The Los Angeles Dodgers won their second consecutive series as they defeated the Colorado Rockies, 4-0, in the rubber match to conclude the short homestand.
Gavin Stone turned in another strong start, going five shutout innings with six strikeouts. He allowed four hits and walked two while dealing with some traffic on the bases, but was able to work out of a pair of jams.
Stone threw just 75 pitches while making his first start on regular rest this year, which is why he was limited in the outing. It’s the same idea as when James Paxton was limited to 50 pitches while going on normal rest in his last start.
The Dodgers will continue to work to give their starters extra rest this year, but manager Dave Roberts also said they will get pitchers starts on normal rest in the year to get ready for the playoffs.
Mookie Betts got the Dodgers’ offense started early with a leadoff home run. It was the 4th leadoff homer of the season and the 52nd of his career as he moves closer to jumping into the third spot all-time, trailing Alfonso Soriano (54) and Craig Biggio (53).
Betts could potentially pass George Springer, who has 57, as well, but it will be a while before he moves into range of Rickey Henderson, whose 81 career leadoff home runs are the most all-time.
It also proved to be the only run they needed, but the Dodgers weren’t done scoring in the first inning as Freddie Freeman also blasted a solo home run, his seventh of the season, to give the Dodgers a two-run lead.
They added on again in the third inning with a an RBI single from Miguel Rojas with two on and one out. Rojas has swung a hot bat this season, and that’s continued to a greater extent recently.
The Dodgers didn’t score again until the bottom of the eighth inning when Jason Heyward and Austin Barnes hit back-to-back singles and Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked. Freeman followed with a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to four runs.
Following Stone, Michael Grove worked two scoreless innings and Alex Vesia pitched a perfect eighth. Daniel Hudson pitched the ninth inning to close out the game.
Dodgers head back to East Coast
With the three-game homestand now complete, the Dodgers get a day off on Monday as they head to Pittsburgh for a series with the Pirates. Following that, they conclude their road trip in New York against the Yankees.
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