A frustrating series at Coors Field? So what’s new? The difference is there’s a division race this year, basically. Still, the Dodgers ran out a hilarious rest lineup and ended up putting up a bunch of runs to split the series with an 9-5 win.
I knew the problem with the lineup was Shohei Ohtani hitting too many homers.
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 21, 2025
Anyway, my policy on games at Coors has always been that leaving without major injury is a win, it just feels worse now that the games actually matter.
— Chad Moriyama (@chadmoriyama.bsky.social) August 21, 2025 at 12:19 PM
======
The Dodger offense got started early, as Mookie Betts drew a walk and Freddie Freeman homered for his 16th of the year and a 2-0 lead.
Freddie! Freddie! Freddie! pic.twitter.com/qfCl2AHIar
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 21, 2025
Unfortunately the vibes didn’t last.
——
Clayton Kershaw took the mound and on the first batter he faced, Miguel Rojas lost a “single” in the sun. A sac bunt followed, and Kershaw seemed to forget the amount of times he stepped off, balking him to third after a third disengagement. That ended up leading to a run on an RBI groundout for a run.
2-1.
——
The bats at least responded back immediately in the 2nd, though barely. A one-out Andy Pages double saw him get to third thanks to an error, Alex Call drew a walk, and Miguel Rojas placed a perfect safety squeeze for a single that played off the Rockies’ defensive alignment.
Toque perfecto de Miggy para traerse a Andy. pic.twitter.com/gtRsujHmKI
— Los Dodgers (@LosDodgers) August 21, 2025
A Mookie single followed to load the bases, and with two down, Will Smith got hit to force a run in and make it 4-1. They couldn’t come up with more, but they got something.
They continued to barely add on in the 3rd, starting a rally with a Alex Freeland lead-off triple. Two strikeouts made things frustrating, but Alex Call came through with a single to make it 5-1.
After a lead-off Freeland triple, Call bails out Rushing and Pages with a single. pic.twitter.com/aP3evXUxq5
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 21, 2025
For the fourth inning in a row, the Dodgers rallied, starting the 4th with singles from Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman to corner things. With one down, a Michael Conforto liner got a sac fly on a diving play, and Freeland doubled to plate another and push the lead to 7-1.
Conforto gets a run home by getting robbed, then Freeland gets his second XBH of the game to make it 7-1. https://t.co/ogqIVlfcg1 pic.twitter.com/h0CwEbeSSe
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 21, 2025
——
On the other side, this time with the help of his defense, Kershaw rebounded in the 2nd, seeing a one-out single erased by an inning-ending double play.
Miggy and Mookie turn a nice double play. pic.twitter.com/Zsy2fJa54Q
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 21, 2025
He then got a clean 3rd, but did give up a single and double with one down in the 4th. Still, he managed to limit the damage to a sac fly, cutting the lead to just 7-2.
——
No matter, the Dodgers made it five innings a row in the 5th when Andy Pages hit his first road homer since April, his 21st of the year, to push the lead back to six at 8-2.
Cue the seeds for Andy! pic.twitter.com/gBIaNy4GI0
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 21, 2025
Finally, they followed with scoreless frames in the 6th and 7th to end the streak.
——
Finishing his start off, Kershaw got a clean 5th, but couldn’t quite deliver a 6th inning of work. He got the first two outs, but then gave up a walk and back-to-back singles for a run to make it 8-3.
Not like a stellar outing, but once again basically a quality start at Coors Field when the Dodgers needed it: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 85 Pitches.
His ledger stopped at three runs thanks to Ben Casparius entering for the final out and getting it, though not before issuing a walk to load things up.
——
The Dodgers did get that run back as well in the 8th, as back-to-back one-out walks from Call and Mookie eventually saw a two-out single from Will Smith make it 9-3.
Dills makes Total Coors Collapse less likely with a single for insurance. pic.twitter.com/gwVBf4rrhA
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 21, 2025
A quiet 9th closed the book on the offense.
——
That left the rest of the game to call-up Matt Sauer, who did an important job again by soaking up innings. He worked around a lead-off double in the 7th, but gave up a single and a Brenton Doyle homer in the 8th to cut the lead to 9-5.
Unfortunately, the homer meant that Alex Vesia entered in the 9th with just a four-run lead, and it took him 2 pitches to end it.
Vesia likely being down tomorrow after this sucks.
— Chad Moriyama (@chadmoriyama.bsky.social) August 21, 2025 at 12:19 PM
======
The Dodgers will now head to San Diego for another massive three-game series against the Padres, starting at 3:40 PM HT/6:40 PM PT/9:40 PM ET. It’ll be Blake Snell facing his old team for the second game in a row, and the same goes for Yu Darvish.
