LOS ANGELES — For six innings, it looked like the Dodgers might sleepwalk through their homecoming. Emmet Sheehan labored, Colorado held a two-run lead, and the offense had offered little beyond a single run in the third. Then the seventh inning happened, and everything changed. Los Angeles scored four runs without a home run in sight, turned a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 lead, and held on to open the homestand with a victory.
The Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 5-3 Monday night at Dodger Stadium, winning their tenth game in the last twelve. Kyle Hurt earned the win in relief, Will Klein picked up his fifth hold, and Blake Treinen closed it out with his first save of the season.
Kiké’s Back, and He Made It Count
The story before first pitch was the return of Enrique Hernandez. The Dodgers activated him Monday, designating Santiago Espinal for assignment to clear the roster spot. It had been a quiet stretch without him, and manager Dave Roberts wasted no time putting him back in the lineup at third base.
Hernandez answered immediately. In the third inning, with Hyeseong Kim on base, he laced a ground-ball double down the left-field line to score Kim and give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. He added a single in the fifth to finish 2-for-2 on the night. It was exactly the kind of return the club needed from a veteran presence, and it served as a reminder of what he brings when healthy.
Shohei Ohtani doubled sharply to right in the first inning but was stranded. After that, Tanner Gordon kept the Dodgers in check through six, limiting the damage and keeping Colorado within striking distance.
Sheehan Grinds Through Six
Sheehan was not sharp, but he competed. He scattered five hits over six innings, allowed two earned runs, and struck out eight. The fourth inning was the one that hurt. Tyler Freeman hit a ground-rule double and eventually came home on a Willi Castro single, tying the game at one. Ezequiel Tovar then delivered a sacrifice fly to put the Rockies in front 2-1.
A tense moment followed when Sheehan took a line drive off his throwing shoulder on a deflected pitch back up the middle. The training staff came out, the infield gathered, and the stadium held its breath. After a few practice throws in front of the coaching staff, he stayed in and finished the inning. He completed six innings total before giving way to the bullpen.
It was the kind of outing that keeps a rotation going without winning you the game outright. Sheehan ate innings when the team needed them, absorbed the lead change, and left the door open for the offense to answer.
The Seventh Inning That Decided Everything
Tovar led off the top of the seventh with a home run to center off Kyle Hurt, and just like that it was 3-1. The Rockies had their cushion. The Dodgers had nine outs.
Will Smith walked to open the bottom of the seventh. Kim followed with a walk of his own. Miguel Rojas entered as a pinch-hitter and was hit by pitch to load the bases with nobody out. It was the kind of sequence where the game could spiral in either direction.
Ohtani grounded into a force out, but the Dodgers challenged the play at first and won the review. The call was overturned, Ohtani was safe, and Smith scored to make it 3-2. Mookie Betts followed with a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Kim and tying the game. Then Freddie Freeman stepped in.
His 15th double of the season, a sharp shot to right-center, scored Ohtani and gave Los Angeles a 4-3 lead. Andy Pages followed with a line-drive single to center to score Freeman and push it to 5-3. Four runs, one inning, no home runs. Just situational baseball at exactly the right moment.
Bullpen Closes the Door
Hurt allowed the Tovar homer but was otherwise steady, earning the win in an inning of work. Klein came in for the eighth and was efficient, striking out two in a clean frame. Vesia worked two outs in the ninth before handing it to Treinen, who got Braxton Fulford swinging to end it and pick up save number one on the season.
Colorado put a runner on second in the ninth after Castro singled and advanced on defensive indifference, but it never felt dangerous. The bullpen combined to allow just one run over three innings and the game was never seriously threatened after the Dodgers took the lead. Add another W in the win column for LA.
Up Next
The Dodgers continue the series against Colorado on Tuesday with Eric Lauer taking the mound against Kyle Freeland. Lauer, a left-hander acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays last week, makes his Dodger debut slotting into the six-man rotation while top prospect River Ryan continues to build back up in Triple-A. Wednesday closes out the Rockies series before the Phillies come to Dodger Stadium for a three-game set to close out May.