Having swept the New York Mets in a four-game series with relative ease, the Los Angeles Dodgers figured to face a more formidable challenge against the Colorado Rockies. While the Rockies managed to put pressure on the Dodgers, they suffered the same fate as the Mets.
Cody Bellinger’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first inning gave the Dodgers an early lead. Corey Seager lined an RBI single into right field in the second inning, Justin Turner followed with an RBI base hit of his own, and Bellinger added a run-scoring double.
While the Dodgers were out to a 4-1 lead, the excitement of the marquee National League West matchup was tempered some as Seager was removed due to a right hamstring cramp.
Kiké Hernandez moved from right field to shortstop, which brought Yasiel Puig into the game to fill the void at his natural position.
Puig’s first at-bat came in the fourth inning, and he made the most of it. A hanging 81 mph curveball from Kyle Freeland was crushed to center field for a solo home run.
The homer was Puig’s second in the past three games and 14th this season. Whereas Puig’s last home run incited the Mets because it came with what they felt was an unnecessarily slow trot, Puig ran the bases at a slightly faster pace Friday night.
The Dodgers went on for a 6-1 victory to extend their season-best winning streak to eight games. What’s more, they enter play Saturday leading the Arizona Diamondbacks and Rockies in the NL West by 2.5 games
