 that dropped over the head of first baseman Daniel Murphy. Hernandez later extended the lead by homering off Davis. It was with Hernandez's sixth career pinch-hit homer.''They're a great team,'' Davis said. ''When you make mistakes you're going to pay for them.'' Pedro Baez (3-2) pitched a scoreless eighth to earn the win. Kenley Jansen struck out Garrett Hampson to end the game with two on in a non-save situation.On a hot evening, the baseballs were soaring everywhere. The Dodgers knew it was going to be that sort of game in batting practice, when Muncy launched a ball that landed over the third deck in right.''This is one of the few places where I try to let it eat in batting practice,'' Muncy said. ''Yeah, I guess we knew it was flying at that point.'' The teams combined for 33 hits in the first of a four-game set. In the last series at the hitter-friendly park, the Padres and Rockies set a modern-era record by combining for 92 runs in a four-game series.Muncy had a two-run homer in the seventh and a solo shot in the second, one pitch after Cody Bellinger homered. Alex Verdugo and Justin Turner had back-to-back homers in the fifth.This marks the second-longest losing streak to one team in Rockies history. Colorado dropped 16 straight to Atlanta from 1993-94.''The worm will turn, I know that,'' Rockies manager Bud Black said. ''Right now things are going their way ... but the worm will turn.'' Charlie Blackmon finished a homer shy of the cycle. Ryan McMahon hit a solo shot in the seventh.Lately, everything seems to be going Bellinger's way at the plate. His 27th homer of the season popped out of the glove of center fielder David Dahl and over the fence. Bellinger is one away from matching the Dodgers' record for most homers before the All-Star break, which is held by Gil Hodges (1951) and Duke Snider (1955).Walker Buehler had a rare rough evening in allowing a career high in runs (seven) and hits (13) over 5 2/3 innings. His ERA jumped from 2.96 to 3.43.This was a much different performance than a week ago against Colorado, when he threw a complete-game masterpiece. In that contest at Dodger Stadium, he scattered three hits and struck out 16 batters.Back to the drawing board, Buehler said. But not too much.''It's one bad outing,'' Buehler said, ''and it's Coors Field.'' TRAINER'S ROOMDodgers: OF A. J. Pollock was transferred to the 60-day injured list. He's been out since April 30 due to right elbow inflammation.Rockies: SS Trevor Story (sprained right thumb) hit in the cage Thursday. ''Pretty much feels normal,'' Story said.THIS & THATBefore the game, the Dodgers recalled infielder Edwin Rios from Triple-A Oklahoma City. He made his major league debut as a pinch hitter in the seventh and grounded out. ... Rockies starter Peter Lambert went 4 2/3 innings and allowed five runs.QUICK THINKINGRockies third baseman Nolan Arenado handles one-liners almost as easily as one-hoppers. He was playfully asked which one would mean more to him - the All-Star nod or taking a series from the Dodgers.''Hey, I made the All-Star team. You can't take that one back,'' cracked Arenado, who earned his fifth All-Star selection. ''But definitely I want to win the series.'' UP NEXTDodgers lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu (9-1, 1.27 ERA) has made 13 quality starts in 15 outings heading into the game Friday against Colorado. The Rockies will throw right-hander Antonio Senzatela (6-5, 4.91).---More MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Rockies try to solve Dodgers in start of 4-game setFLMThe Los Angeles Dodgers have owned the Colorado Rockies the past two seasons, and it was never more apparent than the three-game series the teams played in Southern California last weekend.Three games, three Dodgers wins, all coming on walk-off home runs. That's the backdrop of the four-game series between the teams that starts Thursday in Denver.Colorado has lost 11 straight to Los Angeles dating back to last season, including a showdown in Game No. 163 last October that determined the division winner.The Rockies aren't frustrated by their inability to beat Los Angeles. They're more frustrated with not closing out games when they have held the lead against the Dodgers."We came in here ready to go, and they beat us pretty good," Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado said after the Sunday loss at Dodgers Stadium. "At the end of the day, we have to finish games. The good teams finish them. If we want to get to where we needed to go. we have to win those." The Rockies will have to figure out Los Angeles starter Walker Buehler if they don't want to make it 12 straight losses to their divisional rival.Buehler (8-1, 2.96 ERA) has made 12 appearances, eight starts, against Colorado in his three-year career and is 3-1 with a 2.84 ERA. He was dominant in last weekend's series opener, throwing his first complete game in the majors and registering a career-high 16 strikeouts in a 4-2 win.Colorado will start rookie Peter Lambert to the mound. The 22-year-old right-hander made his major league debut earlier this month and has been solid in three of his four starts, going 2-0 with a 5.85 ERA.Lambert allowed three runs in five innings against the Dodgers on Saturday. It is his only appearance against Los Angeles, and it came after his worst outing so far.In the start against the San Diego Padres on June 16, he allowed eight runs in just three innings at Coors Field.Colorado is returning home after a nine-game road trip that would have been wildly successful if not for the Dodgers. The Rockies swept three from the Arizona Diamondbacks and took two out of three from the San Francisco Giants.Los Angeles, meanwhile, is running away from everyone else in baseball. The Dodgers, who are 55-27 after an 8-2 loss at Arizona on Wednesday, on pace to win 109 games. It is clear they're not feeling the hangover of losing to the Boston Red Sox in the World Series last fall, which was an issue after they dropped the Fall Classic to the Houston Astros in 2017."There are a lot of good teams out there, and you have to continue to play," Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw told ESPN. "I think after last year, we maybe came in determined to not get off to that slow start again. There's probably something to that." Overall, the Dodgers seem more focused this season than last year."We understand the ultimate goal, but we also realize that there's nothing we can do about the end of October right now," Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts told ESPN. "That's the hardest thing to do -- to get talented teams and players to just live in the moment." --Field Level Media
Looking for More Picks?
You can browse all the individual handicapper picks below.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Colorado Rockies
Pick Center
MLB
FINAL (6/27/2019)
ShaggyRA
