Narrative Statements:
In a game filled with dramatic swings, the Los Angeles Dodgers pulled off an electrifying 11-9 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night, thanks to a stunning seven-run ninth inning.
Unprecedented Comeback
The Dodgers had previously lost 1,137 consecutive games when trailing by five or more runs in the ninth inning or later, a streak dating back to 1957. This marked the second-longest active losing streak in such scenarios; only the Mariners had a longer streak, with 1,234 losses. With this win, the Dodgers improved their all-time record to 6-2,619 when trailing by five or more runs in the ninth inning or later. Their seven runs in the ninth inning were the most they had scored in a ninth inning since 2004 against the San Francisco Giants.
Jason Heyward hit a pinch-hit grand slam off Tyler Kinley to kick off the late-inning heroics. Heyward's fourth career grand slam followed walks by Andy Pages and Miguel Vargas, and a single by Miguel Rojas. The ball hit the right-field foul pole for Heyward's fourth homer of the season.
The Dodgers trailed 7-2 in the fourth inning, adding to the improbability of their comeback. Teoscar Hernandez sealed the team's fate with a three-run homer, making it 11-9. This was the first time in their 140-year history that the Dodgers had hit both a grand slam and a three-run homer in the ninth inning.
Controversial Calls and Ejections
Colorado manager Bud Black was ejected from the game for arguing a half-swing call made by first base umpire Lance Barksdale. Hernandez took a half-swing at a 1-2 fastball, and Barksdale ruled that Hernandez did not commit to the swing, a call that incited vocal disagreement from Black. After Hernandez's ball cleared the wall, Colorado right fielder Jake Cave stepped toward Barksdale and began yelling. Rockies second baseman Alan Trejo intervened, stepping between Cave and Barksdale after the inning ended.
Relief pitcher Evan Phillips got the only batter he faced, Hunter Goodman, out with a runner on second, recording his 11th save in as many chances. Cave, the on-deck hitter, had to be restrained by bench coach Mike Redmond as he attempted to reach Barksdale after the game ended.
Rockies' Early Dominance
Elehuris Montero and Brenton Doyle homered for the Rockies, who scored four runs in the first inning and twice held five-run leads. Doyle added three singles for his first career four-hit game, scored twice, and made a diving catch of Shohei Ohtani's line drive to right-center field with runners on first and second and two outs in the seventh inning, preserving an 8-4 lead at the time.
Dodgers starter Walker Buehler gave up eight hits and seven runs in four innings. It was the first time the 29-year-old right-hander allowed more than three earned runs since returning to the rotation on May 6 after missing the 2023 season due to Tommy John surgery. Buehler struck out two and walked one.
Final Moments and Quotes
Andy Pages also homered for the Dodgers, who have won four of their last five games and are 73-32 against Colorado since 2018. The Rockies, on the other hand, have lost five of their last six games. Reliever Michael Petersen (1-0) worked two innings and struck out two in his major league debut.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts praised his team's effort, saying, "It was quality at-bats up and down the lineup. Jason was ready when called upon. Teo, he keeps coming up with big hits. That inning, certainly, the results showed the fight, the compete."
Heyward described the tense moment when he hit his grand slam: "I wasn't sure if it was going to stay fair or not. It's Colorado, so maybe that helped it straighten out a little bit. I was like, 'Come on, squeak in, squeak in.' I honestly feel like we got rewarded for our process in the ninth."
Hernandez added his perspective on the game-changing swing, "It was close. You can call it either way, and it will be fine. When Jason hit the grand slam, and turning the lineup over to Ohtani, you know something was going to happen. I just wanted to get a good pitch to hit to tie the game. I put a little extra, and it went over the fence. I knew it as soon as I hit it. It felt great, especially because it put the team ahead."
Cave, still simmering from the controversial call, said, "When I'm running in before the last of the ninth, he looked me right in the face and goes, 'Cave, it's not even close.' Everybody in the world could see it was at least close. And he did swing. It's a big game against one of the best teams in baseball, and we're battling with them. That game's won on that swing. That's a swing-and-miss, the game's won, and we beat the Los Angeles Dodgers."
Reflecting on his major league debut, Petersen said, "It was crazy. You can't feel anything. It's like your first date; you are tripping over stuff. But awesome."