Bobby Miller pitches into 7th inning in return, but Dodgers fall to Rockies

DENVER — Bobby Miller gave the Dodgers’ injury-depleted starting rotation a boost with an encouraging return from an inflamed right shoulder.

Miller, in his first appearance since April 10, shook off rough first inning before settling in to pitch effectively into the seventh inning. Shohei Ohtani had a three-run double and Jason Heyward a two-run double to help the Dodgers’ offense but they couldn’t quite fend off the Colorado Rockies, who got a ninth-inning sacrifice fly from Brenton Doyle off of Yohan Ramirez for a 7-6 victory on Wednesday night.

The loss snapped the Dodgers’ three-game winning streak. It marked just their second loss in six games against the Rockies this season.

“I thought he competed tonight,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Miller. “I thought the command was in and out with the fastball, the changeup, the slider but again he made pitches when he needed to. There were some bad walks in there, I felt, but he got into the seventh inning, something he hasn’t done in months. So, I felt good about the outing and it’s something for us to build on.”

The Dodgers reinstated Miller to the active roster prior to the game, filling the roster vacancy created by placing struggling starter Walker Buehler on the injured list. Walker took a line drive off his hip during another erratic outing on Tuesday night in which he was tagged for a season-high seven runs in four innings. And overall, he has had difficulty regaining his pitching form after missing nearly two years while recovering from a second Tommy John surgery. The Dodgers also lost starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto to injury last weekend.

Miller registered two quick outs to start the game but then allowed a single to Ryan McMahon and walked Jacob Stallings before Michael Toglia got to him for a three-run homer. Toglia tripled to lead off the fourth and scored on a groundout by Sean Bouchard.

“The adrenaline was pretty high in the first inning,” Miller said. “I got a couple of quick outs, had a two-out walk. I didn’t really like that, and then the next guy (Toglia), I just missed a fastball down the middle. I’d like to think if I just throw it in a different spot, I only let up two runs instead of more, and it’s a completely different ball game. So, it really just comes down to that one pitch pretty much. Yeah, that one really just kind of bit me.”

The Dodgers scored four runs in the top of the second to go in front, with Ohtani delivering a bases-loaded double to tie the score and Freddie Freeman adding an RBI single.

The Dodgers went in front 6-4 when Heyward lifted a two-run double to right in the fifth but they couldn’t hold the lead. Miller gave up a leadoff double to Bouchard in the seventh and after retiring Jake Cave on a groundout, he was relieved by Daniel Hudson.

Third baseman Cavan Biggio booted Elehuris Montero’s grounder for an error, and Bouchard scored from third. Doyle’s sacrifice fly for the Rockies tied the score again at 6-all.

Ohtani came up in the eighth inning with the score tied and two men on and two outs, but he wound up taking a called third strike, an outcome he later lamented.

“The situation there is to put the ball in play and make sure I do that,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “But even that last pitch, when I struck out, at least take a swing so that I have a shot to put the ball in play.”

While the Dodgers didn’t get the outcome they sought this time, Ohtani said the team continues to come together working through a series of injuries that will test the club until its injured regulars can come back.

“I believe it’s just a natural part of the season. You’re going to have injuries, but you’re just going to have to make sure we find a way to fill in the holes, especially with Mookie (Betts) and Yoshinobu gone,” he said. “They will be back, so it’s really just holding down the fort.”