Shohei Ohtani didn’t take batting practice but used the first inning to get warmed up.

He took Ty Blach deep in the Dodgers’ first at-bat of the game to help push the Rockies to a sixth loss in their last eight games, 5-3. It ended an eight-hit, three-walk series for one of the sport’s most lethal hitters and fellow former MVP Freddie Freeman added his long ball as part of back-to-back jacks for Los Angeles in the fourth inning.

The Dodgers have won 73 of their last 107 matchups against the Rockies since 2018.

Here’s a breakdown of the losing series and the moments that mattered most:

The Moment

Jake Cave’s reaction told the story.

He ran to the right-field wall as we watched Teoscar Hernández’s hit fly into Colorado’s bullpen and take the team’s lead with it. On the pitch before the home run, Victor Vodnik looked to have his first career save.

Hernández checked his swing, and on appeal to umpire Lance Barksdale, the call was a non-swing. It would’ve been the Dodgers’ third strike and out of the ninth, ending their chances at a ninth-inning comeback. Instead, the Rockies set modern-era history.

It was the sixth time this year that Colorado has entered the ninth inning with a lead and allowed five or more runs to blow it — Tuesday was the third time the Rockies have allowed at least six. As the fifth, sixth and seventh runs jogged across the plate, Cave yelled at Barksdale from right field. It continued as he came in after the eventual third out and extended to postgame when the veteran continued to plead his reliever’s case.

“I’m down the right-field line, the same as Lance, and I didn’t even think it was close,” Cave said after the loss. “I was pissed, it’s a big game (against) one of the best teams in baseball and we’re battling with them, we’re beating them. That game’s won on that swing, that’s a swing, and the game’s won and we beat the Los Angeles Dodgers.”

On Wednesday, he crossed home plate as the winning run after Brenton Doyle’s first walk-off on a sacrifice fly. Barksdale called balls and strikes, and the two shared an unwelcome reunion. It came after he led off the ninth with a single through the left side.

“It’s serendipitous,” manager Bud Black said after Wednesday’s win. “That’s sort of the magic of baseball, right? Good for Jake, he had a good game. Just a pro-at-bat to get us going.”

Takeaway

Colorado’s pieces are largely homegrown as it progresses in its rebuild. Those pieces are beginning to build a bond.

Cave’s emotional reaction to Vodnik giving up a go-ahead home run was his way of supporting the rookie reliever. Doyle’s wife helped retrieve Greg Jones’ first home run ball (more on that later) and the Rockies used the emotions of Tuesday’s loss to propel them to a comeback win the following day.

Black’s ejection from arguing for Vodnik was another sign of his growing relationship with the group.

“It’s awesome to have that support,” Vodnik said. “Seeing Cave get fired up like that got me going. It’s good to know they have your back — your manager and your teammates have your back. It’s nice to know that my guys got me.”

Player’s card games have increased throughout the year and conversation as too. It seems like a new face is added weekly if only for a little while — Jones and Adael Amador’s recent debuts continued the trend that Jordan Beck and Anthony Molina started earlier in the year.

The Rockies were once led by a tight-knit group that included Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story, D.J. LeMahieu and Charlie Blackmon on offense and a pitching core highlighted by Kyle Freeland and Germán Márquez’s bond at the top.

Colorado is hoping recent emotions and actions can help fuse a similar bond. It looks to be working.

What went right

The Doyle family’s quick thinking paid off, and just like Cave returning a favor, the baseball gods seemingly gave one to Brenton.

His wife, Rose, was quick to action on Monday. Greg Jones hit his first career home run in the loss, and she darted to the right-field concourse when it landed. She caught the recipient and begged for a trade. She offered signed bats, balls, and whatever it would take to get the rookie’s milestone ball for his family — Jones’ mother, sister and girlfriend have traveled to follow his games since his June 6 debut.

The offers were rejected, and the fan gave her the ball without argument for the “easiest transaction of (her) life.” In postgame interviews, it was perched in the locker behind Jones, ready to be given to his family.

“I just hope that if it were my husband or boyfriend, someone else would do the same thing,” Rose said on the Rockies’ broadcast. “He was so appreciative.”

Jones went to the team’s family room after the game to introduce himself and thank Rose for her quick reflexes — she had a little help from Sydney, Hunter Goodman’s wife, who pointed out quickly that it was his first.

Doyle benefitted on Tuesday with his first four-hit game and then again on Wednesday with his first career walk-off. He even added a catch-of-the-year candidate when he robbed Shohei Ohtani of an extra-base hit that would’ve brought the Dodgers within two runs in the seventh inning of Tuesday’s loss.

What went wrong

— Adael Amador knew as soon as he swung that something was wrong.

He made a hearty hack on a seventh-inning fastball and was forced out of Thursday’s loss. He looked hobbled on his right side, and Black announced after the game that he has a mild oblique strain, like the one he suffered in Double-A Hartford in May.

The Rockies’ No. 1 prospect became the youngest player in franchise history to reach base three times in a game in Wednesday’s win. He hit .171 in his first 35 career at-bats. 

Brendan Rodgers was already nearing a return from his left hamstring strain. He was scheduled to play in Thursday’s Triple-A Albuquerque matchup with Oklahoma City as part of a two-game rehab trip. He would likely join the active roster if Adael needed an injured-list stint.

— The Rockies’ pitching staff played with fire and Los Angeles burned them.

They issued eight walks in Monday’s loss. Then it was a grand slam and three-run home run in the ninth inning on Tuesday, thanks in part to three more walks. Los Angeles drew 23 free passes in four games if you include hit by pitches. 

Colorado allowed 31 runs in the series despite having its top two pitchers — Cal Quantrill and Austin Gomber — throw in the first two games.

The Rockies will be reinforced soon with the health of Freeland and Márquez who are both slated to be back in the rotation by the end of next month. Their bullpen recently welcomed Justin Lawrence and Jake Bird back and could eventually bring Lucas Gilbreath. Top prospects Carson Palmquist and Jaden Hill could also factor into the mix as the season goes on.

Colorado needs a solution to its free-pass problem. It’s exacerbating a talent gap between teams like the Rockies and Dodgers and will need to be fixed if the club hopes to contend in future years.

What’s up next

The Rockies wrap up their season-long 10-game homestand with a three-game set against Washington.

They went 3-4 in the team’s season series each of the last two years and will meet a 2024 Nationals club in a similar rebuild. They dealt Juan Soto for new headliners C.J. Abrams and MacKenzie Gore with prospect James Wood on the brink of a debut. Luckily for Colorado, it will miss Gore after the lefty started on Thursday against Arizona.

Dodgers 5, Rockies 3

What happened: Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith each homered to sink the Rockies’ chances of a series split in their sixth loss in the last eight games. 

On the mound: Ty Blach dealt was dealt typical Dodgers damage. He allowed five earned runs on 10 hits and a walk in four innings to raise his earned run average to 5.13. Anthony Molina helped cool them with three scoreless innings to lower his to 5.97. 

At the plate: Ryan McMahon took a ball 462 feet to center field to do a majority of Colorado’s damage. The solo shot was his team-high 13th. The Rockies didn’t get their first baserunner to second base until the fifth inning when Adael Amador singled to move Alan Trejo. The former exited after a swing in the seventh inning with a mild oblique strain. 

What’s next: Washington Nationals (LHP DJ Herz, 1-1) at Colorado Rockies (RHP Dakota Hudson, 2-9) at 6:40 p.m. on Friday at Coors Field (Rockies.TV).