'We'll start another one': Dodgers come back after 'pen's scoreless streak ends

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers weren't expecting their bullpen to be untouchable forever. So when the relief corps let up its first run in 38 innings, it was the offense's turn to step up.

Presented with three free bases in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Dodgers capitalized on a shaky performance from the Rockies' bullpen to rally for four runs and secure a 5-3 series-opening victory on Monday night at Dodger Stadium.

Dating back to May 12 -- specifically, the eighth inning of a 6-2 loss to the Giants -- the Dodgers' bullpen did not allow a run until the seventh inning of the opener vs. the Rockies, when right-hander Kyle Hurt surrendered a solo homer to Ezequiel Tovar.

"All good things are meant to come to an end," manager Dave Roberts said. "And we'll start another one."

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, no Dodgers bullpen had authored a longer scoreless streak since the mound was moved to its current distance in 1893. At 38 innings, they were closing in on the Major League record in that span, set by the 1962 Tigers (45 2/3 innings).

But with one swing from Tovar, the streak was over, and the Dodgers trailed by a pair of runs. It was a short-lived deficit, though.

To lead off the Dodgers' half of the seventh inning, Will Smith and Hyeseong Kim drew back-to-back walks from right-hander Juan Mejia. Dalton Rushing was announced as the pinch-hitter for Kiké Hernández, who went 2-for-2 with an RBI double and played third base in his season debut. But the Rockies countered by lifting Mejia for left-hander Brennan Bernardino, so Roberts opted to have Miguel Rojas hit in place of Rushing.

Rojas was hit on the left foot by Bernardino, loading the bases with no outs as the order turned over. Then the big bats at the top got the job done: Shohei Ohtani brought in one run on a fielder's choice that was initially ruled a double play before being overturned on a Dodgers challenge. Mookie Betts tied it up on a sacrifice fly. Freddie Freeman knocked in the go-ahead run on an RBI double, and Andy Pages tacked on an insurance run with a base hit.

"Fortunately, we were kind of victims of good fortune, allowing ourselves to build that inning," Roberts said. "We started getting some hits, which was great. It was good to see us show some life tonight."

After being hit on the foot, Rojas was moving around in clear discomfort, but he was the last available infielder on the Dodgers' bench because the team is staying away from Max Muncy, who was hit by a pitch on the right hand on Friday. Muncy was shown on the SportsNet LA broadcast with a first-base glove in his hand, but L.A. didn't have to test him in the field.

Not only was Rojas feeling well enough to play the eighth and ninth innings at third base, but Roberts said he should be in Tuesday's starting lineup against Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland.

"I just didn't know how bad Miggy was, so I wanted to kind of check in on Max to see if he could potentially go out there and stand at third base," Roberts said. "He was up for it, but fortunately, we didn't have to use that."

Through seven innings, the Dodgers led by two runs after briefly trailing by the same number. That was more than enough for the bullpen to work with, as Will Klein, Alex Vesia and Blake Treinen kept the Rockies off the board for the final two innings.

Perhaps that was the beginning of a new streak.