LOS ANGELES_Chris Taylor started his sprint to first base at Dodger Stadium Tuesday night, sticking his right arm in the air as he reached the bag, once he knew he had kept the Los Angeles Dodgers in first place for another day. His sprint continued around the bases. He tossed his helmet high in the air once he touched third base. Gatorade and a bucket of gym awaited him at home plate.
The home run, a solo shot off Adam Ottavino in the 10th inning, gave the Dodgers a 3-2 victory, snapping a five-inning stalemate between two foes vying for their division crown. It nudged the Dodgers (84-68) 1{ games ahead of the Rockies in the National League West with 10 games, including Wednesday's series finale, remaining. Colorado (82-69) also fell 1{ games behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the second Wild Card vacancy.
The night began with a clash between two ace left-handers adjusting to unfamiliar stages in their careers. On one side was Clayton Kershaw, a three-time Cy Young Award winner and former MVP settling into his career's post-back-problems phase, one that has forced the 30-year-old to make modifications to remain among the game's top-tier arms. On the other was Kyle Freeland, a 25-year-old rising star who has found himself in the game's upper echelon for the first time this season. That status, as Kershaw knows well, comes with hefty responsibilities. The Rockies are depending on him to win games in a heated playoff race, and win more if they clinch a berth.
The pair battled to a stalemate. Kershaw walked five batters _ just the 11th time he's walked that many in his career _ but managed to hold Colorado to two runs, one unearned, across seven innings nonetheless. Freeland surrendered two runs on five hits over 6 2/3 innings. Both exited with the game tied, leaving it to the bullpens to decide the outcome.
The Dodgers summoned Kenta Maeda to relieve Kershaw in the eighth inning. He struck out the side _ the Rockies' 3-4-5 hitters_on 10 pitches, pumping his fist as he walked off the mound. Kenley Jansen was given the ninth and worked around a leadoff single to emerge unscathed. Scott Alexander and Dylan Floro then combined for a perfect 10th. Meanwhile, right-hander Scott Oberg logged 1 1/3 scoreless innings before the Rockies went to Ottavino.
Freeland's emergence derives, in part, from his complete domination against left-handed batters.
Entering Tuesday, left-handed batters were hitting .024 against Freeland since the all-star break. Freeland had faced 45 left-handed hitters since then. He allowed one hit and issued four walks. Left-handed batters haven't stood a chance. The Dodgers, platoon loyalists unafraid to field different lineups every day, countered to the extreme.
The Dodgers, whose only everyday players recently have been the right-handed hitting Justin Turner and Manny Machado, didn't have a left-handed hitter besides Kershaw in their lineup. The strategy paid dividends in the first inning. First, Machado smashed a fly ball he thought would land in the right-center field seats. Instead, it bounced high off the wall, beyond a leaping Charlie Blackmon's reach. Machado settled for a two-out double after admiring the ball out of the batter's box for longer than advised.
David Freese, acquired at the deadline to help fortify the club against lefties, then walked before Matt Kemp poked a single to right field. Machado scored and Freese headed to third, but Kemp was thrown out rounding first base too aggressively for the third out. The gaffe, minor in the moment, concluded one of the Dodgers' best scoring opportunities against the southpaw.
The Rockies knotted the game in the third inning without a hit. Kershaw dug himself a hole by issuing two walks, but induced a groundball to third base that should've ended the inning. But Turner charged the chopper on the side and emerged empty-handed, allowing a run to score. Chris Taylor then overran the ball in left field, which permitted the runners to advance second and third. That error, however, did not cost the Dodgers a run. Kershaw wiggled free without further damage.
Colorado seized the lead in the fifth inning without any help. Kershaw served up a 91-mph fastball over the plate to Charlie Blackmon, and Blackmon deposited it 447 feet away, into the pavilion in right-center field. Kershaw fumed.
The back-and-forth continued in the bottom of the frame. Austin Barnes worked a leadoff walk and advanced to second base on Kershaw's sacrifice. Taylor then hit a soft chopper to third baseman Nolan Arenado, who decided to flip the ball to third base in an attempt to catch an aggressive Barnes off the bag. But third base umpire Lance Barrett inadvertently blocked shortstop Garrett Hampson from the ball while trying to get out of the way, and it bounced up the third-base line. Barnes scampered home. Dodger Stadium erupted. The game was tied at two.
It stayed that way until Taylor turned on a 2-2 slider, muscling it over to the left-field to keep the Dodgers in first place.
