Rockies throttled as Dodgers, Ohtani light up Sugano

Rockies Report, Game 125:

ROCKIES BOTTOM LINE: As it was for the Tampa Bay Rays a fortnight ago, Coors Field was a slump-buster for a top-tier team dealing with an offensive slump.

After averaging 3.2 runs per game in their previous 10 contests, Shohei Ohtani led the Dodgers to an 11-run avalanche, allowing them to take leads of 10-1 and 11-2 en route to an 11-5 thrashing of the Rockies in front of 34,609 on Monday night at Coors Field.

Colorado fell behind in counts against Los Angeles starter Blake Snell; twenty-one of Snell’s 23 first pitches were strikes. The Rockies did manage to walk the bases loaded with no outs in the third inning, only to emerge with one run on Jake McCarthy’s force out.

“We just didn’t get the job done there,” manager Warren Schaeffer said.

Zac Veen continued his recent sizzling form since his call-up last week. Entering as a replacement for McCarthy in the seventh inning with the Rox down 10-1, he delivered an RBI double in the ninth inning to provide Colorado’s final run. An RBI single from Adael Amador and a sacrifice fly by Ezequiel Tovar provided the other runs in the final inning, which made the final score a bit more respectable but did little more.

Veen’s double was the only extra-base hit of the night for the Rox. Los Angeles, meanwhile, had seven, including three homers.

Colorado fell to 50-75.

ROCKIES STARTER’S REPORT

Tomoyuki Sugano has usually figured out the riddle of pitching at Coors Field during most of the season. But against the Dodgers’ high-wattage lineup, he didn’t have the answers over the course of his five innings of work.

Sugano retired the Dodgers in order in the first inning, then his troubles began in the second when he delivered a five-pitch walk to Max Muncy. Three pitches later, Mookie Betts lined a low cutter to the left-field wall, starting the Los Angeles onslaught.

Usually, home runs are the problem for Sugano, but when he’s faring well, he limits the damage to solo shots. But the third-inning homer he surrendered to Muncy was a 3-run blast, with Ohtani adding a solo shot in the third. Those accounted for four of the seven runs at Sugano’s expense.

“Behind in counts — which is abnormal for him — and missing over the heart of the plate a little much for that lineup,” Schaeffer said.

Sugano fell to 12-6.

BITS AND PIECES

IT WAS DECIDED FOR THE ROCKIES WHEN: Ohtani clubbed his second homer of the night to push the Dodgers’ lead to 9-1.

SHOHEI AGAIN. pic.twitter.com/njVlzSCJjp

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 18, 2026

NUMBER TO NOTE: 1.263 — Ohtani’s career OPS at Coors Field after his four-hit, two-homer night.

WHAT’S NEXT: Ryan Feltner gets the call for the Rockies; left-hander Eric Lauer will start for the Dodgers — complete with a Coors Field ERA north of 10.00. First pitch Tuesday night is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. MDT.

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