Rockies come from behind twice to beat Dodgers 7-5

Jon Gray is still waiting for his first major league victory, but the Rockies came from behind to beat the Dodgers 7-5 tonight at Coors Field behind fourteen strikeouts from the pitching staff and some timely late-game hitting.

The results of Gray's outing were mixed, as they often have been in his young career. He looked almost dominant at times, painting the corners with a lethal slider and striking out ten batters -- the most for a Rockies pitcher since June of 2014. However, he started the game by allowing home runs to Corey Seager and Adrian Gonzalez in the first inning. Before the Rockies came to bat in the first, it was 3-0. Gray looked good for the next three innings, and he was on the verge of getting through the fifth when the Dodgers rallied.

With one man on and two outs, Los Angeles hit three straight singles, culminating in two more RBIs for Adrian Gonzalez. Gray was able to get out of the inning, but it changed the status of his night from "Great after the first inning" to "Some good, some bad".

The Rockies first got on the board in the second inning, when Tony Wolters grounded into a fielder's choice with the bases loaded and one out, but that was all they got out of that opportunity.

Nolan Arenado cut the lead to one when he led off the fourth inning with a home run that went deep into the bleachers in left. It was his seventh of the young season, which is a torrid pace, but he still hasn't surpassed Trevor Story for the team lead.

After Gerardo Parra singled, Ryan Raburn gave the Rockies a 4-3 lead with a line drive two-run home run that just barely climbed high enough to get over the wall in left. Had the fences been raised all around the park, Raburn might have been out at second with how hard the ball was hit. Speaking of which...

Trevor Story hit a high fly ball to right field in the bottom of the fifth that would have been a home run in any previous year at Coors Field. The new fence robbed him for the third time this season. It looked like he would again wind up with a triple, as he had the first two times this had happened, but then Yasiel Puig made a Clementian throw that cut him down at third base. It wouldn't be the last time the wall would come into play.

After the Dodgers took the lead back in the fifth, the Rockies tied the score in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by DJ LeMahieu. Brandon Barnes decided to test Puig's arm, and the Cuban Cannon misfired, throwing the ball about ten feet behind home plate and allowing Barnes to score easily. Tony Wolters made it to third on the play, twisting his ankle in the process. After some examination, he remained in the game, but he also remained at third after Story struck out to end the inning.

With the score tied in the bottom of the eighth, Nolan Arenado walked with one out, and Mark Reynolds singled up the middle. A groundout by Gerardo Parra to the first base side advanced the runners, bringing up Brandon Barnes with runners on second and third. Barnes Delivered with a triple off the new wall in right that put the Rockies up 7-5.

Jake McGee worked a quick ninth, notching the pitching staff's 14th strikeout in the process, which is the most the Rockies have ever had against the Dodgers.

The series continues tomorrow at 6:10 PM as Tyler Chatwood takes on Kenta Maeda.