Clayton Kershaw hadn’t suffered a loss to the Colorado Rockies since July 12, 2013. He’d gone 10-0 with a 2.24 ERA since that point, which included a no-hit performance. The Los Angeles Dodgers ace also was 5-0 in his past seven outings at Coors Field.
But that all changed Saturday, as Kershaw labored through six innings. He threw 100 pitches and allowed four runs on eight hits, including three home runs. Two of which came Mark Reynolds and Gerardo Parra.
It marked the first time in Kershaw’s career he’d surrendered back-to-back home runs. Though, the three-time Cy Young Award winner was generally pleased with his pitching, via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
“My stuff was fine,” said Kershaw, who allowed eight hits in six innings. “Just had some bad pitches there and tonight they went over the fence. It’s a good team, you can’t make mistakes and I made too many tonight.”
While Coors Field has a notorious reputation for being a hitter-friendly ballpark, Kershaw refused to use that as an excuse and went so far as to say he enjoys the environment:
“People tell you over and over how the ball flies and I just think you have to be better than that — don’t think about it and just pitch,” he said. “The balls going out were going out. I like this place, actually. It’s fun to come here, a little more of a challenge because of the team than the place.”
Nolan Arenado was responsible for the Rockies’ first home run of the game. He began the night batting .303/.343/.485 with three doubles, one home run and three RBI in his career against Kershaw.
The three home runs allowed in a single game was a first for Kershaw since April 2013. What’s more, it was only the third time in his career, first since 2009, he allowed multiple home runs in a single inning.
While it certainly wasn’t the best performance Kershaw has put together, the Dodgers failed to provide run support. Andrew Toles’ solo home run tied the game in the fifth inning, and Adrian Gonzalez’s RBI single in the eighth cut the Dodgers’ deficit in half. But that was it in their 4-2 loss.
Los Angeles has mustered three runs on 12 hits through the first two games of the series and enter play Sunday needing a win to avoid being swept by the red-hot Rockies.
