The All-Stars are Aligned While Dodgers Defeat Rockies

It all began with a wind-driven double to right field by Josh Beckett…The Dodgers picked up a series win on Sunday at Coors Field and four Dodgers were named to the All-Star team as well while the 8-2 victory was being played out. Yasiel Puig was named as a NL starting outfielder, and Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, and Dee Gordon all got All-Star nods as well.

Josh Beckett, a All-Star snub, pitched another solid outing for the Dodgers. Beckett shut the Rockies down over 5 innings, and the Dodger offense took advantage of rookie pitcher Yohan Flande who got lit up almost as bad as Jair Jurrjens did the other night. The Rockies’ pitching staff is in shambles, and the Dodgers posted another 14 hits on the board in the decisive win.

Matt Kemp had four hits and two RBIs, and Juan Uribe drove in a run on 3 hits of his own. The Dodgers got a challenge victory in the fifth inning after Gonzalez was called out at home. The overturned call was in the midst of a five-run inning for the Boys in Blue which began with a double to right field by Josh Beckett. The Dodgers went on to score another three runs in the eighth.

It was a good thing the Dodgers scored eight runs since Chris Perez and Brian Wilson continued to struggle in their relief appearances. Perez allowed 2 runs, and Brian Wilson allowed a run in the eighth. Although the eighth inning run was fueled by the horrible defense of Carlos Triunfel.

Dodgers 8 14 1

Rockies 2 6 0

WP-Beckett (6-5)

LP- Flande (0-2)

Rookie pitcher Yohan Flande sets the Dodgers down in order in his first Major League inning for the Rockies in the top of the first.

Josh Beckett allows a one-out walk to Corey Dickerson in the home half of the first, but the right-hander retires Troy Tulowitzki and Justin Morneau for a scoreless inning.

The Dodgers get three hits in the second, but they fail to score. Matt Kemp leads off the second with a single to right, and he snaps his 1-for-20 slump he had going into today’s game. Scott Van Slyke erases the base hit by grounding into a double play. Juan Uribe and Drew Butera hit back-to-back singles, but Miguel Rojas grounds into a force out to end the inning.

To start the bottom of the second, Nolan Arenado hits a ball off the heel of Beckett. He reaches safely on the so-called fielding error on the pitcher. No worries. Wilin Rosario grounds into a beautiful double play turned by Gordon at second. Drew Stubbs doubles off the right field wall with two outs. D.J. LeMahieu grounds out to Dee at second to end the inning.

Dee Gordon singles with one out in the third on a little ground ball to second. Puig and Gonzo both fail to advance Gordon as they make the second and third out of the inning.

Charlie Blackmon and Corey Dickerson draw back-to-back walks with one out in the bottom of the third. Scott Van Slyke has to battle the wind in center field to pick off the fly ball hit by Troy Tulowitzki for the second out. The runners advance to second and third after Drew Butera drops the ball on a swinging strike to Morneau. Don Mattingly goes out to argue that it was a foul tip, but he is not allowed to challenge the call at home by Jeff Kellogg. It turns out to be not a factor as Morneau grounds out to second to end the threat.

Scott Van Slyke singles to center field with one out in the fourth. Uribe nor Butera can advance SVS as another scoreless inning comes to a close.

The Rockies only muster a Drew Stubbs single in the bottom of the fourth, and the game still has no score.

The Dodgers hang a high five in the fifth. Josh Beckett hits a wind-driven double to right field with one out in the top of the fifth. That’ s his third double of the year. Dee Gordon singles, and Beckett somewhat awkwardly slides into third. Puig is patient at the plate and draws a walk to load up the bases with one out. The Rockies pause for a coaching meeting on the mound before Gonzo comes up. Gonzalez comes up with a huge clutch single to center which scores Beckett and Gordon. Matt Kemp follows suit with a single up the middle as well, and Puig scores the third Dodger run of the inning. SVS draws a walk, and the bases are loaded up once again. Flande’s day will be done, and the Rockies will bring in rookie Brooks Brown to face Uribe. Uribe grounds into a force out (later changed to a base hit), and Adrian Gonzalez is out at home. Don Mattingly will challenge, and Adrian is clearly safe on the video replay as he avoided the tag with his front toe. The umpires overturn the call, and the Dodgers notch their fourth run! Rosario did not have his foot on the plate, and so it was not a force play.

