The Los Angeles Dodgers were first to score in a third straight game against the Colorado Rockies but Coors Field took effect and claimed Clayton Kershaw as the latest starter who be let down by defense in a 5-3 loss.
Cody Bellinger provided the Dodgers with an early lead by pulling an RBI double inside the bag at first base. Edwin Rios drove an RBI triple off the wall in center field — his first career hit — and Alex Verdugo added an RBI single in the fifth but it otherwise was all Rockies.
Charlie Blackmon’s two-run home run with two outs in the third gave Colorado a temporary lead, and a three-run sixth inning put them ahead for good.
The Dodgers didn’t do Kershaw any favors, beginning with Max Muncy’s fielding error on a relatively routine ground ball. Raimel Tapia followed with a single and Nolan Arenado’s RBI base hit tied the game.
Kiké Hernandez caught a line drive on a play that may have been an inning-ending double play, but his throw back to first base was not on target. It was compounded when Mark Reynolds hit a two-run single. Kershaw ended the inning by striking out Garrett Hampson and Pat Valaika.
The four earned runs (five overall) he allowed tied a season high and came on the heels of the Arizona Diamondbacks also pushing across four runs in his Kershaw’s last start. He entered a lifetime 10-4 with a 4.57 ERA in 21 starts at Coors Field.
Kershaw attempted to spark a rally himself by lining a one-out single up the middle in the seventh. Verdugo later kept the inning alive with a base hit of his own, but the Dodgers stranded both runners.
Rios was left on base in the eighth and Joc Pederson was hit by a pitch with two outs in the ninth inning. That brought Verdugo to the plate, representing the tying run, only for him to ground out.
After winning 12 consecutive games against the Rockies, they have now suffered back-to-back losses.
