LOS ANGELES _ The Los Angeles Dodgers' reign at the top of the National League West _ a stretch of unimpeded regular-season dominance that appeared ready to expire as recently as a few days ago _ extended to a sixth season on Monday afternoon at Dodger Stadium when the Dodgers downed the Colorado Rockies, 5-2, in Game 163 to reclaim their crown.
They rode the right arm of Walker Buehler to get there. Buehler yielded just one hit across 6 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball. He lacked pristine command but wielded enough might to stymie a team that had won nine of 10 games to force the tiebreaker.
The offense blunted the upper-90s heat from Colorado starter German Marquez with a pair of two-run home runs from Cody Bellinger and Max Muncy. Buehler added an RBI single of his own in the sixth.
The victory handed the Dodgers the No. 2 seed in the National League playoffs. They will host Atlanta in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Thursday. They also avoided the nightmare of traveling to Chicago to play the Cubs in the Wild Card Game on Tuesday _ that fate belongs to the Rockies, who could not touch Buehler on Monday and could not sustain their late-season momentum.
Colorado had better results against Kenley Jansen in the ninth inning. He served up a first-pitch homer to third baseman Nolan Arenado and a subsequent solo shot to shortstop Trevor Story before securing the final three outs.
The first tiebreaker at Dodger Stadium since 1980 began a little shy of 22 hours after Game 162 ended. The schedule necessitated a hurried turnaround, with the loser bound for an elimination game in the Midwest. Most of the Dodgers had already packed their clubhouse when it opened to reporters at 9:45 a.m. Cody Bellinger gulped a Red Bull. Alex Wood shouted "163, 163" upon arrival. Buehler entered the clubhouse at 9:57 a.m., trading barbs with Rich Hill and wearing a smile.
The Dodgers juggled their starting rotation so Hill could pitch on Sunday and Buehler start on Monday. In the days leading up to Game 163, manager Dave Roberts referred to Buehler as his team's "best." He described the decision as "a no-brainer."
"I believe he's the right guy for this moment," Roberts said before the game.
As Roberts spoke with reporters inside the dugout, Enrique Hernandez strode past.
"Tell 'em we're ready, Doc," Hernandez said. "Tell 'em we're ready."
"We're ready," Roberts confirmed.
So was Buehler. Eight of his 13 pitches in the first inning were fastballs that clocked at 98 mph or higher. He retired the side in order. Marquez matched him in the bottom of the frame.
In Marquez, the Dodgers faced formidable opposition. He had shut down the Dodgers twice at Dodger Stadium during the regular season. He entered Monday with a string of 12 consecutive quality starts and a 2.14 earned-run average in September.
Marquez survived a stressful second inning. After a leadoff single by Manny Machado, Yasmani Grandal flied out into foul territory in left. Machado tagged up and hustled to second. He took third on a hard grounder by Bellinger. Rockies first baseman Ian Desmond knocked the baseball down, and fed Marquez for the out. The Dodgers challenged the call, only for the replay to confirm Marquez beat Bellinger to the base. Marquez struck out Puig to leave Machado at third base.
Buehler extricated himself from a self-created jam in the third. He drilled Desmond with a fastball to start the frame. A bunt by Marquez advanced a runner to second with two outs. Buehler threw four straight balls to outfielder Charlie Blackmon after reaching an 0-2 count. Buehler settled down to induce a groundout by second baseman D.J. LeMahieu with an 0-2 slider.
An inning later, Rockies outfielder David Dahl led off with a 10-pitch walk. Buehler fell behind in the count to Arenado before securing a pop-up. After Story flied out to left, Grandal cut down Dahl trying to swipe second base. Through four innings, the Rockies did not advance a runner past second base.
The Dodgers had similar results against Marquez. They caught a sizable break in the bottom of the fourth, when Marquez got crossed up with catcher Tony Wolters. Muncy swung through a 98-mph fastball, but reached on a passed ball. Marquez proceeded to fan the next two batters he faced _ effectively striking out out the side _ but still had to face Bellinger.
In his career, Bellinger had seen Marquez 16 times. He had recorded a hit only once. Yet Bellinger knew what to do when Marquez fed him a 95-mph fastball at the waist. Bellinger launched the baseball beyond the right-field fence for a two-run shot to break the scoreless deadlock.
Another blast followed in the fifth. Rockies manager Bud Black trusted Marquez to navigate through the Dodgers' lineup for a third time. Joc Pederson impeded Marquez's journey with a leadoff double. Two batters later, Muncy redirected a 99-mph fastball into the left-field bleachers to expand the lead to four. Marquez would depart the game soon after.
Buehler wavered, ever so slightly, in the sixth. Blackmon collected a one-out single to end Buehler's no-hit bid. Enrique Hernandez aided Buehler with a sliding stop on a groundout by LeMahieu. Buehler ended the inning with a 90-mph changeup. Dahl tapped it into the dirt for a groundout.
Hernandez and Buehler teamed up in a different way in the bottom of the sixth. Hernandez smashed a 92-mph sinker from Rockies reliever Harrison Musgrave for a two-out double. To the plate came Buehler, in search of his seventh hit of the season. He came through by slashing a single into right field, which allowed Hernandez to dive across the plate for the Dodgers' fifth run.
The day for Buehler ended midway through the seventh. He picked up two flyouts to deep right field before walking outfielder Carlos Gonzalez. Roberts signaled for Pedro Baez. Buehler handed the baseball to his manager and shook Turner's hand. The crowd chanted his name as he walked off the diamond. Buehler acknowledged them with a small wave before reaching his teammates.
Baez caused some anxiety by walking Desmond to place two runners aboard. He recovered to put away pinch-hitter Matt Holliday on a first-pitch pop-up. The crowd exhaled as the ball nestled into Machado's glove.
