9th inning rally caps Dodgers’ largest comeback to complete Coors sweep

Three runs in the ninth inning broke a tie and gave the Dodgers their largest comeback win of the season, breaking out their hitting sticks yet again to finish off a sweep of the Rockies with a 10-7 win on Sunday afternoon at Coors Field.

Logan Forsythe doubled to start the ninth inning against Wade Davis, and advanced to third on a wild pitch with one out. After a walk, Justin Turner fouled off five pitches before ending his nine-pitch at-bat with a tapper to the right of the mound for a ground out just well placed enough to score the go-ahead run.

Yasmani Grandal followed with a two-run home run to give the Dodgers some breathing room, and gave the team double-digit runs in three straight games for the first time in 22 seasons. It was just the fourth time the Dodgers have scored at least 10 runs three consecutive times since moving to Los Angeles in 1958.

The Dodgers scored 33 runs in the weekend sweep, their fourth-most prolific offensive three-game series at Coors Field.

Down four runs after the first inning and five runs after two, the Dodgers on Sunday staged their largest comeback of the season. The previous high was overcoming a 4-0 deficit on Monday to beat the Phillies.

The Dodgers bullpen excelled in the series finale, allowing just one unearned runs in seven innings on Sunday with no walks and 10 strikeouts. Six different pitchers relieved Alex Wood, who was done after just two innings in his worst start of the season.

Wood, whose start was pushed back two days after dealing with cramps in his left leg, didn’t have it from the start on Sunday. Five batters into the contest he was down 4-0, the big blow a two-run home run by Ian Desmond.

The second inning wasn’t any better for Wood, who hit a batter to force in a run and walked in another. He was lucky the inning wasn’t any more taxing because he also unleashed a wild pitch with the bases loaded but Charlie Blackmon thought twice about trying to score.

But the damage was done, with Wood throwing 61 pitches just to get six outs, while allowing six runs. He walked three in total, after issuing zero or one walk in nine of his first 11 starts of the season.

To the Max

Max Muncy hit an opposite field shot in the second inning to get the Dodgers on the board, then culminated an 11-pitch at-bat with a three-run blast to right in the third inning, pulling the Dodgers to within 6-4.

The unexpected hero of 2018* is now hitting .243/.349/.551, and despite spending the first 2½ weeks of the season in Triple-A is tied for the team lead with nine home runs.

*Matt Kemp, who probably shares this distinction with Muncy, is also tied with him in home runs. As is Grandal.

Hot potato

The teams traded crucial infield errors to give up leads. Trevor Story threw away a potential inning-ending ground out to score two and give the Dodgers the lead in the sixth inning. Forsythe booted a two-out ground ball in the seventh, allowing Colorado to tie to the score.

Multiple roles for Santana

Dennis Santana, who hit a two-run double in his major league debut on Friday, has had quite a first full weekend in MLB. With the bullpen used early and the Dodgers using a four-man bench, Santana pinch hit for reliever Erik Goeddel in the fourth inning. He struck out on three pitches, but it was notable because Santana, a starting pitcher, ended up pinch hitting in the majors before even his first big league start.

That start for Santana is expected to come Thursday in Pittsburgh, manager Dave Roberts said before the game.

Up next

The Dodgers are off Monday, but will start a series in Pittsburgh on Tuesday evening, with Ross Stripling on the mound against Joe Musgrove for the Pirates.

Sunday particulars

Home runs: Max Muncy 2 (9), Yasmani Grandal (9); Ian Desmond (10)

WP - Tony Cingrani (1-2): 1⅓ IP, 2 strikeouts

LP - Wade Davis (0-1): 1 IP, 3 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

Sv - Kenley Jansen (14): 1 IP, 1 strikeout