Clayton Kershaw moved within three strikeouts of a historic milestone. Shohei Ohtani added a pivotal home run as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies 3-1 on Thursday afternoon at Coors Field. The victory marked Los Angeles’s 10th consecutive win over Colorado, including all six meetings this season.
Kershaw, making his fourth start since returning from injury, delivered six solid innings, allowing one run on two hits while striking out five. With that performance, he improved to 4-0 on the season and raised his career total to 2,997 strikeouts. The veteran left-hander is now on the verge of becoming just the 20th pitcher in Major League Baseball history and the third active player to reach 3,000 career strikeouts.
Colorado’s only offense came early when Brenton Doyle homered in the second inning, driving a first-pitch slider over the wall to give the Rockies a brief 1-0 lead. Kershaw responded by retiring the next 13 batters and finishing the outing, allowing just two baserunners beyond the second inning.
Los Angeles tied the game in the third inning when Miguel Rojas doubled and came home on an infield single by Mookie Betts. Betts later contributed again with a leadoff double in the sixth. He advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a single from Freddie Freeman to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead.
Ohtani provided an insurance run in the seventh inning with a 419-foot home run to right-center field, his 28th of the season. The two-way star continues to lead the team in home runs and remains among the league leaders in slugging percentage.
The Dodgers’ bullpen held the narrow lead, and Tanner Scott closed out the game in the ninth inning. After retiring the first batter, Scott gave up a single but ended the game on a rare double play. Andy Pages caught Thairo Estrada’s fly ball and fired a one-hop throw to first base to double off Tyler Freeman, who had strayed too far from the bag. The play secured Scott’s 17th save in 21 opportunities and preserved the win.
Rockies starter Austin Gomber allowed one run on four hits over five innings, walking one and striking out one. Reliever Angel Chivilli (1-3) was charged with losing after surrendering the go-ahead run in the sixth. Colorado was hitless after the third inning and managed only two hits. The Rockies dropped to 18-63 and have now been swept 12 times this season. Their 63 losses in the first 81 games are the most by any team in the modern era.
The Dodgers will continue their road trip with a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals beginning Friday. Dustin May (4-5, 4.46 ERA) is scheduled to start the opener. The Rockies will travel to Milwaukee, where left-hander Kyle Freeland (1-8, 5.13 ERA) is expected to be activated from the injured list to face Brewers lefty José Quintana (5-2, 2.98 ERA). According to current betting odds, the Dodgers are -175 favorites in Kansas City, while the over/under for total runs is 8.5.
