David Dahl went 3 for 5 on the night. Now, he’s thinking 5 for 5 the rest of the way — wins to close out the regular season.
That would guarantee the Colorado Rockies a playoff spot.
Dahl homered for a second straight game, a three-run shot in the third, and the Rockies vaulted into the final NL wild-card spot by beating the Philadelphia Phillies 10-3 on Tuesday.
The Rockies’ fifth straight victory moved them a half-game in front of St. Louis for the second wild-card after the Cardinals lost 12-4 to Milwaukee. Colorado also pulled within a half-game of the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers, who lost 4-3 to Arizona. With five games remaining, the Rockies have a chance to win their first division title.
“It’s hard not to get caught up in the standings. You try not to. You got to go out and win,” Dahl said . “But I think everybody peeks at it.”
Charlie Blackmon extended his hitting streak to 17 straight games with two hits, and pinch-hitter Carlos Gonzalez added a two-run double. The Rockies scored eight of their 10 runs with two outs.
“That’s the best time to score them,” Blackmon cracked. “Right when they think they’re about to get out of the inning, you hang a couple of runs on them.”
The game-changing hit was delivered by Dahl, who lined a fastball from Vince Velasquez (9-12) to left for his 12th homer — nearly to the same spot where Dahl hit a two-run homer the previous night. Dahl also added a run-scoring single as part of a three-hit, 4-RBIs evening.
“This is a fun race and I’m enjoying it,” Dahl said. “I’m trying not to put pressure on myself.”
Reliever Chad Bettis returned to his starter’s role for a night and went 2 2/3 innings, allowing one unearned run. The Rockies used seven relievers , with DJ Johnson (1-0) getting one out in the third to earn his first big league win. He didn’t think manager Bud Black would use him in that tight of spot.
“Bud’s No. 1 rule: Be ready for everything,” Johnson said. “That’s what I prepare myself for every day.”
Odubel Herrera gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead with an RBI bloop single in the third. The rest of his night wasn’t as smooth: Herrera didn’t exactly hustle out of the batter’s box on a double play in the first and dropped a fly ball in right during the second. He was taken out as part of a switch in the fifth.
“We have the highest expectation that our players will give all they have on every single play,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said.
Asked if he got maximum effort from Herrera out of the batter’s box, Kapler responded: “That is something I would like to go back and look at.”
UP NEXT
The Rockies will send RHP German Marquez (13-10, 3.91 ERA) and his blazing fastball to the mound Wednesday night for the third game of a four-game series against the Phillies. Marquez has 210 strikeouts this season and is four away from tying the Rockies record set by Ubaldo Jimenez in 2010. The Phillies will throw RHP Nick Pivetta (7-13, 4.58).
AROUND THE MAJORS TUESDAY
—The Houston Astros claimed their second straight AL West crown with a little help from Chris Herrmann and the Seattle Mariners. Herrman slammed a two-run, walk-off homer in the 11th inning to complete Seattle’s comeback in a 10-8 triumph over the Oakland Athletics. The A’s had an 8-5 lead until Denard Span laced a two-run double in the eighth, one inning before Kyle Seager’s RBI single extended the game. Marcus Semien homered for the Athletics, who were eliminated from the division race and fell 2 ½ games behind the Yankees for the first AL wild card.
–Houston also had to win in Toronto to have a chance to clinch Tuesday. Alex Bregman hit his 31st home run and Josh James gave the Astros another five strong innings in a 4-1 victory against the Blue Jays. Bregman put Houston ahead with a two-run blast three batters into the game. James held the Blue Jays to a run and four hits to lower his ERA to 2.57. The Astros also reached the 100-win mark for the third time in their 57-season history and are two off the club mark set in 1998. It was their fifth straight win.
— The Pirates made it two straight wins at Wrigley Field as Chris Archer combined with two relievers on a five-hitter in a 6-0 shutout of the Cubs. Archer limited the NL Central leaders to four hits while striking out nine over six innings. Pablo Reyes put Pittsburgh ahead with a three-run blast in the second before Francisco Cervelli collected two RBIs.
— The Brewers are within a half-game of the NL Central lead and 3 ½ games ahead of Colorado for the first wild card after Christian Yelich hit a three-run homer and collected six RBIs in Milwaukee’s 12-4 romp at St. Louis. Ryan Braun homered twice and went back-to-back with Jesus Aguilar to put the Brewers ahead to stay. The Redbirds have fallen a half-game behind the Rockies for the second wild card.
— The Dodgers’ lead in the NL West is down to a half-game over the Rockies after Eduardo Escobar homered off Kenta Maeda leading off the bottom of the ninth to lift the Diamondbacks past Los Angeles, 4-3. Escobar’s walk-off blast came a half-inning after Chris Taylor tied it with an RBI double. David Peralta had a two-run double and pinch-hitter Ildemaro Vargas lined a run-scoring single in the seventh inning for Arizona.
— Ozzie Albies belted a two-run homer and Kurt Suzuki drove in two runs as the Braves won their sixth in a row, 7-3 over the Mets. Atlanta rallied from a 3-0 deficit against the New York bullpen after Noah Syndergaard held the Braves to three hits over six scoreless innings. The Braves entered play a half-game ahead of Los Angeles for home-field advantage in the division series.
— Carlos Carrasco was reached for three runs in the bottom of the ninth as the White Sox pulled out a 5-4 win over the Indians. Cleveland led 4-2 until yolmer Sanchez hit an RBI single and scored on Daniel Palka’s two-run single. Trevor Bauer worked the first four innings and surrendered Avisail Garcia’s two-run blast in the first.
— Adeiny Hechavarria and Gary Sanchez homered while the Yankees erupted for seven runs in the third inning of a 9-2 pounding of the Rays. Sanchez capped the rally with a three-run blast and added an RBI single as New York moved closer to securing home field for the AL wild-card game. Miguel Andujar added his 26th home run to cap the scoring.
— Max Scherzer became the 17th pitcher since 1900 to strikeout 300 in a season as he fanned 10 over seven innings of the Nationals’ 9-4 trouncing of the Marlins. Anthony Rendon was 3-for-3 with a three-run homer and four RBIs to back Scherzer, who improved to 18-7 with a 2.53 ERA by holding Miami to a run and five hits.
— Pitcher Madison Bumgarner earned a victory with his bat as he stroked an RBI single in the bottom of the 12th to lift the Giants past the Padres, 5-4. Hunter Pence homered and Gregor Blanco doubled home a pair for San Francisco.
— Shohei Ohtani , Justin Upton and Kaleb Cowart drove in runs while the Angels rallied with four runs in the sixth inning to beat the Rangers, 4-1. Texas wasted Joey Gallo’s 40th home run.
— James McCann’s tiebreaking, two-run double capped the Tigers’ four-run eighth in a 4-2 win at Minnesota. The Twins wasted a strong performance from Kohl Stewart, who threw two-hit ball over six shutout innings of relief.
— Hunter Dozier’s tiebreaking homer in the ninth inning pushed the Royals past the Reds, 4-3. Ryan O’Hearn smacked a two-run shot that put Kansas City, 3-0, but Dilson Herrera’s two-run blast sparked Cincinnati’s comeback.
The Red Sox and Orioles were postponed by rain in Baltimore, creating a day-night doubleheader on Wednesday. The Orioles are trying to avoid their team record-setting 112th loss.