The Los Angeles Dodgers hit six home runs, twice went back-to-back and needed every bit of it to defeat the Colorado Rockies, 12-8, in a typical slugfest at Coors Field. Max Muncy led the Dodgers with a pair of long balls.
When Peter Lambert last faced the Dodgers, he allowed one home run and three doubles (seven hits overall) in five-plus innings of work. L.A. jumped on the rookie early, though with an assist from David Dahl’s glove.
Cody Bellinger’s drive to deep center field went off the heel of Dahl’s glove and carried over the fence for a solo home run in the second inning. Max Muncy then drove Lambert’s next pitch into the Rockies’ bullpen in right field.
After Colorado pulled ahead, Alex Verdugo’s two-run homer tied the game in the fourth inning. Justin Turner followed with an opposite-field shot of his own, giving the Dodgers a 5-4 lead. A protective swing from Muncy resulted in a line-drive, two-run home run in the seventh to again put the Dodgers ahead.
Their lone run scored that did not come via a long ball was Joc Pederson’s RBI single in the sixth inning. Lambert allowed four of the Dodgers’ home runs in just 4.2 innings of work.
The night was also a rocky one for Walker Buehler, who received an extra day of rest between starts. Buehler produced an absolute gem in his last outing, setting a career high with 16 strikeouts against the Rockies in his first ever complete game.
Seeing them a second time produced more career highs for Buehler, though in the wrong fashion as he labored through 5.2 innings. The 13 hits are the most he’s ever allowed — nearly doubling his previous high of seven — and the seven earned runs surpassed the prior high of five (done four times, including in three starts this year).
The outing was atypical for the right-hander, as he entered 3-0 with a 0.87 ERA and 0.45 WHIP in four June starts. Buehler allowed just three earned runs across 31 innings pitched during that span. He exited Thursday nigh with the Dodgers in a 7-6 deficit.
The Rockies did the bulk of their damage behind a barrage of extra-base hits, collecting four doubles, two triples and one home run. Charlie Blackmon was at the center of it, finishing a home run shy of hitting for what would have been a second career cycle.
The Rockies’ only homer did not come until Ryan McMahon greeted Yimi Garcia with a game-tying solo blast to lead off the seventh inning.
For all the big swings the night saw, the game initially swung on Chris Taylor’s flare of an RBI single that landed just off first base in the ninth inning. It gave Taylor four hits; two of which were doubles. Kiké Hernandez then provided an exclamation point, clubbing a pinch-hit three-run home run.
The Dodgers remained undefeated in seven games against the Rockies this season and picked up a 12th consecutive win against them, tying the second-longest streak for a single opponent in L.A. franchise history.
