Narrative Statements:
In a game filled with dramatic swings, the Los Angeles Dodgers showcased their resilience with an electrifying 11-9 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night. The pivotal moments in the ninth inning saw Jason Heyward hit a pinch-hit grand slam and Teoscar Hernandez add a three-run homer, culminating in a stunning comeback.
The Dodgers had previously lost 1,137 consecutive games when trailing by five or more runs in the ninth inning or later, a streak dating back to 1957. This was the second-longest active losing streak in such scenarios; only the Mariners had a longer streak with 1,234 losses under similar conditions. With this victory, the Dodgers improved their all-time record to 6 wins and 2,619 losses when trailing by five or more runs in the ninth inning or later.
Their seven runs in the ninth inning were also the most they had scored in a ninth inning since 2004 against the San Francisco Giants. Heyward's fourth career grand slam came off Tyler Kinley and followed walks by Andy Pages and Miguel Vargas, along with a single by Miguel Rojas. Heyward's fourth homer of the season hit the right-field foul pole, setting the stage for a historic inning.
Early Game Struggles
The Dodgers trailed 7-2 in the fourth inning, with Rockies' Elehuris Montero and Brenton Doyle powering their team with home runs. Doyle added three singles for his first career four-hit game, scored twice, and made a diving catch of Shohei Ohtani's line drive to right-center field with runners on first and second and two outs in the seventh inning, preserving an 8-4 lead at the time.
Los Angeles starter Walker Buehler gave up eight hits and seven runs in four innings. It was the first time the 29-year-old right-hander allowed more than three earned runs since returning to the rotation on May 6 after missing the 2023 season due to Tommy John surgery. Buehler struck out two and walked one.
The Turning Point
Shohei Ohtani hit a 476-foot homer in the fifth, and later singled off pitcher Victor Vodnik (1-1) before Will Smith struck out looking. Freddie Freeman received an intentional walk, his sixth walk in the last two games, setting up Hernandez's heroics.
Hernandez took a half-swing at a 1-2 fastball, and first base umpire Lance Barksdale ruled that Hernandez did not commit to the swing. Colorado manager Bud Black argued the call and was ejected from the game. Hernandez then hit his 18th home run, making it 11-9. This marked the first time in the Dodgers' 140-year history that they hit both a grand slam and a three-run homer in the ninth inning.
After Hernandez's ball cleared the wall, Colorado right fielder Jake Cave stepped toward Barksdale and began yelling. Rockies second baseman Alan Trejo intervened, stepping between Cave and Barksdale after the inning ended. Relief pitcher Evan Phillips got the only batter he faced, Hunter Goodman, out with a runner on second, recording his 11th save in as many chances.
Cave, the on-deck hitter, had to be restrained by bench coach Mike Redmond as he attempted to reach Barksdale after the game ended.
Manager and Player Reactions
"It was quality at-bats up and down the lineup," Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said. "Jason was ready when called upon. Teo, he keeps coming up with big hits. That inning, certainly, the results showed the fight, the compete."
"I wasn't sure if it was going to stay fair or not," said Heyward. "It's Colorado, so maybe that helped it straighten out a little bit. I was like, 'Come on, squeak in, squeak in.' I honestly feel like we got rewarded for our process in the ninth."
Hernandez added, "It was close. You can call it either way, and it will be fine. When Jason hit the grand slam, and turning the lineup over to Ohtani, you know something was going to happen. I just wanted to get a good pitch to hit to tie the game. I put a little extra, and it went over the fence. I knew it as soon as I hit. It felt great, especially because it put the team ahead."
"When I'm running in (before the last of the ninth)," Cave said, "he looked me right in the face and goes, 'Cave, it's not even close.' Everybody in the world could see it was at least close. And he did swing. It's a big game. It's one of the best teams in baseball, and we're battling with them. That game's won on that swing. That's a swing-and-miss, the game's won, and we beat the Los Angeles Dodgers."
Reliever Michael Petersen, who struck out two in his major league debut, said, "It was crazy. You can't feel anything. It's like your first date; you are tripping over stuff. But awesome."
With this victory, the Dodgers have won four of their last five games and are 73-32 against Colorado since 2018. The Rockies, on the other hand, have lost five of their last six games. This game will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the most remarkable comebacks in Dodgers' franchise history.