Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts save Dodgers in NL West race after epic comeback

Yoshinobu Yamamoto's third start since coming back from the IL didn't go as swimmingly as the first two. He was on the mound for the Dodgers' series finale against the Rockies, following a 6-4 loss the night before, and looking to lead LA to a much-needed series win. By the end of the third, he'd given the offense some work to do; they needed to make up for a four-run Colorado lead, secured at the hands of Brendan Rodgers and Nolan Jones.

The Dodgers were still trailing entering the bottom the ninth, despite homers from Teoscar Hernández and Kiké Hernández, as well as an RBI single for Freddie Freeman, but the top of LA's order was due up.

Shohei Ohtani had just come off of a legendary three games at the plate against the Marlins, during which he reached not only 50-50 but 51-51, while collecting 22 total bases throughout the series. Mookie Betts had broken a 10-game home run drought the day before against Colorado, but even these concurrent recent heaters didn't portend Sunday's events.

In the finale, with the game on the line, they did exactly what they're at the top of the order to do. Ohtani cranked a 432-foot homer to center field to tie the game, which destined the Dodgers for either extra innings or walk-off glory. Betts chose the latter, and followed Ohtani with a solo shot of his own to walk it off for LA.

Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts do exactly what they're in the lineup to do, lead Dodgers to walk-off win vs Rockies

With Sunday's win, the Dodgers maintained a three-game division lead over the Padres ahead of their last regular season series against their rivals in San Diego. A little bit of momentum and fire was exactly what the Dodgers needed going into that series because, although it's painful to admit, the Padres have been playing very good ball, and it's led them to the best second-half record of any team in baseball.

The Dodgers' lineup still feels very top-heavy. Their five, six, and seven hitters (Will Smith, Gavin Lux, Tommy Edman) went hitless during the series finale against Colorado, and the four, five, six, and eight batters were hitless in the opener. Although six games won't give them that much time to figure it out, and clearly the Big Three have the ability to make up for the rest of the order, this upcoming series is the perfect time for the rest of LA's hitters to dig deep and put more distance between them and the Padres.

October is right around the corner and the Dodgers are a guaranteed presence, but they need to finish strong here, especially if they might see the Padres again in the DS and already have a losing record against them this year. Ohtani and Betts kept the fears at bay this weekend, but there's still a fight ahead.