{"id":1007915,"date":"2026-08-18T04:28:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T04:28:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1007915\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T04:28:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T04:28:21","slug":"shohei-ohtani-homers-twice-in-dodgers-win-over-rockies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1007915\/","title":{"rendered":"Shohei Ohtani homers twice in Dodgers&#8217; win over Rockies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>DENVER\u00a0\u2014\u00a0<a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2026-08-14\/shohei-ohtani-dodgers-throws-bullpen-session-injury\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Shohei Ohtani<\/a> paused to admire the flight of his no-doubt home run as it sailed to right-center field.<\/p>\n<p>Clearly on a home-run trajectory, it was headed toward the visitor\u2019s bullpen. From among the trees, Dodgers reliever <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/player\/kyle-hurt-669165\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Kyle Hurt<\/a>\u2019s glove shot up and secured the  ball.<\/p>\n<p>As Ohtani circled the bases, the bullpen turned into a mosh pit around Hurt.<\/p>\n<p>In what has been a brutal August for the Dodgers, the vibes were undeniably high.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe all the Dodgers needed was a trip to the Mile High City.<\/p>\n<p>En route to an <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/gameday\/dodgers-vs-rockies\/2026\/08\/17\/824320\/final\/summary\/all\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">11-5 win<\/a> over the Rockies, Ohtani\u2019s two-run blast in the sixth inning \u2014 his second homer of the game \u2014 widened the <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dodgers<\/a>\u2019 lead to eight runs, a comfortable lead even at hitter-friendly Coors Field.<\/p>\n<p>Even with Monday\u2019s win, the Dodgers have a 6-10 record in  August. And they entered Monday with a paltry .672 OPS, on pace for their worst offensive month of the season. For comparison, it posted a .710 OPS in July \u2014 its worst complete month.<\/p>\n<p>There are plenty of asterisks to put on Monday\u2019s victory. The altitude in Denver elevates any offense. And the Rockies have the worst record (50-75) in the National League.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe what the Dodgers (75-51) needed most \u2014 after dropping three of four to the Brewers at Dodger Stadium and handing over the season series (and tiebreaker if it comes down to that) \u2014 was a lighter series to loosen them up.<\/p>\n<p>It was already working by the second inning when <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2026-08-17\/dodgers-max-muncy-mlb-service-time\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Max Muncy<\/a> scored from first on <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2026-08-16\/dodgers-need-mookie-to-be-mookie-commentary\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Mookie Betts<\/a>\u2019 double into the left-center gap of the expansive Coors Field outfield.<\/p>\n<p>The next inning, Ohtani, <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2026-08-12\/dodgers-freddie-freeman\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Freddie Freeman<\/a> and <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2026-06-14\/dodgers-andy-pages-navigates-rising-us-cuba-tensions\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Andy Pages<\/a> singled one after another for a second run.<\/p>\n<p>Then Muncy demolished a sinker that Rockies starter <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/player\/tomoyuki-sugano-608372\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Tomoyuki Sugano<\/a> left over the center of the plate, giving it a ride to the second deck in right-center.<\/p>\n<p>It was Muncy\u2019s third home run in five games, and they\u2019ve all been momentum-swingers. His pinch-hit home run Thursday  gave the Dodgers the lead over the Brewers \u2014 before <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2026-08-14\/yoshinobu-yamamoto-shines-edwin-diaz-struggles-dodgers-brewers\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Edwin D\u00edaz<\/a>\u2019s blown save. On Sunday, his solo shot temporarily tied the score before the Dodgers\u2019 loss.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, his three-run blast put the Dodgers up 5-0 in the third.<\/p>\n<p>            <img class=\"image\" alt=\"Dodgers starting pitcher Blake Snell delivers against the Colorado Rockies in the second inning Monday.\"   width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787027299_618_.jpeg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>         <\/p>\n<p>Dodgers starting pitcher Blake Snell delivers against the Colorado Rockies in the second inning Monday.<\/p>\n<p>(David Zalubowski \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n<p>Dodgers starter <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2026-08-11\/blake-snell-dodgers-royals\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Blake Snell<\/a>, who held the Rockies to one run and two hits in six innings, dominated the first two innings. Even with the altitude affecting the shape of his pitches, he was getting whiffs on his curveball. And he paired it with his four-seamer (and threw just one changeup) to retire six straight batters.<\/p>\n<p>Then in the third, he temporarily lost command. Snell walked three straight, throwing 21 pitches. Snell got Rockies leadoff hitter Jake McCarthy to ground into a fielder\u2019s choice, but it pushed a run across. But Snell avoided further damage by inducing Jordan Beck to fly out and Cole Carrigg to strike out.<\/p>\n<p>He threw three straight curveballs to Carrigg, bouncing the first and last in the dirt, and Carrigg swung at all three.<\/p>\n<p>Getting back on track, Snell navigated around a pair of singles in the fourth inning, before retiring the Rockies in order in the fifth.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the Dodgers added two more insurance runs in the fifth with a solo homer from Ohtani, a double from Pages and a couple of defensive bobbles by the Rockies.<\/p>\n<p>Ohtani\u2019s three-run homer in the next inning, followed soon after by an RBI single from Pages, made the Dodgers\u2019 lead insurmountable.<\/p>\n<p>The Rockies got one back in the seventh, with some help from Dodgers right fielder Kyle Tucker, who dropped a flyball. Then in the eighth, the Dodgers took advantage of an error by Carrigg in center field that allowed Ohtani to advance to second.  Freeman drove him in with a double.<\/p>\n<p>With an 11-2 lead, the Dodgers sent D\u00edaz, who hadn\u2019t pitched since Friday, to the mound for the ninth. Still working through delivery problems, he gave up four hits, three runs and hit a batter.<\/p>\n<p>           <img id=\"yt-img-2wpA7tX9-4s\" class=\"absolute\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787027301_50_hqdefault.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\/>                  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DENVER\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Shohei Ohtani paused to admire the flight of his no-doubt home run as it sailed to right-center field.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1007916,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[61299,5955,403474,1582,276,370810,2442,2961,5615,224,5337,8327,9548,403473,20418,10201,88045,4712,55015,2030],"class_list":["post-1007915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-altitude","tag-andy-pages","tag-bad-offensive-month","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-cole-carrigg","tag-dodgers","tag-la","tag-lead","tag-los-angeles","tag-losangeles","tag-max-muncy","tag-monday","tag-no-doubt-home-run","tag-rockies","tag-run","tag-second-inning","tag-shohei-ohtani","tag-snell","tag-win"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117114630633461908","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1007915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1007915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1007915\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1007916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1007915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1007915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1007915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}