RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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DENVER, CO - AUGUST 18: Willi Castro #3 of the Colorado Rockies celebrates in the dugout after hitting a solo home run in the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field on August 18, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) | Getty Images
There just wasn’t enough LoDo Magic for the Colorado Rockies as their comeback effort fell just short in a 7-6 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Despite a solid offensive night and bullpen performance, the Rockies couldn’t overcome another difficult starting pitcher outing.
Another labored night for Feltner
Hoping to replicate his successful outing last time facing the Dodgers at Coors Field, Ryan Feltner faced a tough test against the Dodgers lineup.
Feltner worked through the opening frames, keeping the game manageable. The Dodgers manufactured a run in the first inning and added a Shohei Ohtani two-run home run in the third inning. The Rockies managed to answer back both times to tie the game 3-3, but the Dodgers’ potent order eventually broke through in the fourth inning.
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The Dodgers kicked off the inning with three-straight doubles to score two runs, including Kyle Tucker’s to snap an 0-for-26 streak at the plate. Hunter Feduccia then drew his second walk of the evening against Feltner before Ohtani grounded into a fielder’s choice. Freddie Freeman capped off the scoring with a sacrifice fly to put the Dodgers up 6-3.
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Feltner navigated another double in the fifth inning and came out to start the sixth inning but immediately gave up a leadoff triple that eventually scored after he departed to give the Dodgers a 7-4 lead.
“Not a lot of feel for the spin today,” said manager Warren Schaefer. “I thought he competed well, probably without all of his weapons.”
On the night, he ended up allowing seven runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and three walks. Feltner filled up the strike zone, throwing 55 of his 83 pitches for strikes, but he struggled to locate within the zone and gave up a lot of contact
The offense tries to climb back
The Rockies offense did a good job answering back early on as the Dodgers took the lead. After Jake McCarthy led off the bottom of the first with a single and stole second, Cole Carrigg hit an RBI double to tie the game 1-1. Colorado made Eric Lauer labor through that first inning, throwing a season-high 29 pitches in the first inning.
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After Ohtani’s home run in the third inning, the Rockies answered with a two-out rally in the bottom half of that inning. Willi Castro drew a walk and came around to score on a TJ Rumfield double. Connor Norby followed with a double of his own to score Rumfield and tie the game 3-3
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The Rockies made it a two-run game in the bottom of the fifth when Castro hit his 14th home run of the season, a solo shot to make the score 6-4, before the Dodgers tacked on in the top of the sixth.
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Despite the first-inning excess of pitches, Lauer settled in against the Rockies offense, allowing just four runs on six hits while striking out six and allowing just one walk. The Rockies put together some solid at-bats but Lauer’s crafty arsenal was enough to limit further damage and preserve the Dodgers’ lead.
Late game chances
After rough innings against Jack Dreyer and Edgardo Henriquez, the Rockies tried to chip away at the three-run lead in the eighth inning against Evan Phillips.
Castro led off the inning with a double and Rumfield followed with a bloop single. Zac Veen then came through with a pinch-hit single that dropped into right field, allowing Castro to score the Rockies’ fifth run.
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Adael Amador was then called upon to pinch-hit but struck out, prompting the Rockies to turn to the red-hot Brett Sullivan off the bench. The Dodgers brought in Tanner Scott to face him, and he won the battle, getting Sullivan to ground out to third base.
Colorado then threatened in the ninth when McCarthy hit a one-out double. Unfortunately, Carrigg’s lengthy at-bat resulted in a stellar play by Max Muncy at third base for the second out, but Castro delivered another clutch hit with an RBI single to left field to make it 7-6. However, Rumfield then popped out to end the game.
Castro led the Rockies offense with two hits while scoring three runs, driving in two, and drawing a pair of walks.
“Willi’s consistent; he’s been consistent all year,” said Schaeffer. “He gives you strong at-bats, day in and day out; he’s reliable. That’s what you want out of a ballplayer.”
The Rockies matched the Dodgers in hits with 10, but struck out 11 times while going 4-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Meanwhile, the Dodgers struck out just five times and went 3-for-12 with RISP but had one more extra-base hit, the sixth-inning triple proving the difference maker.
The bullpen parade
The reason the offense had chances to chip away was because of a solid night from the bullpen. Parker Mushinski entered in the sixth inning and did give up a bloop single that scored the seventh run for the Dodgers, but was otherwise unscathed in that inning. Jimmy Herget and Zach Agnos both followed with 1-2-3 innings in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively, with each collecting a strikeout. Because the game was still close, Jordan Romano was called on to pitch the ninth inning and allowed just a single as he induced three fly balls.
Up next
The Rockies and Dodgers will close out the series with Kyle Freeland (4-10, 6.27 ERA) taking the ball for Colorado and Roki Sasaki (5-5, 4.46 ERA) going for Los Angeles.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 pm MDT.
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