LOS ANGELES – Shohei Ohtani hit a home run to tie the game in the ninth inning and Mookie Betts drove in a game-winning run as the Los Angeles Dodgers closed to a 6-5 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday and maintained their three-game lead in the National League West.
Ohtani had four hits and two stolen bases, giving him 53 home runs and 55 steals on the season.
Starting the ninth with the Dodgers within one, Ohtani lifted Seth Halvorsen’s fourth pitch, an 89-mile-per-hour split-finger pitch, over the wall in right-center.
“Shohei just doesn’t do the ninth inning as well as he used to. He just doesn’t seem human,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “I really haven’t seen a player as strong as Shohei in quite some time.”
Betts hit a walk-off home run to left field after a 101-mph sinker by Halvorsen (2-1), his 19th of the season.
“It was great, especially when you look at the scoreboard and see that San Diego won,” Betts said. “I didn’t really want to look, but they won and we needed to win a game there. Shohei starts off with a home run to give us some energy and luckily I was able to hit him well.”
Halvorsen, a rookie making his 10th career appearance, had just earned his first career save on Saturday.
“You should never predict the outcome of a pitch,” Havorsen said when asked what it was like to face Ohtani in the ninth inning to tie the game. “You should focus on the process and execution of a pitch.”
Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who is trying to secure a spot in the Dodgers’ playoff rotation, allowed four runs on five hits and three walks in three innings.
Yamamoto, who is back in the starting lineup for the third time after a three-month injury, is likely to be the second starter for Los Angeles in the upcoming playoffs.
Teoscar Hernández and Kiké Hernández also hit home runs for the Dodgers, while five Los Angeles pitchers combined for a season-high 17 strikeouts. Blake Treinen (7-3) struck out the team in the ninth inning.
With two wins over the Padres in the upcoming three-game series, the Dodgers can win their eleventh division title in the last twelve seasons.
“It’s going to be fun,” Betts said. “A lot of energy. I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of emotions and stuff, so it’s going to be fun. These are the games we dream of.”
Rockies right-hander Antonio Senzatela allowed one run in five innings in his second start since returning from Tommy John surgery. Brendan Rodgers and Nolan Jones each scored two runs for the Rockies, who need three wins in their final six games to avoid a second consecutive 100-loss season.
The Rockies loaded the bases four batters into the game with singles by Ezequiel Tovar and Ryan McMahon and a walk by Michael Toglia before Rodgers hit a two-run single. Jones scored on an RBI ground out for an early 3-0 lead.
“It wasn’t a pretty start, we had some chances … and we messed up some rallies, but it was just great to see our guys still being competitive,” Roberts said.
The only run Los Angeles scored against Senzatela was Teoscar Hernández’s 31st home run of the season in the fourth inning.
Last week, Ohtani was 16 for 32 (.500) with six home runs, seven stolen bases, 17 RBI, eleven runs scored and a 1.668 OPS.
“That’s why he got $700 million to carry us, and all we have to do is support him,” Betts said.
TRAINING ROOM
Dodgers: 3B Max Muncy was out of the starting lineup on Saturday due to soreness in his side after diving for a pike on a play.
Next
Rockies: RHP Ryan Feltner (3-10, 4.73 ERA) is scheduled to start Tuesday against the Cardinals to open the final home game of the season.
Dodgers: RHP Landon Knack (3-4, 3.39 ERA) starts in the final home series against the Padres on Tuesday.
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AP MLB: https://www.apnews.com/hub/MLB
