The Rockies have the Dodgers’ number, and Kyle Freeland is better than Clayton Kershaw.
Both of those improbable statements held true for at least one day, Tuesday, when Colorado beat Los Angeles 7-4 at Coors Field. In a southpaw showdown, Freeland kept L.A. at bay while the Rockies battered Kershaw to win consecutive home series in a single season against the Dodgers for the first time in six years.
Continuing the momentum established by Chad Kuhl in Monday’s series opener, when the right-hander threw a three-hit shutout, Freeland notched a quality start by limiting the Dodgers to three runs over six innings. Kershaw, the future Hall of Famer, didn’t fare as well as the Rockies tagged him for six runs in four innings.
Charlie Blackmon led the way with a four-hit day, while Randal Grichuk and Elias Diaz both had solo homers to also cement the Rockies’ first four-game winning streak against Los Angeles since Sept. 2017 (five games).
After trading runs in the first inning, second baseman Hanser Alberto’s solo homer again put Los Angeles ahead in the second, 2-1. But it was the last time the visitors would have control of the game.
Colorado plated three runs off Kershaw in the bottom of that second frame. Grichuk led off with a solo homer that doinked off the left field foul pole for his eighth round-tripper of the year. Blackmon and Brendan Rodgers also had RBI knocks to make it 4-2.
Diaz added to the damage in the third with his fifth homer of the year, and Jose Iglesias had an RBI single in the fourth to stretch Colorado’s lead to 6-2 and further muddy Kershaw’s line. The 34-year-old is now 11-7 with a 4.83 ERA in 25 career starts in LoDo.
Max Muncy tagged Freeland for a solo homer in the sixth, but Colorado got the run right back in the bottom of the inning with Rodgers’ sacrifice fly to score Blackmon. Chuck Nazty led off the inning with a double off former Rockies reliever Yency Almonte.
Lucas Gilbreath, Alex Colome and Daniel Bard each threw an inning to secure the win. Gilbreath and Colome posted zeros, but Bard was tagged with a two-out homer by Trea Turner. The Rockies are now 24-49 against Los Angeles over the past five seasons.
