LOS ANGELES — The Rockies’ game against the Dodgers on Tuesday night was like a whopping fish story: “The one that got away.”
Colorado rallied and had multiple chances to beat L.A., but never could. Of course, when you whiff 15 times, as the Rockies did, it’s tough put a dagger in the opponent’s heart.
Instead, the killer blow came from Dodgers right fielder Trayce Thompson, who clobbered reliever Carlos Estevez’s 97 mph, 0-1 fastball into the left-field seats for a 4-3 walk-off win in the ninth.
“I was trying to go down and away and it just ran back (over the plate),” Estevez said. “It was down the middle and he got all of it.”
It was the second walk-off homer of Thompson’s career, the first coming on May 10 vs. the Mets. He’s a player who seems poised for big moments.
“I want to be the guy in that situation,” he said. “I feel like the reward for having success far outweighs the failure. I’m not scared to fail. I feel that’s the only way you can have success in this game.
“I want to be the guy the other team fears in that situation, and my team has confidence in that situation. I’m sure there are going to be plenty of times when I fail, but that’s not going to stop me from wanting to be that guy.”
It was one of the Rockies’ toughest losses of their Jekyll-and-Hyde season and put an end to their two-game winning streak. It sure didn’t help that both Trevor Story and Carlos Gonzalez struck out four times.
“Any time you get walked-off on, it’s a tough loss, especially when you get down early and come back,” manager Walt Weiss said. “We were one big hit away from taking a lead there. But their bullpen came in and did a pretty nice job.”
Colorado had tied the game 3-3 in the seventh. An improbable leadoff, pinch-hit homer by Daniel Descalso, one that barely curled inside the right-field foul pole, cut L.A.’s lead to 3-2. Then Ryan Raburn singled and advanced to third on a throwing error by rookie shortstop Corey Seager after he first made a nice catch on a ball hit by Nolan Arenado. Raburn raced home on Gonzalez’s screaming base hit that proved too hot for second baseman Chase Utley to handle.
For Descalso, it was just the second pinch-hit home run of his career. The last time was July 27 at Chicago’s Wrigley Field against the Cubs Jason Motte, now a Rockies teammate. Descalso pinch hit for reliever Rafael Betancourt and then stayed in the game at shortstop, replacing Troy Tulowitzki. Tulowitzki was traded a short time later to Toronto in one of the biggest trades in Rockies history.
“Of course I wasn’t thinking about all of that,” he said. “In my role, I was just trying to contribute. I wasn’t thinking home run, just trying to get something started.”
If Rockies starter Eddie Butler could have a one-inning “do-over,” his performance would have been outstanding. Looking shaky, Butler walked Utley and Seager. Then he left a 94 mph fastball in the middle of the plate for Justin Turner, who ate it up for a three-run homer.
But that was the last run Butler allowed and he gave the Rockies six innings, allowing four hits and striking out four. His four walks and the early homer were the blemishes on his ledger. Butler now has a 3.08 road ERA in five games, four starts.
“We have talked about those first-inning woes, ” Butler said. “Once I got past that, I was able to lock it in and give these guys a fighting chance to come back and we almost made something special happen.”
Weiss said Butler’s continuing early inning struggles are part of a young pitcher’s growing pains, but he was impressed with Butler’s toughness.
“Eddie had some trouble in the first, but I was proud of him,” Weiss said. “He reeled it back in after the first and put down five zeroes. That was big for us.”
Colorado squandered a huge opportunity in the fifth with one out and the bases loaded. Two moments captured the frustration. First, Arenado tossed his bat high in the air after reliever Louis Coleman got him to harmlessly pop out to second. Next, Gonzalez stood at the plate in disbelief after Adam Liberatore stuck him out on a checked swing to kill a would-be rally.
Dodgers starter Julio Urias, a 19-year-old from Sinalola, Mexico, showed no stage freight making his debut at Dodger Stadium in front of a crowd of 40,525 tuned into his every pitch. Mixing a 94 mph fastball with a 78 mph curve and 88 mph slider, the prized prospect baffled Rockies hitters. The left-hander struck out seven in four innings and was charged with just three hits.
The Rockies’ only run against him came in the third on a walk and stolen base by DJ LeMahieu and an RBI double by Arenado, who drove in his 49th run.
