Dexter Fowler hit a two-out single off Blake Hawksworth in the bottom of the 13th inning, giving the Colorado Rockies a 7-6 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers Saturday at Coors Field. The winning hit redeemed Fowler, who made a bad decision to dive for a hit by Trent Oeltjen in the top of the 12th inning, which led to an inside-the-park home run.
The Dodgers held a 6-4 lead heading into the bottom of the 12th inning, but Javy Guerra allowed two runs for his first blown save of the season. At five hours, seven minutes, Saturday was the longest game of the season for the Dodgers.
The Dodgers scored a pair of runs in both the first and fourth innings off Esmil Rogers, but could have scored even more. They had multiple runners on base in both the second and third innings, and put another runner on in the fifth inning. However, Rogers was able to last through six innings giving up just those four runs, on 12 hits and a walk.
Ted Lilly left the game in the bottom of the fifth inning with neck stiffness, having thrown just 72 pitches. Lilly woke up in Milwaukee earlier in the week with a stiff neck and the condition worsened throughout Saturday's game, according to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.
The Dodgers in particular got stellar relief work from their two lefties on Saturday, as Hong-Chih Kuo and Scott Elbert combined to strikeout five of the eight batters they faced. Kuo ended the rally in the fifth inning with a strikeout of Carlos Gonzalez, then struck out the first two batters of the sixth inning as well.
The Dodgers used seven relief pitchers and 19 total players in the game. The Rockies used six relievers and 22 total players. It was the first extra-inning loss of the season for the Dodgers, who are now 6-1 in extra frames.
Todd Helton hit a home run off Lilly in the second inning, the fifth time Helton has hit a home run on his birthday. In his six plate appearances, Helton saw a total of 38 pitches on his 38th birthday. Chad Billingsley starts for the Dodgers on Sunday, facing Kevin Millwood for Colorado.
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