When the Dodgers entered the bottom of the seventh inning on Thursday night – Jackie Robinson Day – in front of a COVID-19 sold-out Dodger Stadium crowd of 15,129, they were in a position unfamiliar to them; trailing the NL West last-place Colorado Rockies by a score of 5-3.

When the inning ended, they were in a position very familiar to them – leading the Rockies by a score of 7-5, having sent nine men to the plate.

Dodgers left-hander Julio Urías had started for Dodgers but lasted only six innings, allowing all five Rockies runs (four earned) on seven hits with two walks and six strikeouts. It was anything but a typical Julio Urías outing.

“I felt good, but there are some pitches I need to clean up,” he would later say (through an interpreter) about his third start of the season.

But if the NL West-leading 2021 Dodgers have taught us anything through their first 12 games of the 2021 season, they have taught us that, as the defending 2020 World Series Champions, they are never out of a ball game.

The bottom of the seventh began with Dodgers newcomer Luke Raley, making his first career start as the Dodgers left fielder, striking out on a 3-2 count for the first out of the inning. But it was followed by a huge five-pitch walk by pinch-hitter Matt Beaty (for Urías) off of Rockies right-hander Yency Almonte, who had replaced very efficient Rockies left-handed starter Austin Gomber, But when Rockies third baseman Josh Fuentes was unable to turn a double play on a hard ground ball by Dodgers shortstop Chris Taylor, he left the door open, albeit only a crack, by getting only Beaty at second base.

An open door, even only a crack, was all that the Dodgers needed, with Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner stepping to the plate representing the tying run. The 36-year-old Long Beach, CA native was 3-for-3 on the night and a triple shy of the cycle. He walked on five pitches, bringing a very hungry (0-for-2) Max Muncy to the plate. On a 2-0 count, Muncy crushed an 87-MPH change-up from Almonte, sending it 405 feet into the crisp (cold) Dodger Stadium night for a three-run home run to give the Dodgers a 6-5 lead and sending Almonte to the showers.

Almonte was replaced by Rockies right-hander Tyler Kinley, who promptly gave up back-to-back singles to Dodgers catcher Will Smith and centerfielder A.J Pollock before walking first baseman Edwin Rios to load the bases and sending him to the showers as well. He was replaced by Rockies right-hander Carlos Estévez, who uncorked a wild pitch on his very first pitch to Dodgers right-fielder Zach McKinstry, allowing Smith to score the fourth run of the inning before McKinstry grounded into a force out to finally end the nightmare inning for Colorado.

“We’ve done what we can do up to this point, and I expect us to continue to play good baseball,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the game to complete a six-game (first) homestand sweep of the Washington Nationals and Rockies. “I think we’ve done a really nice job.”

We think so too, Dave.

Play Ball!

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