The Los Angeles Dodgers began a big three-game series against the first-place Colorado Rockies on Friday night and were able to come away with a 4-2 victory to pull within a half-game of first place in the National League West.
The Dodgers got ace Clayton Kershaw an early run of support when Cody Bellinger laced a double down the right-field line to score Manny Machado in the top of the first inning.
They then added another run in the second on a solo home run by Yasiel Puig that traveled an estimated 463 feet, which is the longest home run of the season for the Dodgers. Puig now has 16 home runs on the season.
Puig also came up with another big hit in the fifth inning, going the other way for an RBI single to score Kiké Hernandez. That came after Alex Verdugo got some help from Gold Glove third baseman Nolan Arenado, who committed a two-out throwing error which led to both runs scoring.
Kershaw turned in another solid performance on the mound. He tossed six innings of two-run ball, allowing six hits and one walk while striking out seven, which is definitely considered a strong outing at Coors Field.
The Dodgers bullpen was flawless in relief of Kershaw as Caleb Ferguson, Dylan Floro, Ross Stripling, Scott Alexander and Kenta Maeda closed out the victory in Kenley Jansen’s absence. Maeda got a big strikeout of Arenado to end the game.