In what was a back-and-forth game in the series opener at Coors Field, the Los Angeles Dodgers eventually came out on top, earning a 12-8 victory over the Colorado Rockies to mark a 12th straight win over their division rivals.
The stretch dates back to last season, though L.A. has each of the seven head-to-head matchups this year. The two teams combined for 33 hits and seven home runs on Thursday, with six long balls coming from the Dodgers.
Cody Bellinger and Max Muncy got the scoring started to begin the second inning when they hit back-to-back home runs off Rockies starter Peter Lambert. Bellinger’s went off David Dahl’s glove and over the fence in center field, good for his 27th home run of the season.
Muncy wasn’t done there, as he also hit a home run in the top of the seventh inning to break a 7-7 tie. In 13 career games at Coors Field, Muncy has now hit eight home runs. He also has 19 total on the season as he continues to make his case to be in Cleveland for the All-Star Game.
Bellinger and Muncy weren’t the only Dodgers players to go back-to-back on the night, with Alex Verdugo and Justin Turner also doing the same in the fifth inning. Both of them were opposite-field shots, and Verdugo now has eight long balls on the season while Turner has nine.
Despite the Dodgers leaving the ballpark half a dozen times, the game-winning hit was actually one of the least hard-hit balls of the night. With the game tied at eight in the ninth inning, Chris Taylor blooped in an RBI single to drive home Muncy and give Los Angeles the lead for good. Taylor had four hits on the night, continuing his recent hot streak.
Insurance runs are always nice, especially in a game at Coors Field. Kiké Hernandez provided just that for Kenley Jansen and the Dodgers as he launched a pinch-hit, three-run home run to straightaway center to extend the lead to 12-8 in the ninth.
The home run, which came off Rockies closer Wade Davis, was Hernandez’s 13th of the season.
