Rockies Game: Shohei's Two Doubles Made My Night
Roki started strong but got tagged in the middle innings for the loss. Shohei answered his first-inning K with two doubles to show his pride. Tough not to close it out, but that 9th-inning shot was vintage Shohei.
Highlights
- Top of the 3rd: Ohtani's 113 mph double drives in an insurance run
- Top of the 9th: Ohtani shows his pride with a 105.8 mph, 401-ft double
- Roki started strong but got tagged in the middle innings for the loss
Man, that one stings — but Shohei was Shohei tonight
Away game at Coors Field, Roki on the mound — I was hyped for this one all morning. Final score? 6-9 loss. Yeah, that hurts. But Shohei dropping two doubles? That saved my night, I'll tell you that.
First inning Shohei... a called strikeout?!
Top of the 1st, the lineup got it going and brought Shohei up, but after working a 3-0 count he got buried and went down looking. Come on, Shohei! That mid-90s fastball — I needed you to swing at that one! But hey, it's the first inning, next at-bat, next at-bat, I told myself. And sure enough, he delivered.
Top of the 3rd — THERE'S the Ohtani we love!
Top of the 3rd, after Freeland singled in a run to put us on the board, Shohei jumped on a second-pitch changeup and CRUSHED it! Exit velocity 113 mph — that thing was a laser, just stabbed into the gap. Double, insurance run, THIS is what I'm talking about! That first-inning K? Forgotten, completely forgotten! Then Ryan Ward added a clutch hit in the 4th to make it 3-0 — at that point I was thinking, hey, we got this one, right?
Roki started solid, but...
Dodgers starter Roki was sitting 99 mph max, 91 mph average, racked up 2 K's — the start was actually good. But in the bottom of the 4th, TJ Lumfield got him for an RBI, then in the 5th Kyle Karros took him deep for a solo shot, and then Julien tagged him too to tie it up. Facing 22 batters with 7 hits and 1 homer allowed — that hurt. They had a lineup full of contact hitters, and Coors at altitude makes the ball fly — tough conditions, no question. Get 'em next time, Roki!
The 7th-inning meltdown was brutal
Top of the 6th, Freeland came through with another RBI to put us back up 4-3, but bottom of the 7th, Moniak hit a 2-run shot to flip it, and they tacked on more in the 8th to make it 4-9. Ugh, that was rough to watch. You can just SEE how the ball carries at Coors Field, you know?
Top of the 9th — Shohei never quit
Top of the 9th, down 5, but Shohei was different. Second pitch, 96 mph — he barreled it perfectly, exit velocity 105.8 mph, distance 401 feet for a double! That right there is vintage Shohei. We ended up scratching out 2 more on RBIs from Smith and Rushing to make it 6-9, but as a fan, seeing him give us that last spark of hope with that double meant everything.
Flip the page tomorrow
A loss is a loss, but Shohei's clearly heating up with those two doubles. Roki's gonna make adjustments next time out, no doubt. Tomorrow, baby, tomorrow — let's flip the page and go!