The Dodgers looked like they were sleepwalking through an easy win Monday night. Then they almost blew the whole thing. Then Dalton Rushing saved it.
Rushing, a 25-year-old catcher who spent most of last season in Triple-A, lined a single up the middle in the 11th inning with the infield drawn in. That scored the winning run and gave Los Angeles an 8-7 victory over the Colorado Rockies in a game that stretched past four hours. It was the kind of messy, sloppy win that feels more exhausting than impressive — but the Dodgers will take it.
Los Angeles led 6-1 after four innings. Shohei Ohtani was doing Shohei Ohtani things, launching a two-run homer in the third and then driving in two more with a single in the fourth. The offense looked unstoppable. The crowd at Dodger Stadium was loose. This was supposed to be a laugher against a last-place team that came in 28 games under .500.
But Colorado chipped away. A two-run double in the fifth. A solo homer in the seventh. Then a three-run rally in the ninth that tied the game at 6-6 and sent the game to extras. The Rockies took the lead in the top of the 10th on a sacrifice fly, and suddenly what looked like a routine win was teetering on collapse.
How the Dodgers dragged themselves back
Mookie Betts kept the Dodgers alive in the bottom of the 10th. He reached on a Rockies error — a throwing mistake by shortstop Ezequiel Tovar that let a run score and tied the game again. It wasn’t pretty, but Betts has a knack for finding ways to stay on base when it matters most.
That set the stage for Rushing. The rookie didn’t swing for the fences. He just put the ball in play, and with the infield playing close to the plate, the ball skipped through into center field. Catcher Austin Barnes slid home ahead of the throw, and the celebration was on.
Rushing now has three walk-off hits this season, which feels like a lot for a guy who wasn’t even on the Opening Day roster. He was called up in late April after Will Smith went down with an oblique strain and has carved out a role as the primary left-handed bat off the bench.
What this win means
The win pushed the Dodgers to 60-32, the best record in the National League. They’ve now won five of their last seven after dropping two of three to the Padres over the weekend. That series loss stung — San Diego has been nipping at their heels all year — but beating the Rockies, even in ugly fashion, keeps the division lead at seven games.
Colorado fell to 32-60. They’ve lost 11 of their last 14 and continue to play spoiler more by accident than design. But they made the best team in the league sweat on a Monday night in July, and that’s something.
The Dodgers will send Bobby Miller to the mound Tuesday for the second game of the series. Rockies counter with Austin Gomber. First pitch at 7:10 p.m. Pacific.
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