Dodgers 9, Rockies 2: Colorado overmatched by Los Angeles

The Colorado Rockies kept it close early, but Walker Buehler and the Los Angeles Dodgers bats proved to be too much as they pulled away for the 9-2 victory.

Freeland dominates the Dodgers (except for Betts and Muncy)

Kyle Freeland had his good stuff today and came out attacking the Los Angeles hitters. The Dodgers not named Mookie Betts or Max Muncy had one hit, no runs, no walks and four strikeouts against Freeland in his six innings of work. Seven spots in the lineup went virtually hitless against Freeland with an Albert Pujols fly ball single dropping between Charlie Blackmon and Garrett Hampson being the only mark against him.

Unfortunately, that Mookie Betts guy is pretty good at baseball and went 3-for-3 against Freeland with a home run, two doubles and three runs scored. (He also later doubled against Mychal Givens before being removed with a hopefully minor injury.)

Muncy played a role as well, going 2-for-3 against Freeland with two RBI singles (and would later homer off of Carlos Estévez and Zac Rosscup to go 4-for-5 with with five RBI and two home runs on the night). Betts and Muncy finished the night going a combined 8-for-9 with three home runs, three doubles, six RBIs and five runs scored.

Big doubles from Hilliard and McMahon early

Sam Hilliard didn’t wait long to notch his first double of the season. In his first at-bat back with the big club, Hilliard roped a double to left field to set the table for an RBI sacrifice fly from Freeland for the first Rockies run of the game.

With two outs in the bottom of the third inning and down one, Ryan McMahon took advantage of the large right-center field gap. He laced a line drive double, scoring Brendan Rodgers and tying up the game. McMahon has struggled a little since starting the season hot, and getting this hit should be a confidence booster moving forward.

Rockies lineup struggles against Buehler

Walker Buehler had a typically dominant start against the Rockies hitters. Colorado was able to get to him early, plating two runs in the first three innings, but Buehler then buckled down and retired the last 13 hitters he faced after allowing the McMahon RBI double. He finished with two runs allowed on four hits with two walks and eight strikeouts in seven innings pitched. Buehler set the table nicely for the bullpen as the last 19 Rockies hitters were retired by Buehler, Blake Treinen and Darien Nuñez.

Up next

David Price and the Dodgers take on Jon Gray and the Rockies. Gray will play the role of stopper as he leads Colorado in attempting to avoid a sweep at home by the Dodgers. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10pm MDT at Coors Field.