Walker Buehler pitched 6 2/3 innings of one-hit ball, Cody Bellinger and Max Muncy each hit two-run homers and Kenley Jansen survived a shaky ninth inning as the Dodgers defeated the Rockies to claim their sixth consecutive division title and advance to the best-of-five NL Division Series against the Atlanta Braves. Game 1 of that series will be Thursday at Dodger Stadium. Buehler was the start of the game, also getting an RBI single to account for the Dodgers’ fifth run of the game.
Watch Tommy Lasorda get doused with sparkling wine
Let the celebration begin
Dodgers defeat Rockies 5-2 to advance to NLDS against Atlanta
TOP OF NINTH: Kenley Jansen in to pitch. Arenado homered to deep left. Story homered to right. This is not good. Gonzalez grounded to first. Desmond struck out swinging. Pinch-hitter Gerardo Parra struck out swinging. Dodgers defeat the Rockies, 5-2, and will play Atlanta at Dodger Stadium on Thursday in Game 1 of the best-of-five NLDS.
Dodgers lead 5-0 after eight innings
BOTTOM OF EIGHTH: Bellinger grounded to first. Puig bounced to third. That’s it for Jake McGee. Rockies are bringing in DJ Johnson. Hernandez grounded to third. DODGERS 5, ROCKIES 0.
Dodgers are three outs away from advancing to NLDS against Atlanta
TOP OF EIGHTH: Scott Alexander now pitching. Iannetta lined to third. Blackmon singled to left. And that’s it for Alexander. Kenta Maeda is coming in to pitch. LeMahieu hit a high bouncer to third and Turner threw him out on a bang-bang play. They are reviewing the call, and he is indeed out. Blackmon on second, two out. Dahl struck out swinging.
Dodgers lead, 5-0, after seven innings
BOTTOM OF SEVENTH: Right-hander Scott Oberg now pitching for the Rockies. Turner singled to right. Muncy singled to right, Turner to third. Machado grounded to the pitcher for a double play, with Turner holding at third. Left-hander Jake McGee in to pitch for the Rockies. Grandal struck out swinging.
Baez replaces Buehler, Rockies don’t score in top of seventh
TOP OF SEVENTH: Arenado flied to deep right-center. Story flied to right. Gonzalez walked. And that’s it for Buehler. He walks off the mound to a standing ovation. Pedro Baez now pitching. The fans cheered for Pedro Baez! Desmond walked. Matt Holliday, batting for the pitcher, popped to short. DODGERS 5, ROCKIES 0
Walker Buehler drives in a run as Dodgers take 5-0 lead after six innings
BOTTOM OF SIXTH: Bellinger popped to third. Puig flied to right. Hernandez doubled to right. Dave Roberts lets Buehler hit and he singles to center, giving the Dodgers a 5-0 lead. Pederson flied to center. DODGERS 5, ROCKIES 0
Dodgers lead, 4-0, after top of sixth
TOP OF SIXTH: Iannetta struck out swinging. Blackmon singled to right-center. There goes the no-hitter. LeMahieu hit a bouncer up the middle, Hernandez made a nice diving stop and threw LeMahieu out at first. Blackmon advanced to second. Dahl grounded to first. DODGERS 4, ROCKIES 0.
Dodgers take 4-0 lead after fifth, thanks to Max Muncy’s two-run shot
BOTTOM OF FIFTH: Pederson doubled to center. Turner struck out swinging. There is activity in the Colorado bullpen. Muncy homered to left-center. 4-0 Dodgers. Machado flied to center. Rockies make a double switch, bringing Chris Iannetta in to catch and left-hander Harrison Musgrave in to pitch. Grandal grounded to short. DODGERS 4, ROCKIES 0
Dodgers maintain 2-0 lead through top of fifth
TOP OF FIFTH: Gonzalez lined to center. Desmond struck out swinging. Wolters grounded to first. Buehler is cruising. DODGERS 2, ROCKIES 0.
