Smith walks it off, Maeda solid for seven

LOS ANGELES — — So this happened, again.

For the third straight game, the Dodgers won on a walk-off home run by one of their rookies. This time it was the just recalled Will Smith who hit a two-out three-run pinch-hit homer to beat the Rockies 6-3.

The win made it six straight wins for the Dodgers and a series sweep over the Rockies. It was also the Dodgers 11th straight win over the Rockies, a streak that goes back to last season.

The winning rally began when Matt Beaty led off the bottom of the ninth with his second infield single. Kiké Hernández popped up the first pitch he saw and then after a wild pitch moved Beaty to second, Chris Taylor struck out.

So with two out and Beaty at second base, the Rockies decided to intentionally walk Russell Martin. Smith then hit a ball over the right-center field wall to win the game.

“It was awesome,” Smith said speaking about the experience, “it was kind of like the first one, but I have to go through it again in a pretty short period of time.”

Manager Dave Roberts wasn’t sure it was a home run when he first saw the ball leave the bat.

“At first I thought he was going to catch it,” Roberts said, “then I thought it was going to hit some outfield grass, I just thought it got in on him.” “In day games here, the ball does carry and Will is really really strong young man.” “I know it was just above the label so it was pretty impressive.”

Kenley Jansen picked up the win as he pitched the ninth inning. Jansen worked around a single and a stolen base to keep the game tied.

The late inning heroics should not mar the performance of both starting pitchers. Antonio Senzatela did eventually yield two runs but he was on his game for the first six innings.

And Kenta Maeda battled his way through the early innings and then he settled into a groove.

Kenta Maeda pitched a season-long seven innings where he got better as he went along. After giving up his second run of the game in the third, he pitched four scoreless innings and retired the last seven Rockies he faced.

Earlier in the game, the Rockies scored their runs. David Dahl hit a solo home run in the first inning to give the Rockies an early 1-0 lead. In the third inning, Ryan McMahon hit a two-out single to score Garrett Hampson and the Rockies doubled their lead to 2-0.

The Dodgers were still down by two when they batted In the bottom of the seventh. Matt Beaty got an infield single with one out. Kiké Hernández then hit a double off the base of the right-field wall to put the tying runs in scoring position.

The Rockies then replaced Senzatela with Chad Bettis. Bettis would face the pinch-hitter Chris Taylor. Bettis made his first pitch and Taylor hit a no-doubt three-run homer to put the Dodgers in front for the first time in the game.

The lead lasted until two out in the top of the eighth. Daniel Murphy had singled off Pedro Báez but then Báez struck out Ryan McMahon and pinch-hitter Nolan Arenado. Tony Wohlers hit a line drive to right-field corner and the relay throw from Hernández went off Russell Martin’s glove. Murphy, who might have been out had Martin caught the ball, would instead score the tying run.

The game stayed that way until Will Smith put his bat on the ball in the ninth and won it for the Dodgers.

Fan struck by foul ball

In the bottom of the first inning, a young woman was hit on the face by a Cody Bellinger foul ball. Time was taken while Dodger security and medical personnel attended her. After Bellinger flew out to end the inning, he came over and talked to security personnel to check on her.

The foul ball appeared to cross over just past the extended netting that ends where the dugout is located.

Bellinger said that this was the first time he had seen a ball he hit strike a fan in the stands.

When asked if teams should extend the netting, Bellinger said, “I would assume that would be a smart decision, you know just to protect those people in the front row.”

Roberts also said after the game that those talks about extending the protective netting need to intensify.

She was later taken in a wheel chair type carrier by security to the concourse.

Later a fan ran out on a field and she hugged Bellinger. Bellinger said after the game that when she got tackled by security, he said “you know you are going to jail,” and she replied, “yeah I know.”

Sunday particulars

WP: Kenley Jansen (3-2), 1 IP, 1 H, 2 SO

LP: Scott Oberg (5-1), ⅔IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO

Home runs: David Dahl (8), Chris Taylor (8), Will Smith (3)

Box score

Up next

The Dodgers will start a seven-game road trip tomorrow and two former teammates are scheduled to match up in the first game of the three-game series at Chase Field in Phoenix. Clayton Kershaw will go against Zack Greinke with first pitch scheduled at 6:40 p.m. PDT.