It was Eric Lauer’s first game in a Los Angeles Dodgers uniform — he’d only signed with them 17 days earlier — but he pitched like he’d been a part of the organization for years as the Dodgers made quick work of the Colorado Rockies in a 15-6 rout with a bizarre ninth inning.
Kyle Freeland has another a rough outing
It wasn’t the night Freeland had hoped for.
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On one hand, he met a personal benchmark. He began the game 1.1 innings shy of reaching 1300 innings, which would make him the second pitcher in Rockies history (Aaron Cook is the other) to throw at least 1300 innings for the club. This goal, he achieved despite the loss. He is 13.2 innings short of Cook’s 1312.1 IP, the most in franchise history — a record he will surely break before the season ends.
On the other, Freeland struggled to keep the ball in the park and the Dodgers in the dugout.
He gave up a two-run home run to Mookie Betts (5) in the first.
In the third inning, he surrendered two more homers, one to Kiké Hernández (1) and another to Andy Pages (12). By the end of the third inning, the Dodgers had a 4-1 lead.
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Things got worse in the fourth when Freeland allowed two hits before hitting Shohei Ohtani with a pitch and loading the bases. A wild pitch scored Miguel Rojas while a Pages double scored two more. Freeland managed to finish the fourth on 81 pitches, but the score was 8-1, and the Dodgers never looked back.
He finished the evening with a final line of 4.0 IP. Freeland allowed eight runs (all earned) on nine hits, three of them home runs. He did not issue any walks and struck out four.
His ERA is 8.08. He also managed to throw a “pitchergami.”
“Their right-handed hitters came ready to hit tonight,” said manager Warren Schaeffer.
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“Tough for me to find location,” Freeland said, noting that the Dodgers had taken advantages of any mistakes he made.
The bullpen (mostly) fares no better
The Rockies utility pitcher Zach Agnos entered the game in the fifth inning, but he fared no better than Freeland had. By the end of the fifth inning, the score was 10-1 Dodgers and Ohtani had left the game to prepare for his Wednesday start.
Things did not improve in the sixth when Agnos gave up a three-run homer to Betts (6), and the score was 13-1 with no outs.
Smith followed with a two-run homer of his own (5), making the score 16-1, a season high for the Dodgers.
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Agnos lasted only two innings. He allowed six runs and seven hits (all earned) with one run and one struck out on 42 pitches.
On a more positive note, Reliever Welinton Herrera scored his first career strikeout against Dalton Rushing, who promptly burned one of the Dodgers ABS challenges to learn that he had, definitively, struck out.
He also struck out Freddie Freeman. Herrera had a final line of 1.0 IP with two strikeouts, one hit, and no runs.
“The arm’s alive,” Schaeffer said, adding that the Rockies were pleased to have him on their roster.
The eighth inning went to catcher-RHP Brett Sullivan in what would be his third relief appearance of 2026. Sullivan allowed one hit but no runs in 1.0 IP.
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The Rockies avoid a shutout
The Rockies fell behind after the first inning, but they quickly fought back.
However, they had a quick answer in the second when Hunter Goodman led off with a homer of his own, making the score 2-1 Dodgers. (Of the 12 home runs he has hit this season, nine have been on the road, FWIW.)
They occasionally got runners on base — Willi Castro had two hits — but failed to score.
By the sixth inning, Schaeffer followed the lead of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and began pulling his starters.
As for Eric Lauer, he went 6.0 IP, allowing one run (earned) on one hit. He walked one and struck out four on 96 pitches.
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“We just didn’t have an answer for him tonight,” Schaeffer said.
The Rockies never touched the Dodgers bullpen until position player Miguel Rojas pitched the ninth when manager Dave Roberts (presumably) attempted to save his bullpen.
Then things got weird
Brett Sullivan hit his first home run of the year — as a pitcher no less.
The last Rockies pitcher to hit a home run? Germán Márquez on July 31, 2021. Sullivan is also the first pitcher, other than Shohei Ohtani, to hit a home run in 2026.
The Rockies promptly began a rally of sorts. Braxton Fulford and Jake McCarthy singled followed by a Kyle Karros home run, making the score 15-5. Troy Johnston followed that up with a double.
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Suddenly, the Dodgers had their bullpen warming as Sterlin Thompson hit a single to score Johnston, and the Rockies loaded the bases and batted around the order.
With two outs, Sullivan came very close to hitting a grand slam, but the ball died at the warning track.
Game over, 15-6.
“We never want to be in that position when they’re throwing a position player at us,” Schaeffer said. “But every at-bat in the big leagues counts.”
The Rockies finished the evening with six runs on 12 hits. They walked twice and struck out seven times.
With the Colorado Avalanche being swept and ending their season, it was a grim night for Denver sports.
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Get some sleep, everyone.
Up Next
Join us tomorrow for Game 3 at 8:10 pm when Tomoyuki Sugano will face Shohei Ohtani in a must-watch baseball game. (Seriously, there will be global interest in this one as a Japanese pitching legend takes on the greatest player on earth.)
See you then!
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