So Brett Anderson drawing Thursday’s start against Colorado represented no more than a first-round audition for the fourth-starter role the Dodgers must fill for the playoffs, albeit one set before an unusually windy diorama featuring almost 50,000 fans. They rarely are these days.
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Yasmani Grandal homered twice, including a grand slam in the seventh inning, to rally the Los Angeles Dodgers past Colorado 7-4 on Thursday night, the Rockies’ 80th loss of the season.
“It’s been a tough year for him, but where he’s at we’re confident he can regain his form and pitch well for us”, manager Dave Roberts said on Wednesday.
Their 50th home victory reduced the Dodgers’ magic number for clinching their record fourth consecutive NL West title to four.
DJ LeMahieu went deep in the fifth inning, driving a solo shot to center for a 4-1 Rockies advantage.
“The elbow had been going on for a while, but not to the point where we should have stopped it, given it some rest”, Grandal said.
The Dodgers meanwhile are in win now mode as they have the roster to compete for a World Series and after bringing in some key pieces at the deadline it looks like they are risking any potential star prospect for the chance to win this season.
Luis Avilan (3-0) got the win in relief, pitching a scoreless seventh with one strikeout. Joe Blanton pitched a scoreless eighth and Kenley Jansen a scoreless ninth for his 46th save. “We’re never out of it”.
The Dodgers’ second baseman bobbled a ground ball by Rockies pitcher Tyler Chatwood in the top of the fourth inning.
The native of nearby Redlands, Calif., put together another quality start, allowing two runs on five hits in six innings with five strikeouts, but the Rockies’ bullpen wasn’t up to the task in a 7-4 defeat to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Pinch hitter Andre Ethier led off the inning with a double, followed by one-out walks by Yasiel Puig and Corey Seager to load the bases. Adrian Gonzalez, too, walked, forcing in one run.
The grand slam was the second of Grandal’s career and his first as a Dodger.
“We knew he could be competitive, but not sure how durable”, Weiss said.
Moments later, Nolan Arenado was ejected for arguing a called third strike. Carlos Gonzalez, who led off the inning with a base hit, scored when Reddick mishandled Nick Hundley’s double for an error, giving Colorado a 1-0 lead.
Logan gave up four runs and one hit in one inning, walked three and struck out none. The left-hander struck out two and walked one after coming off the disabled list with a blister on his left index finger.
His final line wasn’t pretty, but this was the best that Anderson has looked this season.
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“First thing he said was ‘I can’t believe I missed the ball, ‘” Roberts said. Playing second base, Chase Utley fumbled the ball, then frantically picked it up and heaved it behind his back to first.
