Most Invaluable Participant Award. However Betts is fairly good, too. And the 2018 AL MVP’s first walk-off homer with the Dodgers got here at an ideal time, as he rotated a 100.6 mph heater within the inside a part of the plate, sending it over the left-field wall.
“It was enormous,” Betts mentioned, when requested how large the ninth inning felt within the dugout. “Particularly while you’re wanting on the scoreboard and also you see San Diego gained. … Shohei begins it off with a homer there to offer us some vitality and fortuitously, I used to be capable of put a very good swing on it.”
Securing the sequence win over the Rockies was step one for the Dodgers. Now, they’ll look to proceed that momentum into the most important sequence of the common season. If the Dodgers win the set towards the Padres, they lock up their eleventh NL West crown in 12 seasons. In the event that they don’t, it’ll all come all the way down to the ultimate weekend.
“To enter a sequence, these guys taking part in nice, profitable three, arising right here, they’ve had their method with us up thus far,” Roberts mentioned. “To lose this sequence, it could have been powerful. Simply mentally feeling a little bit bit such as you’re in your heels. However after this sequence win, I really feel like we will nonetheless proceed to be aggressive and go on the market and attempt to win a sequence.”
