A game that looked like it was going to get away from the Colorado Rockies early proved to be closer than expected down the stretch – not quite a mirror image of Thursday night’s seven-run comeback by the Dodgers – but enough to keep a raucous Coors Field crowd dialed in until the final out of a 6-2 Dodgers victory on Friday. Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw (6-2, 2.43) earned his NL-leading sixth win, now one ahead of Rockies rookie Antonio Senzatela.
One night prior the Rockies jumped out to a 10-0 lead early, only to have the Dodgers scratch back into things before Greg Holland slammed the door on a 10-7 Rockies victory. On Friday, Tyler Chatwood (3-5, 5.25 ERA) spotted the Dodgers five runs in a shaky fifth inning in which he walked three batters and allowed three extra-base hits. It was Chatwood’s shortest outing of the season, as the right-hander lasted only 4.1 innings but threw 85 pitches (only 45 for strikes). Chris Rusin pitched 2.2 innings of one-hit relief. Jake McGee allowed a solo home run in the eighth.
Colorado grabbed a single run off Kershaw in both the third and fourth innings. DJ LeMahieu and Carlos Gonzalez each had an RBI single and a pair of hits in the loss. Charlie Blackmon had a pair of hits for Colorado as well. Raimel Tapia drew a leadoff walk in the eighth, but the Rockies couldn’t capitalize as Blackmon, LeMahieu and Nolan Arenado struck out in order to end the inning. It was a rough night for Arenado, who also grounded into a pair of double plays.
The loss evens the series at one game apiece heading into Saturday’s matchup. Tyler Anderson (2-3, 6.69) was pushed back from a Thursday start due to a knee injury and is scheduled to go for Colorado. He’ll face Alex Wood (3-0, 2.73), who is making his eighth start of the year. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. MDT.
