Colorado Rockies morning after: A nail-biter nets a huge series win against the Dodgers

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 06: Matt Kemp #25 of the Colorado Rockies celebrates his two home run with Kevin Pillar #11 and Josh Fuentes #8 against relief pitcher Caleb Ferguson #64 of the Los Angeles Dodgers during the eight inning at Dodger Stadium on September 6, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. Pillar scored on Kemp's home run. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 06: Matt Kemp #25 of the Colorado Rockies celebrates his two home run with Kevin Pillar #11 and Josh Fuentes #8 against relief pitcher Caleb Ferguson #64 of the Los Angeles Dodgers during the eight inning at Dodger Stadium on September 6, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. Pillar scored on Kemp's home run. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 06: Garrett Hampson #1 of the Colorado Rockies celebrates with Nolan Arenado after scoring a run against Los Angeles Dodgers during the fifth inning at Dodger Stadium on September 6, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /

The offense

It was a back-and-forth game for the Rockies all around. They were down 1-0 heading to the second inning but after Matt Kemp got on with a one-out single to left field and up came Josh Fuentes.

Fuentes delivered with a two-run home run to make it 2-1 Rockies. With the home run, he elongated his hitting streak to eight games. In that span, he is 10-for-26 (.385 batting average) with three doubles, that home run, and six RBI.

In the bottom of the second, Dodgers catcher Will Smith tied it up at 2 with a solo home run. In the fifth inning, with the game still tied at 2, Garrett Hampson led the inning off with a bunt single. Elias Diaz struck out after him but Hampson stole second base on strike three.

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As a result, Hampson was able to score easily on Raimel Tapia‘s RBI single to left field and Tapia was able to advance to second base on the throw to the plate. Tapia has a nine-game hitting streak himself, hitting .378 (14-for-37) in that span. He has also reached base in a career-high 19 consecutive games. In his last 23 games, he is hitting .360 (31-for-86).

Tapia was able to advance to third on a flyout by Trevor Story. Nolan Arenado drove Tapia in with an RBI single to left field. Arenado, after struggling to start the season, is hitting .326 (14-for-43) with four doubles, six RBI, and four walks in his last 11 games.

The Dodgers scored two times in the bottom half of the frame tie the game again but in the top of the sixth, Kevin Pillar led the inning off with a walk. Two batters later, facing former Rockie Jake McGee, Hampson tripled to center field, scoring Pillar and taking a 5-4 lead. Hampson, after going 6-for-40 (.150 average) in his last 12 games in August, is hitting .400 (8-for-20) in five games in September with five runs, three home runs, and four RBI.

However, once again, the Dodgers came back but this time, took the lead, in the next half inning with a two-run home run from Chris Taylor. The Rockies would come back and take the lead themselves for good, this time, with a two-run home run from former Dodger Matt Kemp, scoring Kevin Pillar and making it 7-6 Rockies.

Next. What the Rockies lineup should look like for the rest of 2020. dark

The Rockies head to San Diego to take on the second-place Padres and their three best starting pitchers: Dinelson Lamet, Mike Clevinger, and Zach Davies. The Rockies will have Kyle Freeland on the mound for them tonight with the first pitch being at 7:10 p.m. (Mountain time).