The Rockies were one strike away from escaping a ninth-inning meltdown against the Dodgers when it all unraveled. With two outs and a full count, Teoscar Hernández half-swung at a high fastball that looked like strike three. Home plate umpire Lance Barksdale said no swing. Replays showed a borderline check, and opinions were split, but it was the kind of pitch that often gets called a strike in that situation. Instead of the game ending, the Dodgers got one more chance. Next pitch, 101 mph down and in, and it’s crushed over the wall. Just like that, the Dodgers take the lead. Rockies fans were stunned. The dugout was furious. Jake Cave lost it.
Cave argued with the ump, stomped around the dugout, paced the top step, and had words with coaches. After the final out, he confronted a teammate who claimed Hernández didn’t swing. That set Cave off again. He got briefly pushed down the dugout steps, cooled off, and then came right back up still fuming. The umpires walked off unfazed. Cave insisted being fiery was the only way to care about moments like that. The Rockies lost a game they should have won, mostly because of a single call that extended an inning just long enough for the Dodgers to flip it.