dodgers They traded in their feast-or-famine offense for a Happy Medium Meal on Tuesday night, combining a solid but unspectacular offense with some robust pitching from Julio Urias for 5-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies before a sellout crowd of 52,290 at Chavez Ravine.
A lineup that produced 31 runs on 33 hits in the team’s three wins and scored two runs on nine hits and went 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position in two losses managed just seven hits and five walks Tuesday at night.
But three of the hits were home runs, by Will Smith, Jason Heyward and Max Muncy, and that was enough to make the winner out of the efficient and effective Urías, who allowed five hits, struck out six and walked no one in six shutouts. innings and escaped a jam with the bases loaded and no outs in the third.
“It was nice,” manager Dave Roberts said of the more balanced offense. “I wish we could extend some of these races, but tonight was good. Guys taking walks, guys hitting the ball out of the park…up and down the lineup, when we do that, we can be pretty tough to beat.”
Sporting a new 86 mph chop that broke out in last week’s season-opening win over Arizona, Urías improved to 2-0 with a 1.50 earned run average and extended his scoreless inning streak to 10. He threw 87 pitches, 60 strikes, inducing nine swinging strikes and scoring two of his hits with his cutter.
The Dodgers survived a scary moment in the top of the seventh when Mookie Betts, playing second base in place of the injured Miguel Vargas, ran into shallow right field for Alan Trejo’s fly ball.
Betts made an over-the-shoulder catch to end the inning, but he collided and knocked over Heyward, the right fielder. Betts sprained his right ankle and was slow to get up, but eventually trotted off the field. He doubled to lead off the eighth and scored on Smith’s RBI double for a 5-0 lead.
“I’m fine, you know, just a sprained ankle, so it’s fine,” said Betts, who is usually the attacker from right field on such plays. “I really don’t know what happened. I went to catch him, I turned around, he was sliding, and by then it was too late. But I mean, he did what you’re supposed to do. Outfielders are supposed to come down.”
Betts, who received his 2022 Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards before the game, underwent treatment afterward. The Dodgers have Wednesday off and Betts will be reevaluated Thursday in Arizona.
“I’m sure seeing it was probably scarier than being inside,” Betts said of the collision. “I lay down on the floor, and after giving it a second, I realized it wasn’t too bad.”
Dodgers’ Max Muncy celebrates his solo home run against the Colorado Rockies during the fourth inning Tuesday at Dodger Stadium.
(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)
There was another scare in the ninth when the Rockies scored on doubles by Kris Bryant and Elehuris Montero off reliever Phil Bickford to cut the deficit to 5-1 and Ryan McMahon walked.
Roberts called up right-hander Evan Phillips, who hit Elias Diaz with a pitch to load the bases. But Phillips got pinch hitter Mike Moustakas to hit a sacrifice fly to left and pinch hitter Charlie Blackmon to ground out to first, ending the game.
Tuesday’s game started the same way it ended Monday, with Smith smashing a two-run home run to left-center for a 2-0 lead in the first. Smith, who has three homers and 10 RBIs in five games, capped a 13-hit flurry in Monday’s 13-4 victory with a two-run homer to left field in the eighth.
The Rockies loaded the bases with no outs in the third when Ezequiel Tovar and Jurickson Profar singled and Yonathan Daza reached on a bunt single.
But Urías slammed the door, striking out Bryant looking and causing CJ Cron to ground out to Muncy, who threw out to Betts to start a double play late in the inning.
The Dodgers extended their lead to 4-0 on solo home runs by Heyward in the third inning and Muncy in the fourth.
Heyward, the 33-year-old veteran who was released by the Chicago Cubs after hitting .204 with a .556 on-base percentage plus slugging percentage in 48 games last season, hit his second home run in as many nights, a 112.7-laser. mph to right field that was harder than any ball the Dodgers hit last season.
Muncy, who hit .063 (1-for-16) with nine strikeouts in his first four games, led off the fourth with an impressive 381-foot drive into the right-field seats for his first home run of the season.