The Rockies gave the Dodgers the get-right series the two-time defending champions desperately needed.
After getting blasted 11-5 in the series opener that ended with first baseman/outfielder Troy Johnston pitching for Colorado, the Rockies battled in the final two games of the series at Coors Field, but lost 7-6 and then 6-4 in 10 innings.
“We expect to win every night — I don’t care who we’re playing,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said. “Every guy (in our clubhouse) expects to win. We fight until the end every night, and that’s something that makes you proud. But the end goal is to win baseball games — it’s not to feel good by coming close. That’s not what we’re here to do. We’re getting there.”
The Dodgers had lost four of their last five series entering this week, but got back on track against their divisional foe that they’ve made a habit of bullying over the past half-decade.
• Colorado’s now gone 19 straight series without a series win against the Dodgers, the longest consecutive stretch against any opponent in franchise history. The second-longest stretch was 12 straight series against the Phillies from 2007 to 2021.
• Shohei Ohtani headlined the first two Dodgers wins this week, with four hits and two homers on Monday followed by another longball on Tuesday, when the Rockies’ late-game rally fell short. Ohtani continues to be the most sensational opposing hitter in Coors Field history, even as he had his 22-game Coors Field hitting streak snapped on Wednesday.
• Willi Castro was Colorado’s star in the Tuesday game, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs, a homer and two walks. In Wednesday’s rubber match, Mickey Moniak’s two-run homer in the 7th tied the game 4-4. Moniak’s 20th homer of the season made him the first Rockies outfielder with consecutive 20-plus home run seasons since Charlie Blackmon (2016-19). But in the 10th, a sacrifice fly by Freddie Freeman and an RBI single by Mookie Betts (who homered earlier in the game) sealed the sweep.
• Los Angeles won the season series 10-3 as the Rockies were swept for the eighth time in 2026. It’s the first time Colorado’s been swept in consecutive home series (the Rays also broomed them Aug. 3-5 prior to the Rockies’ season-long nine-game, 11-day road trip) since June 2022.
• Of starting pitching note, Tomoyuki Sugano took the loss in Game 1, Ryan Feltner took the loss in Game 2 and then Kyle Freeland exited in the fourth inning of Game 3 due to neck tightness. Freeland, who had spun three strong starts to open August including his first career complete game on Aug. 2 against the Royals as well as eight innings of one-run ball last weekend in San Francisco, allowed four runs on six hits.
• Of relief pitching note, the Colorado bullpen has been amid a solid stretch. It has allowed one or fewer runs in five of its last six games, with a 2.55 ERA (7 earned runs in 24.2 innings), six walks and 19 strikeouts in that span. Rookie Mark Manfredi, Nick Frasso, Jaden Hill (in his return from the injured list) and Jordan Romano all threw up zeros to send the game into extras. Manfredi, acquired via trade with the Brewers in exchange for Antonio Senzatela on Aug. 3, became the 10th Rockies player to debut this season. It’s now the third straight season that Colorado has had double-digit debuts, and the club’s 35 debuts since ’24 are second behind the White Sox (39).
Colorado resumes its homestand on Friday with a three-game series against Cleveland, which sits 1.5 games out of the second wild card spot in the American League. The Rockies (50-77) need to go 13-22 in the remaining 35 games to avoid their fourth consecutive 100-loss season.
