Dollander, Bernabel, Ritter all exit with injuries as Rockies narrowly avoid being no-hit by Dodgers

LOS ANGELES -- On a night when the Rockies set a franchise record for losses, they were nearly a part of even more unfortunate history.

Colorado was held hitless into the ninth inning before a Ryan Ritter leadoff double against Tanner Scott spoiled the Dodgers’ combined no-no bid.

Ritter’s heroics soon came at a price, as he turned his ankle while sliding back into second base on Tyler Freeman’s lineout to become the third Rockie to suffer an injury in Colorado’s 3-1 defeat.

Chase Dollander’s stellar start, in which he limited the Dodgers to just one hit over 76 pitches, ended in the sixth inning with left knee discomfort. It had been bothering him for a couple innings, according to interim manager Warren Schaeffer. But after issuing a four-pitch leadoff walk to Ben Rortvedt, the dugout noticed him favoring the leg more than usual. Dollander was met at the mound by a group that included Schaeffer and trainer Heath Townsend.

“It’s not worth the risk at that point,” Schaeffer said.

Even in Dodger Stadium against a lineup as good as any in baseball, the 23-year-old maintained his recent pattern of stellar outings away from Coors Field. Dollander kept Los Angeles hitless through four and finished with five strikeouts. Dollander’s road ERA is now 3.46 through 10 starts, compared to 9.98 at home.

His confidence was on display in the third as he managed to get himself out of a self-inflicted jam. A leadoff walk, a wild pitch, a groundout and a hit-by-pitch on an 0-2 count set up Shohei Ohtani with runners on first and third and one out. Dollander, who had struck out the reigning NL MVP to open the first, fanned him again on a curveball. He then retired Mookie Betts on a flyout to right field.

“He showed really good poise getting through that,” Schaeffer said. “He proved he belongs here.”

The injury certainly put a damper on a great outing, but it remains to be seen what the severity of it is.

“We’ll see what it feels like tomorrow,” Dollander said. “It’s good that I’m able to stand on it, but the real test will be if I can run and pitch.”

More bad news had come earlier in the contest, when first baseman Warming Bernabel was removed in the first inning after colliding with part of a gate structure along the right-field line.

Bernabel converged near Freeman as both were trying to catch a foul ball off the bat of Betts. As the ball started to land, Bernabel leaned into the protective netting, but it appeared his head impacted a less forgiving portion of it.

He held the side of his head before trainers gave him a concussion test on the field. According to Schaeffer, he had blood on his ear and was dazed. Bernabel was able to walk to the clubhouse without assistance and was replaced by Kyle Farmer.

Despite the setbacks and the inability to generate hits against Tyler Glasnow, the Rockies manufactured an early lead.

Two long flyouts converted a leadoff walk and stolen base into a run in the second. Farmer pulled a Glasnow pitch to the left-field warning track to score Jordan Beck.

That slim lead was preserved primarily due to Dollander, as he and his opponent combined to create a unique pitching performance, with dueling no-hitters through 4 1/2 innings.