It was a night of history for Shohei Ohtani
And infamy for the Dodgers’ defense.
In a 4-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday, the Dodgers had been in control of the game, taking an early lead on Ohtani’s 300th career home run before extending it during a seven-inning, one-run gem from Justin Wrobleski.
In the top of the eighth, however, it all came undone.
With two costly defensive mistakes, the team helplessly squandered a two-run lead.
The meltdown came immediately after Wrobleski finished his outing, with his replacement Will Klein allowing two runners to reach base with one out. With Tyler Freeman at the plate, though, Klein fired a first-pitch fastball that was grounded straight to shortstop Miguel Rojas (getting the start on a day off for Mookie Betts).
Rojas had to range to his left, but still had a chance for an inning-ending double-play.
Instead, he misread a hop and booted the ball off the heel of his mitt.
One run scored. Two runners remained on the corners. And the headache was just getting started.
Left-hander Jack Dreyer was summoned from the Dodgers bullpen next, prompting the Rockies to put on a squeeze play with left-handed hitter Jake McCarthy. McCarthy got his bunt down, scoring the lead runner from third. Third baseman Max Muncy charged to field the ball, throwing in time to get McCarthy at first base, where second baseman Alex Freeland was covering.
It was behind the play where the real action was, as Freeman got aggressive seeing that third was unoccupied and made a hard turn around trying for an extra base.
Rojas picked him up, running for step for step as Freeland turned at first and fired a throw across the diamond. Alas, his strike was low, Rojas couldn’t squeeze it, and the ball trickled all the way down the steps into the Dodgers dugout.
Freeman was awarded home plate.
The Rockies scored their third unearned run of the inning to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish –– surviving a two-on, no-out jam in the ninth to deny the Dodgers a chance for a series-clinching victory.
What it means
Tuesday should’ve been about Ohtani, who reached his home run milestone three pitches into the game.
In a 2-0 count against Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen, the two-way lifted a towering 409-foot drive deep to center field, reaching the 300-homer club with his 20th blast of the season.
Playing in his 1,101st career MLB game as a hitter, Ohtani eclipsed the 300-homer mark faster than all but four previous players to do so (Aaron Judge, Ralph Kiner, Ryan Howard, Juan Gonzalez). He also became the first Japanese-born player to hit that many home runs, and only the second –– along with Babe Ruth –– to do so while also serving as a pitcher.
“Only 414 to go,” one member of the Japanese press joked, referencing Ruth’s former all-time homer record of 714.
At age 32, Ohtani is unlikely to challenge that total.
But, more round numbers figure to be in his future. Since joining the Dodgers, he has maintained a pace of more than 50 per season.
Who’s hot
For now, Wrobleski remains snubbed from the All-Star Game.
But after another seven-inning gem against the Rockies, he remains a strong candidate to be picked as a replacement.
In Tuesday’s game, the left-hander worked around six hits while striking out nine batters –– giving him 20 total punchouts in his last two starts after struggling to generate Ks for much of this season.
The effort lowered his ERA to 2.69, eighth-lowest in the National League. It also marked his seventh time this season completing seven innings, tied for fifth-most in the majors behind only Nathan Eovaldi, Cristopher Sánchez, Michael Wacha and Logan Webb.
Who’s not
We covered the Dodgers’ porous defense above, so let’s focus on someone who is no longer injured.
In his first appearance back from Tommy John surgery last June, Evan Phillips pitched a scoreless inning in the ninth that featured two strikeouts, a fastball that got up to nearly 99 mph and a nice ovation from the crowd after stranding a two-out single.
Phillips will be a key arm to watch in the coming weeks, as the team evaluates its bullpen hierarchy and he tries to re-establish himself as a high-leverage option.
Up next
The Dodgers and Rockies conclude this series on Wednesday, when Roki Sasaki (3-5, 5.40 ERA) will look to bounce back from his recent struggles while facing Colorado right-hander Ryan Feltner (3-2, 4.27 ERA).
