Rockies belt three homers in win over Dodgers
The Colorado Rockies hit three home runs Tuesday night, two by Nolan Arenado, got another big lift -- and a mild scare -- from their stellar bullpen to beat the Dodgers 4-3 in Los Angeles.
The surging Rockies had lost seven straight games at Dodger Stadium since they last won there last season on June 8. The victory was the Rockies' fourth in five games on a road trip that began in San Francisco and ends Wednesday.
Colorado (10-5) improved to 7-2 on the road.
In their previous 24 seasons, the Rockies had a better record after 15 games just three times -- 12-3 in 2011 and 11-4 in 1995 and 2013. The Rockies also started 10-5 in 1997.
Arenado hit a two-run homer in the first and gave the Rockies a 4-1 lead with a solo shot with two outs in the fifth off Hyun-Jun Ryu. Trevor Story, mired in a deep slump, also homered off Ryu in the fourth.
Arenado's first multi-homer game of the season gave him six for the season and 11 RBIs, including six in the past three games.
Rockies starter Kyle Freeland wasn't hit hard but had trouble throwing strikes. He gave up one run on four hits and four walks in four-plus innings.
Freeland allowed 10 baserunners, including the first two batters he faced in the fifth. Scott Oberg and Chris Rusin (2-0) snuffed out a Dodgers rally that inning, and Adam Ottavino and Mike Dunn each pitched a scoreless inning.
Closer Greg Holland gave up a run-scoring soft single to Justin Turner with one out in the ninth after an overturned call that took a sliding catch away from left fielder Gerardo Parra and gave a single to Corey Seager.
With runners on first and second and two outs, pinch hitter Yasmani Grandal grounded a run-scoring single to make it a one-run game. However, Holland got Adrian Gonzalez to hit into a game-ending force play to nail down his major-league-leading eighth save.
After working 4 2/3 innings in each of his first two starts, Ryu pitched six innings of four-run ball. He issued one walk and struck out seven.
Ryu, who had shoulder surgery in May 2015 and missed the second half of last season with elbow tendinitis, barely touches 90 mph with his fastball these days, reducing his margin for error.
In 15 1/3 innings this season, Ryu (0-3) has allowed six home runs, including the decisive three he yielded to the Rockies in his 60th career start and first at Dodger Stadium since July 7, 2016.
The Rockies took a 2-0 lead in the first on Arenado's two-run homer off Ryu. Charlie Blackmon led off the inning with an opposite-field double, grounding the ball past third base.
Story, who entered the game 5-for-44, hit a long homer to left to give the Rockies a 3-0 lead in the fourth. It was his second homer of the season and fifth extra-base hit, and broke a string of 12 hitless at-bats.
The Dodgers made it 3-1 in the fourth, but Freeland, who stranded runners at the corners in the third, minimized the damage and left the bases loaded. He issued a one-out walk and had runners on the corners when Gonzalez bounced a single over first baseman Mark Reynolds, who was holding the runner.
With two outs, Joc Pederson brought in a run with an infield single, beating third baseman Arenado's throw after hitting a ball slowly that he charged.
Ryu's single loaded the bases, but Freeland got Scott Van Slyke to ground into a force play.
NOTES: Dodgers 2B Logan Forsythe was hit in the foot with a pitch in the first and was lifted for a pinch hitter in the third with a right big toe contusion. ... Rockies INF Pat Valaika was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque, where he hit .267 with one homer and 11 RBIs in 11 games. ... Rockies OF Gerardo Parra was reinstated from the paternity list. He struck out pinch-hitting in the ninth and stayed in the game in left field. ... Rockies OF Raimel Tapia and RHP Shane Carle were optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque after being recalled from that club Friday. ... RHP Josh Fields was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City and began his second stint with the Dodgers this season by retiring the side in order in the ninth. ... Los Angeles LHP Grant Dayton (left intercostal strain) was placed on the 10-day disabled list.