Dodgers take 2-0 lead thanks to Cody Bellinger’s two-run homer
BOTTOM OF FOURTH: Max Muncy swung at and missed strike three, but the ball got by Rockies catcher Wolters, allowing Muncy to take first. Machado struck out. Grandal struck out swinging at a pitch that bounced in. Bellinger homered to right, 2-0 Dodgers. Puig hit a drive to left. Dahl tried to short hop it but it got by him. Puig on second, two out. Enrique Hernandez was walked intentionally. Buehler struck out looking. DODGERS 2, ROCKIES 0
No score through three innings
BOTTOM OF THIRD: Enrique Hernandez grounded to short. Walker Buehler, down 0-2 in the count, walked. Pederson flied to shallow right-center. Turner fouled off several two-strike pitches and then tapped to the catcher. DODGERS 0, ROCKIES 0.
Rockies, Dodgers still scoreless after top of fourth
TOP OF FOURTH: Dahl walked after fouling off five two-strike pitches. Arenado popped to short. Story flied to deep left. With Gonzalez at the plate, Dahl was thrown out attempting to steal. DODGERS 0. ROCKIES 0.
Taking a dive
Walker Buehler escapes trouble in third
TOP OF THIRD: Ian Desmond was hit by a pitch. Tony Wolters grounded into the hole at short. Machado made a nice play to backhand it and throw Desmond out at second. German Marquez sacrificed Wolters to second. Buehler is throwing in the 95-98 mph range today and almost knocked the bat right out of Marquez’s hands. Blackmon was in an 0-and-2 count and Buehler threw four pitches not even close to the strike zone to walk him. First and second, two out. LeMahieu grounded to short. DODGERS 0, ROCKIES 0
Strong start
Brewers defeat Cubs, 3-1, to win NL Central
Lorenzo Cain’s RBI single broke a 1-1 tie in the eighth as the Milwaukee Brewers won the NL Central title, 3-1, over the Chicago Cubs. The loss means the Cubs will host Tuesday’s wild-card game against the loser of the Dodgers-Rockies game at 5 p.m. PT
Bad call robs Dodgers of good chance in second, game is still scoreless
BOTTOM OF SECOND: Manny Machado singled to center. Yasmani Grandal fouled to left, Dahl falling into the stands making the catch. Machado took second on the play. Cody Bellinger grounded to first and beat the throw. The umpire called him out. The Dodgers asked for a review, and despite the replay showing he was safe, he was called out anyway. Good job, New York. Yasiel Puig struck out swinging.
Rockies, Dodgers scoreless through top of second
TOP OF SECOND. Nolan Arenado popped to first. Trevor Story grounded to the pitcher. Carlos Gonzalez struck out swinging.
Dodgers, Rockies scoreless after one
BOTTOM OF THE FIRST: German Marquez if pitching for the Rockies. Joc Pederson struck out swinging. Justin Turner grounded sharply to third. Max Muncy struck out swinging.
No score after top of first
Pull up a chair and join us for our live inning recaps of the game. Here we go.
TOP OF FIRST: Charlie Blackmon grounded to second. DJ LeMahieu flied to left. David Dahl grounded to second. Easy inning for Walker Buehler. Dodgers 0, Cubs 0.
Not a lot of people in the stands
Good luck charm Keith Williams Jr. sings the anthem
The lineups for today’s game between the Dodgers and Rockies
Fans make their way to Dodger Stadium [Video]
Dave Roberts on Walker Buehler: ‘I believe he’s the right guy in this moment’ [Video]
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts discusses playing the Colorado Rockies and pitching Walker Buehler in the tiebreaker to determine who wins the NL West.
Dodgers putting their money — and maybe their season — on rookie Walker Buehler
A few minutes before midnight Saturday, the Dodgers announced Rich Hill, not Walker Buehler, would start Sunday at San Francisco. After sorting through the variables and possible scenarios, the club decided saving Buehler for whatever awaited beyond was the right move.
Dodgers beat up on Giants, will face Rockies on Monday for NL West title
As people streamed out of the visiting manager’s office at AT&T Park, the teenage son of the Dodgers manager spoke up.
“Hey dad,” Cole Roberts said, “two Game 163s tomorrow … ”
A new twist to Game 163: It’s do or wild card
It’s a one-game playoff, except nobody is getting eliminated.