Dodgers produce 7-run 9th inning to stun Rockies – Daily News

DENVER — It was a comeback for the ages.

The Dodgers struck for seven runs in the ninth inning on the strength of a grand slam by pinch-hitter Jason Heyward and a three-run home run by Teoscar Hernandez, turning a five-run deficit into an 11-9 victory on Tuesday night as part of a slugfest between the NL West-leading Dodgers and the last-place Rockies.

“It was quality of at-bat up and down the lineup,” Dodgers 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.”

According to Elias, the last time the Dodgers overcame a deficit of five runs or more in the ninth inning or later was July 18, 1957 against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Tyler Kinley issued two walks around a single to Miguel Rojas as the Dodgers loaded the bases with one out in the ninth, bringing up Heyward, who was batting for Chris Taylor. Heyward came through with his fourth career grand slam, hitting the foul pole down the right field line to bring the Dodgers to within 9-8.

“I wasn’t sure if that was going to stay fair or not,” Heyward said. “It’s Colorado, so maybe that helped straighten it out a little bit. But given that it was a slider and in the location it was, it definitely was a tough pitch to keep fair. I was like, ‘Come on, come on, squeak in, squeak in, and it hit off the pole,’ and I said, ‘all right, we’re good.’ I honestly feel like we got rewarded for our process” in the ninth.

Heyward was the first Dodger to hit a pinch-hit grand slam in the ninth inning or later since Dave Hansen on June 28, 1993, against San Francisco, and the first Dodger with a pinch-hit slam since Matt Kemp on June 23, 2018 against the New York Mets.

“When Jason hit the grand slam, and turned the lineup up to Ohtani, you knew something was going to happen,” Hernandez said. “It was not going to go and end like that.”

Victor Vodnik relieved Kinley and Shohei Ohtani singled to keep the rally alive. Will Smith struck out looking after attempting to step out of the batter’s box on a 3-and-2 pitch for the second out. After a wild pitch, Freddie Freeman was walked intentionally, bringing up Hernandez.

With two strikes, Hernandez checked his swing on a 1-and-2 fastball. Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman appealed the call but first base umpire Lance Barksdale ruled he didn’t go around. Rockies manager Bud Black argued the ruling and was ejected.

“It was close but now that I saw the replay, I don’t think so,” Hernandez said. “But I mean, you can call it either way.”

Hernandez drilled the next pitch he saw from Vodnik (1-1) for his 18th homer of the season, a three-run shot into right center field that put the Dodgers over the top.

“I knew as soon as I hit it,” Hernandez said. “It was great, especially because I put the team ahead.”

Hernandez became the first Dodger to hit a go-ahead home run with his team trailing and two outs in the ninth inning or later since Yasiel Puig on July 14, 2017 at Miami.

Michael Petersen (1-0) allowed one run in two innings to pick up the win in his major league debut and Alex Vesia notched his 11th save.

“It’s exciting,” said Petersen, who got his first big league call-up three days ago and had relatives in the stands after toiling in the minor leagues for a decade. “I mean, the debut was insane, more than I can imagine. And honestly, just helping this organization get a win felt awesome.”

“It was crazy. You can’t feel anything. It’s like your first date, you are tripping over stuff. But awesome.”

Ohtani and Andy Pages homered earlier for the Dodgers. Ohtani’s homer off of Austin Gomber leading off the sixth was his 20th of the season and landed in the stand of evergreens beyond the center field fence, traveling 476 feet, the longest home run in the majors this season.

Tuesday’s epic turnaround masked another concerning outing by star pitcher Walker Buehler, who is struggling to regain his form after missing the entire 2023 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Even before the game, Roberts counseled patience for Buehler.