MLB

Los Angeles Dodgers at Colorado Rockies

· Major League Baseball
Los Angeles Dodgers
98-64, 46-35 Away
Final
2 - 1
Colorado Rockies
61-101, 37-44 Home

Ohtani falls short of Triple Crown, steals 59th base as Dodgers beat Rockies 2-1 in season finale

Ohtani finished the regular season leading the NL in homers (54) and RBI (130). His .310 average trailed San Diego’s Luis Arráez (.314) in the batting race.

The charter member of the 50-50 club, Ohtani swiped his 59th base during the eighth-inning rally. It could've been his 60th, but on Saturday night a balk was called as he was on his way to easily stealing a base.

“I didn’t think about the Triple Crown or how close I was to it today,” Ohtani said through a translator. "Today, I was focused on having quality at-bats.”

The last NL Triple Crown winner was St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Joe Medwick in 1937. In the AL, Detroit's Miguel Cabrera won the Triple Crown in 2012.

It was a season that succeeded even manager Dave Roberts' wildest expectations.

“There were ways early to get him out – crowding him down below, up – but now, his control of the strike zone has just gone to another level,” Roberts said. "And then the base-stealing, obviously. We’ve never seen that type of efficiency.”

Ohtani finished 59 for 63 on stolen-base attempts, including 36 in a row without getting caught. He's two shy of matching the franchise record by Davey Lopes in 1975.

“The most important part of all this is that I was able to play consistent the whole year,” Ohtani said.

Chris Taylor tied the game in the eighth with his first homer since July 7. Maybe this locked him in: a 12-pitch at-bat in the third that resulted in a walk.

Soon after Taylor's homer, Austin Barnes and Ohtani both singled. Barnes then swiped third as part of a double steal with Ohtani. Rockies reliever Seth Halvorsen appeared to get his cleat caught in the dirt in his delivery and stopped. He was called for a balk to bring home Barnes.

Evan Phillips (5-1) earned the win and Edgardo Henriquez closed out the ninth for his first career save, among 14 Dodgers with saves this season.

The Dodgers wound up a major league-best 98-64, breaking a string of four straight full seasons with 100 or more wins (they went 43-17 during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season). The NL West champions open the Division Series on Saturday and have home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

Sam Hilliard launched a 476-foot shot into the right field third deck to give the Rockies a 1-0 lead in the second, the fourth-longest in the major leagues this season.

Starter Ryan Feltner scattered two hits over six strong innings in a no-decision. Reliever Victor Vodnik (5-4) took the loss.

It was an emotion-filled afternoon for Blackmon, who went 1 or 2 in his 14th and final season — all with the Rockies. The player known for his bushy beard was lifted for a pinch-runner after his single in the third.

“It was really cool to end on a hit," Blackmon said. “One last time getting to savor it on the way out.”

Blackmon was honored in a pregame ceremony and trotted out to center field all alone to soak in the applause. He leaves as the franchise’s all-time leader in triples and second behind Hall of Famer Todd Helton in games played and runs scored.

Plan on keeping the beard?

“Good question,” said Blackmon, who began his career clean shaven.

Colorado (61-101) has back-to-back 100-loss seasons. The team went 59-103 last season. The Rockies saw 2,540,195 fans attend games at Coors Field this season. Last year, the attendance was 2,607,935.

Before the game, Rockies manager Bud Black sidestepped the topic of his expiring contract.

“Thank you for not asking," Black playfully asked.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Dodgers: 1B Freddie Freeman continues to receive treatment on his sore right ankle. “I saw video of him walking. He’s ginger when he’s walking,” manager Dave Roberts said. Roberts is optimistic of a return for Freeman and SS Miguel Rojas (torn adductor) to start the playoffs.

UP NEXT

:

Dodgers: A few days off before the NLDS begins Saturday.

Rockies: Open spring training at Arizona on Feb. 21.

How can I watch Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Colorado Rockies?
  • TV Channel: Dodgers at Rockies 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.TV.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Rockies: 37.8%
Dodgers: 62.2%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning Schunk grounded into fielder's choice to third, Hilliard out at second.
9th Inning Cave struck out swinging.
9th Inning Hilliard walked.
9th Inning Jones struck out swinging.
9th Inning Henriquez relieved Kopech
9th Inning E. Hernández grounded out to second.

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/lad.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originLAD https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/col.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCOL
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
0 Hit By Pitch 0
0 Ground Balls 0
7 Strikeouts 12
1 Runs Batted In 1
0 Sacrifice Hit 0
5 Hits 6
2 Stolen Bases 0
2 Walks 2
0 Catcher Interference 0
2 Runs 1
1 Ground Into Double Play 0
0 Sacrifice Flies 0
31 At Bats 33
1 Home Runs 1
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
11 Runners Left On Base 13
0 Triples 0
0 Game Winning RBIs 0
0 Intentional Walks 0
0 Doubles 1
0 Fly Balls 0
0 Caught Stealing 0
130 Pitches 133
0 Games Started 0
0 Pinch At Bats 0
0 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
1 Is Qualified In Steals 0
8 Total Bases 10
33 Plate Appearances 35
162.0 Projected Home Runs 162.0
1 Extra Base Hits 2
1.5 Runs Created 2.1
.161 Batting Average .182
.000 Pinch Hit Average .000
.258 Slugging Percentage .303
.226 Secondary Average .182
.212 On Base Percentage .229
.470 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .532
0.0 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 0.0
1.5 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 2.1
16.0 Batter Rating 15.0
31.0 At Bats Per Home Run 33.0
1.00 Stolen Base Percentage 0.00
3.94 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 3.80
.097 Isolated Power .121
0.29 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.17
.061 Walks Per Plate Appearance .057
.065 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average .000
3.0 Runs Produced 2.0
0.5 Runs Ratio 1.0
0.3 Patience Ratio 0.3
0.2 Balls In Play Average 0.3
67.8 MLB Rating 67.8
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Coors Field

Location: Denver, Colorado
Attendance: 48,320 | Capacity:

2024 National League West Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Los Angeles 98 64 .605 - W5
San Diego 93 69 .574 5 L1
Arizona 89 73 .549 9 W1
San Francisco 80 82 .494 18 L1
Colorado 61 101 .377 37 L3
Full Standings