Great as the Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation has been this season, the best it has to offer has been made to look rather pedestrian thus far in the series at Coors Field. The Dodgers extended their winning streak against the Colorado Rockies to 12 games but followed that by losing two in a row.
Walker Buehler allowed seven runs and 13 hits, both of which were career highs, but didn’t factor into the decision on Thursday as the Dodgers slugged six home runs in a 12-8 victory. They didn’t play the sharpest defense but only were charged for one error.
They committed three errors in the fifth inning the following night, and Hyun-Jin Ryu allowed a season-high seven earned runs. He entered Friday’s game having allowed a combined five earned runs in 71.2 innings pitched over his past 10 starts.
Next up was Clayton Kershaw, who had a 3-2 lead even after allowing a home run to Charlie Blackmon, which he took blame for, via Manny Randhawa of MLB.com:
“I felt really good the first few innings,” Kershaw said. “The Blackmon homer was a tough pill to swallow. It was just the wrong pitch; I shook to it and I take responsibility for that. It was the last thing [catcher Austin Barnes] called and I should have listened to him. I just felt confident about the curveball there, and I thought it was a decent one, and he hit it really well.”
Kershaw retired the first six batters faced and was only three over the minimum through five innings. The Dodgers were still ahead to that point but an error in the sixth inning led to five consecutive batters reaching safely and the Rockies taking a decided 5-3 lead.
Kershaw largely brushed off the tough-luck loss and any results that come from pitching at Coors Field:
“I don’t think about what happens here,” Kershaw said of the ballpark. “When you start playing that game, you get into trouble. You just worry about what you can control, go pitch your game, attack, be aggressive and see what happens.”
Despite the Dodgers suddenly trailing, Kershaw batted for himself with one out in the seventh inning, as his pitch count was under control. He drove a single up the middle and Alex Verdugo later kept the inning alive with his base hit, but the Dodgers stranded the tying runs on base.
Kershaw got through seven innings a fourth time in his past six starts and for the seventh time overall this season. The four earned runs (five overall) allowed tied a season high and marked a second consecutive outing in which he saw that many cross the plate.
Kershaw entered Saturday’s game 10-4 with a 4.57 ERA in 21 career starts at Coors Field.
