Blake Snell delivered one of his best outings of the season with 11 strikeouts over six shutout innings, and Mookie Betts capped a dominant offensive night with a grand slam as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies 9-0 on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium. The win completed a three-game sweep and extended Los Angeles’ winning streak to four games.
The Dodgers entered as heavy -300 betting favorites, with the Rockies listed as +240 underdogs. The run total closed at 8.5, which was covered late thanks to Los Angeles’ eighth-inning surge.
Snell (4-4) snapped a personal three-game losing streak, holding Colorado to just two singles and two walks. The left-hander leaned on his fastball-slider combination to generate swing-and-miss opportunities, tallying his highest strikeout total since joining the Dodgers. His performance starkly contrasted his prior outing, when he surrendered nine hits and five runs in a loss at Pittsburgh. Snell now owns 124 career strikeouts in 14 starts against Colorado.
Betts provided the offensive highlight, going 4 for 5 with five RBIs. He doubled home a run in the second inning, then launched his seventh career grand slam in the eighth off reliever Anthony Molina on a 3-0 pitch. The slam came after Andy Pages and Ben Rortvedt singled and Shohei Ohtani reached on catcher’s interference to load the bases. Teoscar Hernández followed with a solo home run off Angel Chivilli, his third homer in two games, to make it 9-0.
Colorado starter Kyle Freeland (4-15) allowed four runs on nine hits across 5 2/3 innings, striking out five. The left-hander was tagged early, as Los Angeles plated four in the second inning, highlighted by Betts’ RBI double.
The Rockies had their best chance to score in the seventh inning when reliever Michael Kopech walked three straight batters to load the bases with one out. Left-hander Alex Vesia struck out pinch-hitter Mickey Moniak and Tyler Freeman to preserve the shutout. The Dodgers’ pitching staff has been in peak form recently, with starters allowing just three hits across the first five innings of their last five games.
Los Angeles also had to make a last-minute adjustment before first pitch when catcher Will Smith was scratched due to right-hand soreness, the fifth game he has missed since being struck by a foul ball earlier this month. Rortvedt collected a hit as part of the Dodgers’ 12-hit effort.
The Dodgers’ third sweep of Colorado this season widened their NL West lead to three games over San Diego, which lost 2-1 at home to Cincinnati. The Rockies, meanwhile, dropped their 106th game of the year, adding to an already franchise-worst record.
Colorado turns to rookie right-hander McCade Brown (0-3, 12.54 ERA) on Thursday in San Diego against Randy Vasquez (4-6, 3.91). After a travel day, the Dodgers open a key divisional series Friday in San Francisco with Yoshinobu Yamamoto (11-8, 2.72 ERA) facing veteran Justin Verlander (3-10, 4.09).