\u201cIt was huge,\u201d Betts said of completing the three-game sweep in Colorado. \u201cWinning every ball game is important, especially now with the playoff race. Every game is important.\u201d<\/p>\n
The trip to hitter-friendly Mile High City, and a matchup against the last-place team in the NL West, came at the perfect time for the Dodgers, ending a collective slump. They\u2019d just dropped three of four to the Brewers at Dodger Stadium, in what had already been a rough start to August.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, we haven\u2019t played our best baseball lately,\u201d utility player Kik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cAnd as a good team, as a team that\u2019s leading the division, \u2026 the teams at the bottom of the standings<\/a>, you need to beat those guys.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, the Dodgers just have to find a way to carry the momentum back to Los Angeles.<\/p>\n \u201cJust keep our confidence,\u201d Betts said. \u201cSometimes there\u2019ll be a stretch in a game where we may have a couple bad innings. But just to keep our confidence and know that we can do it, we showed this series that we can. Really just hanging our hat on that and not worrying about the negative things.\u201d<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Betts and Kik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez powered the offense with home runs in the fourth inning for a combined three runs, breaking out of individual ruts. Betts had gone 3-for-23 in his previous six games. Hern\u00e1ndez, battling irregular playing time, hadn\u2019t had a hit in a week and a half (0-for-7).<\/p>\n \u201cJust say screw it, you know?\u201d Hern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cJust, it can\u2019t get any worse than how it\u2019s been going. Pitcher could have thrown the rosin bag at me for the last couple of days, and I would have swung at it.\u201d<\/p>\n Right fielder Kyle Tucker had been in such a bad slump that Tuesday afternoon, before he snapped a 0-for-26 skid, Manager Dave Roberts had pondered whether to sit him Wednesday, with Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland on the mound.<\/p>\n Roki Sasaki had a solid start Wednesday for the Dodgers against the Rockies.<\/p>\n (David Zalubowski \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n Roberts decided to play him, and Tucker recorded his first multi-hit game in two weeks, notching a pair of singles and two hard line outs in a two-for-five night.<\/p>\n \u201cI liked Kyle\u2019s energy [Tuesday],\u201d Roberts said before the game. \u201cI think the easy thing for me to do is to not play him. But for me, what I can do, a way of showing support, is by playing him. And there are days where I feel like he needs a day, but I think that Kyle\u2019s in a good head space. I want him to play tonight. And I think he gives us the best chance to win.\u201d<\/p>\n The thin air makes Coors Field a difficult place to pitch. Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki even flew in Tuesday to mitigate the physical effects of adjusting to the altitude for a full series \u2014 not to mention the pollen in the air, and the stomach bug\/food poisoning that forced catcher Hunter Feduccia to exit Tuesday\u2019s game abruptly to puke in the dugout.<\/p>\n Still, Sasaki held the Rockies to two runs through five innings, continuing an impressive second-half stretch.<\/p>\n Of the seven hits he gave up, four were doubles into Coors Field\u2019s expansive outfield. That included a two-run knock from Adel Amador in the fourth inning. Left fielder Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez took an awkward route to the deep line drive, which flew just out of reach as he tried to change directions.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a misread,\u201d Roberts said after the game. \u201cHere at altitude, line drives stay in the air longer, balls stay in the air longer, and he took a direct line to the ball, and it got over his head.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Roki](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787206810_658_.jpeg\")
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