The Colorado Rockies knew they had a chance to take over the NL West Division lead on Sunday with a victory and some help from Milwaukee and St. Louis. The only person standing in their way was nemesis and Los Angeles ace Clayton Kershaw.
Kershaw didn’t factor into the decision on Sunday afternoon as Colorado chased him early, loading the bases in both the first and second innings. Giambi hit a 3-run double, and Jonathan Herrera hit an RBI double to stoke the Rockies to a 6-1 lead early. Rockies starter Jason Hammel was betrayed by his defense in the beginning of the fifth inning allowing the Dodgers to score three runs and pull within 6-4.
A Matt Kemp solo homerun off Matt Belisle in the top of the seventh inning made it a one run affair, and the Dodgers completed the comeback in the bottom of the ninth against closer Huston Street, with Kemp hitting an RBI double to tie the game at six runs apiece.
The Dodgers scored the winning run on a bases-loaded, walkoff single from reserve catcher AJ Ellis in the bottom of the 11th inning off Rockies reliever Manny Delcarmen.
With the San Diego loss, the Rockies remain in third place for the division, one game behind San DIego and one and a half games behind the San Francisco Giants with 13 games remaining.