The Dodgers’ latest feat is so specific that it’s hard to believe it’s true, but it is: For the third consecutive day, a Dodgers’ rookie delivered a walk-off hit against the Rockies.
On Friday, the Dodgers broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the ninth when Matt Beaty belted a two-run home run off of Jairo Díaz. In the 11th inning on Saturday, Alex Verdugo slugged a walk-off solo homer off of Jesús Tinoco.
After putting up a three-spot in the seventh inning of Sunday’s series finale, the Dodgers entered the bottom of the ninth tied 3-3. Beaty drew a leadoff walk, but the Dodgers then made two quick outs. In the process, Beaty managed to advance to second base on a wild pitch by reliever Scott Oberg. That proved to be important as manager Bud Black chose to intentionally walk Russell Martin to bring up rookie Will Smith. You know what happens next. He got jiggy with it. (I am so, so sorry, but I couldn’t resist.)
Entering Sunday’s action, Beaty had accrued all of 67 plate appearances in the majors. Verdugo is much more seasoned with 357 plate appearances. Smith had only 23 trips to the dish.
After Sunday’s win, the Dodgers are now 54-25, 13 games ahead of the second-place 40-36 Rockies in the NL West. It’s wild to think that that gap would have been just seven games if not for the trio of Dodger rookies.
