DENVER _ A ninth-inning grand slam by Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Andrew Toles completed a furious comeback as the team split a doubleheader with the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday thanks to a 10-8 victory in the nightcap.
The Dodgers erased a six-run deficit in the final two innings. Toles capped the rally with a two-out homer off Colorado reliever Adam Ottavino.
Heading into the final two innings, the Dodgers (74-39) appeared headed for a deflating ending. In the afternoon, the offense failed to materialize in a 7-0 defeat. In the evening, Bud Norris dumped the team in an early deficit as he pitched in place of Rich Hill, who was scratched because of the re-emergence of the blister on his left middle finger.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts expressed hope that Hill, who has pitched once for the Dodgers since being acquired on Aug. 1 from Oakland, could take the mound this weekend. The blister has dogged him since the first week of July, and resurfaced after he threw 40 pitches in the bullpen before the rain arrived Tuesday night.
"Looking at it throughout the day, there was a little bit of heat and a little bit of tenderness," Roberts said. "Every player feels they can get through it. But I don't think a blister can be willed to stay healthy, no matter how much will he has. It's just more to err on the side of caution."
The soundtrack in the morning was notably aggressive, a playlist that varied from heavy metal (Metallica) to hair metal (Guns N' Roses) to nu-metal (Drowning Pool). As James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett traded guitar licks, Ross Stripling settled beneath the speakers with pitching coach Rick Honeycutt and catcher Carlos Ruiz.
"It's a little loud," Stripling mused as the group went over scouting reports.
Stripling was far from the problem in the afternoon. He completed six innings and held the Rockies to three runs. The performance met the minimum requirement for a quality start, an achievement that carries extra weight at Coors Field.
Stripling settled down after giving up runs in the first and the second. He gave up his third run in the sixth. He had thrown only 86 pitches, but Roberts removed him for a pinch-hitter in the seventh.
"Nice to be efficient, especially in this ballpark, against an offense like this," Stripling said.
The first game unraveled after Stripling's exit. Casey Fien gave up a solo homer in the seventh. The Rockies battered J.P. Howell for three runs in the eighth. The offense offered no counter, going 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position and stranding seven men.
The hitters looked more awake in the second game. Chase Utley started the game with a home run and Toles cracked an RBI double in the next inning. But in between, Norris imploded.
When Roberts announced Norris as the starter after the first loss, he referred to the upcoming contest as a "bullpen game." The prophecy fulfilled itself. Norris lasted three innings.
The first was his worst. He issued a pair of one-out walks and an RBI single to rookie outfielder David Dahl. A walk to outfielder Gerardo Parra loaded the bases for 29-year-old rookie Stephen Cardullo. Earlier in the day, Cardullo hit a homer off Fien. He did more damage at night.
Norris tried a first-pitch slider. The pitch arrived on the inner half of the plate. Cardullo deposited his first career grand slam beyond the fence in left-center field.
Norris completed the second inning without incident, but gave up an unearned run in the third. Josh Reddick misplayed a leadoff single into an extra base for Parra. The run scored when catcher Nick Hundley chopped a grounder beneath Corey Seager's glove.
The Dodgers woke up in the eighth. Adrian Gonzalez and Yasmani Grandal traded doubles. After a walk by Josh Reddick, Joc Pederson stroked a single. A sacrifice fly by Howie Kendrick cut the lead to three.
In the ninth, Reddick hit an RBI single. A walk by Pederson loaded the bases. Toles jumped on a 95-mph fastball from Ottavino. The ball drifted and drifted through the thin air. When it cleared the fence in left, Toles pumped his first and pounded his chest. A delighted dugout greeted him, raised up by his grand slam.