The Dodgers have won 13 of 21 challenges this season.

The inning continues…Drew Butera pops out to the pitcher for the second out. Miguel Rojas takes on for the team, and he is hit in the hand with a pitch which will bring in another run. Rojas exits the game later, but his x-rays come back negative on his right forearm. Beckett, who began the inning with the windy double to right, comes up for the second time in the frame. This time he grounds out to third to end the long inning.

Yohan Flande pitched 4 1/3 innings and allowed 5 runs on 9 hits with no strikeouts and 2 walks on 83 pitches.

July 6, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Josh Beckett (61) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Josh Beckett pitches a 1-2-3 inning in the fifth as he strikes out Brooks Brown in his first MLB plate appearance and Dickerson to end the inning.

Gordon strikes out against Brown in the top of the sixth. Yasiel Puig grounds out. Gonzo strikes out. The Rockies might have something in Brooks Brown.

Josh Beckett pitches 5 innings and allowed only 3 hits with 2 strikeouts and 3 walks on 82 pitches.

The Rockies get on the board in the bottom of the sixth. Chris Perez is of course to blame. Beckett exits the hot, long game a bit early as a precaution after he tweaked his hip running from second to third earlier, and of course the bullpen can’t preserve the shutout. Tulo and Morneau hit back-to-back singles, and Tulo scores on a force out grounded into by Arenado. Carlos Triunfel, who had come in to play short in the double switch, commits an error on the play. Perez then walks Rosario. Stubbs flies out to Matt Kemp who has a bit of trouble picking it off but handles it. LeMahieu grounds out to third to end the inning and the damage. 5-1 Dodgers

Matt Belisle will take over on the mound in the seventh for the Rox. Matt Kemp collects his third hit of the afternoon, a lead-off single to center field. SVS flies out. Uribe strikes out. Butera flies out.

Oh joy, another inning of Chris Perez. Perez strike out pinch-hitter Josh Rutledge, and Mattingly will go with J.P. Howell to face Blackmon. J.P. Howell retires the two lefties Blackmon and Dickerson to finish off Colorado in the bottom of the seventh.

Tommy Kahnle will pitch the top of the eighth inning for Colorado, and the Dodgers increase their lead in the frame. Carlos Triunfel draws a lead-off walk. Clint Robinson singles. Gordon strikes out. Puig then comes up with a RBI double to center field, and Triunfel brings in the sixth Dodger run of the game. Robinson then scores on a groundout by Gonzo. Matt Kemp singles, his fourth of the game, and Puig brings in the eighth Dodger run of the game. SVS flies out to end the inning.

Brian Wilson is in for the bottom of the eighth. He immediately walks Tulo to begin things off poorly as usual. Morneau singles to center, and Tulo

Yasiel Puig, Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Dee Gordon will represent the Dodgers in the 2014 All-Star Game.

moves to second. Arenado flies out, and Tulo tags up and moves to third. Triunfel botches a sure thing double play, and his awful defense allows Tulo to score since he can only get the out at first for some reason. Wilson is visibly annoyed at the green shortstop. 8-2 Dodgers. Wilson strikes out Stubbs to end the inning.

We finally come to the ninth inning. Uribe leads off with a single against Kahnle. Butera grounds into a double play. The Rockies will go to the pen one more time, and they bring in Boone Logan to replace Kahnle. Triunfel flies out to center.

Paul Maholm will get the ball in the bottom of the ninth, and he retires LeMahieu on a grounder to All-Star second baseman Dee Gordon. Brandon Barnes draws a one-out walk, but Blackmon flies out. Dickerson flies out to end the marathon.

The Dodgers improve to 51-40, and they are 1/2 game behind the Giants who beat the Padres on Sunday. The Dodgers will take a much-needed day off on Monday before taking on the Detroit Tigers for a two-game series starting on Tuesday afternoon.