A ReDEEfined Dee Gordon Leads Dodgers in Win Over Colorado

The spirit of Dee Gordon this seasons should be the fuel for the Dodgers in order to come out of this deep freeze and make another historic run. Dee Gordon has redefined himself as a player both on the field at second base and at the plate. A kid who was rushed to the Majors too early has now finally refined and honed his skills in order to warrant an everyday spot in the Dodgers lineup. Dee not has only hit more consistently but also got on base at an above average clip and stolen an amazing amount of bases. Dee Gordon once again sparked the Dodgers in their latest win against Colorado in the house of horrors that is Mile High. Gordon collected 3 hits (2 triples), 2 runs, 3 RBIs, a walk, and a stolen base.

Matt Kemp‘s lack of hustle or more accurately described “mind lapses” popped up again in game one causing quite a stir on Twitter and online when a controversial play came in the seventh inning. The debacle came when (looked at in video review) wasn’t totally hustling out of the box on a ball hit hard to center field which eventually ricocheted off the wall and did not go out. Kemp made contact with first base coach Davey Lopes as he arrived at first base (a high-five), and then he was tagged out at second once he realized it wasn’t a homerun and he tried to slide into second. The umpire’s initial call was safe, but Colorado manager Walt Weiss challenged the call and won. Kemp was called out and awarded just a single on the play. He lost contact with the bag after sliding and was tagged out by Troy Tulowitzki. The Dodgers ended up going down in order in the inning.

Dodgers 7 12 1

Colorado 2 9 1

WP- Ryu (7-2)

LP- Butler (0-1)

HR- Stubbs (4)

What did you think of the Kemp play? Let us know in the comments if it was Kemp’s fault for jogging into first or was it Davey Lopes’ fault for assuming it had gone out?

The Rockies continue their downward spiral, and after their loss to the Dodgers on Friday now have lost 8 games in a row.

Dee Gordon led off the game with a triple in the top of the first, his fifth triple of the season. That would set the tone for the rest of the game. Gordon scored the first Dodger run by coming home on a Hanley Ramirez grounder to short.

The Dodgers scored again in the second when Andre Ethier singles and goes to second on a Justin Turner grounder to short. Drew Butera cashes in Ethier with a double off the Eddie Butler changeup. The Dodgers lead 2-0.

The Dodgers then scored two runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings. Hyun-jin Ryu led off the top of the fifth with a double, his first of the year.

Jun 6, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas (72) fields the ball in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. The Dodgers defeated the Rockies 7-2. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Dee Gordon then proceeds to triple again, yeah no big deal. Ryu scores. Hanley Ramirez then drives in Dee, and the Dodgers lead 4-0.

Hyun-jin Ryu sets the Rockies down in order in the bottom of the fifth. Charlie Blackmon  strikes out swinging, and DJ LeMahieu and Tulo both fly out.

The Dodgers notch another two in the bottom of the sixth when Justin Turner led the frame off with a single, and Drew Butera drew a walk. The runners advance on a successful sacrifice bunt by Ryu. Ryu really is such a great athlete and good at all aspects of baseball. Gordon singles to right field, and two runs come home! Gordon then steals his 36th base to really put the cherry on top.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Rockies score their only two runs of the game. Drew Stubbs homers to left field for the first Colorado run of the game. Ryu then allows a double to Michael McKenry and a triple to Charlie Culberson. Wow, anther triple. Is it just me, or has there been a lot of triples in baseball this season? There’s three triple in this game. The Dodgers lead 6-2.

Tommy Kahnle replaced Eddie Butler who pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed 6 runs on 10 hits with 2 strikeouts and 3 walks on 87 pitches.

Matt Belisle sends the Dodgers down in order in seventh which includes the controversial Rockies challenged play on the Matt Kemp tag at second.

Hyun-jin Ryu continues to be a solid part of this Dodger rotation, and the southpaw notched another victory after pitching 6 innings while allowing 2 runs on 8 hits with 2 strikeouts and 2 walks on 100 pitches.

Brandon League struck out two and walked one in the scoreless inning of relief for the Dodgers in the bottom of the seventh. League now has a 2.03 ERA.

Brian Wilson comes in to pitch his familiar eighth inning. Miguel Rojas also comes in to replace Hanley Ramirez at shortstop to shore up the defense late in the game (supposedly). The Dodgers called up Rojas on Friday while optioning Erisbel Arruebarrena down. You can see a quick video of Miguel Rojas working out in the infield during Spring Training here:

Rojas of course commits a fielding error in the first inning he plays in, but luckily Wilson strikes out two in the scoreless frame.

Matt Kemp stirs up controversy again. Photo: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

The Dodgers scored again for good measure in the top of the ninth. Veteran pitcher LaTroy Hawkins allows a Yasiel Puig single and a stolen base. Puig makes it all the way to third on a throwing error by Michael McKenry. Adrian Gonzalez draws a walk, and Puig scored on a sacrifice fly from Matt Kemp.

Chris Perez is asked to pitch the ninth, and he actually gets the job done. He starts off shaky by hitting  Charlie Blackmon with a pitch and a allowing a stolen base to him thereafter. Perez comes back to strike out three Rockies in a row. DJ LeMahieu, Tulo, and Justin Morneau all strike out!

The Dodgers improve to 32-30 but remain 8 1/2 games behind San Francisco in the NL West. On Saturday, Zack Greinke will go for his 9th win of the season. The Rockies will counter with Jhoulys Chacin who is winless on the season.