Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani each homered to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-3 win over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night at Dodger Stadium. The win extended Colorado’s losing streak to four games and continued their early-season struggles, while Los Angeles returned to form following a weekend series loss.
The Dodgers entered the series opener as heavy betting favorites, with most sportsbooks listing them at approximately -300 on the moneyline. The Rockies, who hold the worst record in Major League Baseball, were significant underdogs at around +240. The projected run total hovered around 8.5, which the two teams narrowly surpassed in a game that featured steady scoring by Los Angeles and a late push by Colorado.
Betts put the Dodgers on the board in the first inning with a two-run home run, his fourth of the season, off Colorado starter Antonio Senzatela. The early lead allowed right-hander Dustin May to settle into a rhythm. Making his second start of the season, May earned his first win since May 2023 by delivering six solid innings. He allowed one run on three hits, struck out seven, and issued no walks.
Ohtani added to the Dodgers’ advantage with a solo home run leading off the fifth inning. The 408-foot blast to center field marked his fifth of the season and continued his recent offensive surge. Later in the same inning, Will Smith drove in another run with an RBI single, and he added a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the sixth to stretch the Dodgers’ lead to 5-1.
Colorado managed to avoid a fourth consecutive shutout when Kyle Farmer delivered an RBI double in the sixth inning. The Rockies had gone scoreless over the weekend in a three-game sweep by the San Diego Padres and had not scored since the previous Thursday. The Farmers doubled in their first run in 31 innings.
The Rockies narrowed the gap to 5-3 in the seventh when Hunter Goodman hit a two-run home run off Dodgers reliever Anthony Banda. That would be the final run of the night for Colorado, which fell to 3-13 on the season and has lost nine of ten games on the road.
Senzatela, making his third start since returning from Tommy John surgery, was charged with the loss after allowing four runs on nine hits over four and one-third innings. He struck out two and walked none.
The top of the Dodgers’ lineup proved instrumental in the win. Betts, Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and Smith combined to go 9-for-17 with five runs scored and five RBIs. The group reached base 10 times and struck out just once between them, accounting for most of the team’s offensive production.
Kirby Yates pitched the eighth inning and worked around a two-out jam after allowing a double and a walk. He escaped by inducing a groundout to end the inning. Closer Tanner Scott recorded his fifth save, working through traffic in the ninth to preserve the win.
The series continues Tuesday with right-hander Landon Knack, who is scheduled to start for the Dodgers. He enters with a 1-0 record and a 10.38 ERA. Colorado will send Ryan Feltner to the mound. Feltner holds a 0-0 record with a 2.81 ERA. The game coincides with Major League Baseball’s Jackie Robinson Day, honoring the legacy of the trailblazing Hall of Famer.
