Tyler Freeman rescued the Rockies.
The right-fielder punched a single to right field with two outs in the eighth inning off lefty Tanner Scott to bust up the Dodgers’ combined no-hitter on Wednesday night in Los Angeles. But Freeman couldn’t save the Rockies from a 4-1 loss at the hands of Shohei Ohtani.
The Dodgers’ super-duper superstar put on an incredible show. Not only did he pitch six no-hit innings, but he also led off the Dodgers’ first inning with a 424 homer run to center off of fellow Japanese native Tomoyuki Sugano.
Ohtani became the first pitcher to hit a home run and allow no hits through the first six innings since the Cubs’ Jake Arrieta on Sept. 27, 2015.
The Dodgers, who outscored Colorado 24-10 in a three-game sweep, have beaten the Rockies 10 straight times in Los Angeles.
Key moments: The first inning decided the game. After Ohtani’s leadoff homer, Freddie Freeman hit a one-out homer to left-center off Sugano to make it 2-0.
Colorado scored its lone run off Ohtani in the fourth. TJ Rumfield drew a walk, Ohtani plunked Hunter Goodman, Troy Johnston’s fielder’s choice groundout moved Rumfield to third, and Willi Castro’s groundout scored Rumfield.
Who’s hot: Ohtani, of course, improved to 5-2 on the mound, even though his ERA actually rose from 0.75 to 0.82. His home run was his ninth, and at that point, he was 7 for 8 with three homers and three doubles against Sugano (including both the Nippon Professional Baseball and the majors).
Sugano (4 2/3 innings, three runs allowed on six hits) struck out Ohtani looking in the second inning and got him to ground out to first in the fifth inning.
Who’s not: Centerfielder Jake McCarthy, who went 0 for 3 and struck out three times against Ohtani. And infielder Edouard Julien’s slump keeps getting deeper. He went 0 for 2 with a strikeout. Julien is hitless over his last 34 at-bats, and is 1 for 40 over his last 15 games. The franchise record for consecutive hitless at-bats is 35, set by Ryan McMahon in 2025.
Worth noting: As impressive as Ohtani was, his command was not sharp. He exited the game after throwing 99 pitches through six innings, and only 56 went for strikes. He walked four and hit Rumfield, but he struck out seven.
Pitching probables
Thursday: Off day
Friday: Giants RHP Logan Webb (2-4, 5.06 ERA) at Rockies RHP Michael Lorenzen (2-7, 7.21), 6:10 p.m.
Saturday: Giants RHP Adrian Houser (2-4, 5.30) at Rockies TBD, 7:10 p.m.
Sunday: Giants LHP Robbie Ray (3-6, 4.60) at Rockies RHP Tanner Gordon (0-0, 5.85), 1:10 p.m.
TV: Rockies.TV
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM
