Los Angeles – Thanks to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ one- inning comedy of errors Tuesday night, the National League West lived up to its reputation as the wild, wild worst.
Even though it’s the Dodgers who are trying to keep a pulse beating in the NL West, it was the Rockies who escaped with a 6-4 victory at Dodger Stadium.
It marked the sixth time in the past seven games the last-place Rockies beat the Dodgers.
Despite a record that now stands at 66-78, the Dodgers came into the game trailing division-leading San Diego by just five games. When San Francisco beat the Padres 5-4 on Tuesday night, Los Angeles had a chance to move to within four games.
And if pennant fever hasn’t exactly swept Los Angeles in recent days, there were whispers the Dodgers might stumble into the postseason. But those pennant whispers turned to boos in a hurry Tuesday in the second inning at Dodger Stadium.
That’s when the Rockies scored all of their runs, cashing in on four hits and three errors by the Dodgers, one by each of the outfielders – Jose Cruz Jr., Ricky Ledee and Jayson Werth.
Cruz’s error – he dropped a sacrifice fly by Cory Sullivan – was especially egregious.
And, yes, 22-year-old Dodgers pitcher Edwin Jackson walked a batter, hit a batter and chucked a wild pitch in the second inning before he was mercifully lifted with boos ringing in his ears.
“It wasn’t pitched well and it wasn’t defended very well, either,” Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said of the pivotal second inning.
The Rockies are 10-8 against the Dodgers this season with one game remaining in the season series tonight. That means Colorado has clinched the season series for the first time since 1999, when the Rockies were 8-5 against Los Angeles.
“Let’s just say it wasn’t a hot topic,” Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said of his team’s chances, early in the year, of winning the season series with the Dodgers. “But we’ve been able to take some big steps, and one of them is to take advantage of the other team’s mistakes like we did in the second inning.”
Before the game, a Los Angeles-based reporter asked Hurdle if the Rockies could contend in the NL West next season. He danced around the question a bit before saying: “I think these guys have kind of developed their own expectations. I will just say that right now there is a quiet confidence growing in that clubhouse, and I don’t think anything more needs to be said.”
Hurdle said the biggest difference in the second half of the Rockies’ season has been their ability to put away victories.
“We are closing games,” he said. “We are putting games away with regularity, on the road and at home.”
Thanks to relievers Scott Dohmann, Mike DeJean and Brian Fuentes, who earned his 27th save, the Rockies (58-86) were able to back up Hurdle’s praise as well as save the victory, despite the offense going to sleep after its big second inning.
Rockies starter Sunny Kim lasted five innings, giving up four runs on five hits. All the runs came in the fourth inning, when the Dodgers cut the Rockies’ lead to 6-4. Nonetheless, Kim earned the victory and improved to 5-2. He has won a career-high four in a row.
Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-820-5459 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
