Los Angeles Dodgers vs Colorado Rockies Box Score on Sep 29, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Sep 30, 2017

DENVER -- The Colorado Rockies are ever so close to reaching the postseason for the first time since 2009 after walloping the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-1 on Friday night.

The victory reduced the Rockies' magic number to one, meaning one Colorado victory or one loss by the Milwaukee Brewers (85-75) will enable the Rockies to win the second National League wild card and advance to the postseason for the fourth time in their 25 seasons of play. The Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-3 on Friday night.

Chad Bettis, backed by an early barrage of home runs, made one of the best starts this season for the Rockies since coming back from testicular cancer and returning to their rotation Aug. 14.

Bettis (2-4) gave up four hits and one run in a season-high tying seven innings and retired the final 14 batters he faced. He got 12 outs on ground balls with one walk and four strikeouts in a 95-pitch outing that included 62 strikes. Bettis' other win also was against the Dodgers on Sept. 9 at Los Angeles.

Four homers, all with two outs and all with a 3-2 count, gave the Rockies a 7-1 lead after four innings. Most of the damage was off Dodgers starter Hyun-Jin Ryu (5-9), who gave up three of the homers, six hits and five runs in a start that lasted two innings and forced him to throw 68 pitches just to get two outs.

Nolan Arenado (home run No. 37), Mark Reynolds (30), Charlie Blackmon (37) and Trevor Story (24) connected for the Rockies, who finished one shy of their season-high five homers in a game.

Colorado took a 3-0 lead in the first when Arenado hit a two-out home run for his career-high 183rd hit of the season.

Story followed with a single, and Reynolds belted a two-run shot to end a homerless drought of 44 at-bats since he last homered Sept. 10.

In the second, Blackmon walloped a two-run shot into the second deck in right field that went an estimated 454 feet and put the Rockies ahead 5-0. The hit scored Ian Desmond, who led off with a walk, and gave Blackmon a major league-record 101 RBIs as a leadoff hitter. Darin Erstad set the old record of 100 RBIs in 2000.

Justin Turner's one-out single made it 5-1 in the third after consecutive singles by pinch hitter Trayce Thompson and Curtis Granderson to start the inning.

The Rockies scored on a passed ball following an overturned call in the fifth.

With runners on first and second, pitcher Chad Bettis bunted. Dodgers pitcher Tony Cingrani threw to third baseman Turner for what was ruled a force out before a replay review determined Turner left the base before catching the ball.

That play loaded the bases before catcher Yasmani Grandal's passed ball enabled the Rockies to score their eighth run. Blackmon chopped a run-scoring single over a leaping first baseman Cody Bellinger to make it 9-1.

NOTES: The Dodgers selected the contract of INF/OF Tim Locastro from Triple-A Oklahoma City and made room for him on the 40-man roster by putting OF O'Koyea Dickson (subluxed left shoulder) on the 60-day disabled list. Locastro made his major league debut when he pinch ran in the eighth and then played left field. ... Dodgers OF Chris Taylor is expected to be back in the lineup Saturday after suffering a left knee contusion Wednesday. ... Rockies 1B Mark Reynolds hit his 30th homer, giving him four seasons with at least 30 homers and his first since 2011 with Baltimore. ... Rockies 3B Nolan Arenado went 3-for-5, giving him a career-high 185 hits, surpassing his previous high of 182 hits set last year. ... Rockies CF Charlie Blackmon drove in three runs, giving him 103 RBIs overall and a major league record 102 from the leadoff spot. Darin Erstad set the previous record in 2000 with 100 RBIs while leading off. ... A postgame fireworks display helped draw a crowd of 48,395, the Rockies' 13th sellout of the season.