The baseballs were flying in a — surprise, surprise — slugfest at Coors Field and the results were all too familiar.
The Dodgers just have Colorado’s number.
Chris Taylor drove in the go-ahead run with a bloop single as part of a four-run ninth, Max Muncy hit two of Los Angeles’ six homers and the Dodgers won their 12th straight over Colorado by beating the Rockies 12-8 on Thursday night.
This was another late-inning win over the Rockies for the Dodgers, who also got a three-run homer from pinch-hitter Kike Hernandez in the ninth. Los Angeles won three straight home games against Colorado last weekend — all in walk-off fashion.
“It’s just a staple for us — the resiliency and playing with grit,” Taylor said. “We’ve been really good late in the game.”
Taylor played a big part by delivering his fourth hit of the game, a one-out RBI single off Wade Davis (1-3) 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.”
UP NEXT
Dodgers 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).
AROUND THE MAJORS THURSDAY
—Craig Kimbrel managed to pick up a save in his Chicago Cubs debut on Thursday afternoon, but only after a nifty play by first baseman Anthony Rizzo. Kimbrel put runners on first and second with two out before Rizzo grabbed a hot grounder and dove to the bag for the final out to preserve the Cubs’ 9-7 comeback win over the Braves. Kimbrel earned his 334th career save and did it against his original team. The harrowing ninth inning followed a five-run comeback by the Cubs. Victor Caratini’s two-run homer capped a four-run fifth that put Chicago ahead for good. Kyle Schwarber also went deep and Jason Heyward drove in three runs as the Cubs kept their one-game lead over Milwaukee in the NL Central.Freddie Freeman and Ozzie Albies homered for the Braves, whose lead in the NL East is down to 4 ½ games over Philadelphia.
–The Brewers and Phillies were among the Thursday afternoon winners. Orlando Arcia smacked a three-run homer and the Brewers avoided a three-game sweep with a 4-2 win over the Mariners. Chase Anderson hit an RBI sac bunt and allowed one earned run while striking pit six over 5 1/3 innings. Josh Hader earned his 19th save of the season, striking out three batters over two scoreless innings.
–Jean Segura slammed a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to complete the Phillies’ five-run rally against Mets closer Edwin Diaz in a 6-3 victory. Mikael Franco tied it with a two-run shot off Diaz after Todd Frazier smacked a two-run homer in the Mets’ three-run ninth. Segura gave the Phils a four-game series sweep that followed a seven-game losing streak.
_ Victor Robles and Matt Adams homered against starter Sandy Alcantara during a five-run sixth erased the Nationals’ 4-1 deficit in an 8-5 win at Miami. Juan Soto and Kurt Suzuki also went deep for the Nats, who are 8-2 in their last 10 games after completing a three-game sweep. Stephen Strasburg gave up four runs over seven innings and won his 10th straight decision against the Marlins.
_ Alex Young won his big league debut by holding the Giants to a run and two hits over five innings of Arizona’s 5-1 victory. Nick Ahmed hit a go-ahead home run leading off the fifth and Carson Kelly added a two-run shot in the seventh. The Diamondbacks won for the fourth time in five games following a six-game skid.
_ The Pirates clobbered the Astros for the second straight day by blasting five home runs in a 10-0 victory at Houston. Josh Bell, Kevin Newman, Corey Dickerson, Starling Marte and Jacob Stallings all connected as Pittsburgh dealt the Astros their ninth loss in 11 games. Former Astro Joe Musgrove gave up nine singles but no extra-base hits over six innings, one day after the Bucs posted a 14-2 win at Houston.
_ Joey Gallo hit two solo homers and Ariel Jurado threw seven shutout innings as the Rangers knocked off the Tigers, 3-1 to complete a three-game sweep. Gallo went deep in the second and fourth innings for his eighth career multi-homer game, helping the Rangers match a season high with their fifth consecutive win and get within 4 ½ games of the AL West-leading Astros. Detroit has dropped seven straight overall and is 2-20 in its last 22 home games.
_ Ryan Yarbrough worked three shutout innings of relief and the Rays beat the Twins for the first time in six tries this season by scoring three times in the 18th inning of a 5-2 triumph at Minnesota. Yandy Díaz hit a sacrifice fly to break a 2-2 tie that had lasted since the second inning before Willy Adames and Ji-Man Choi followed with RBI singles. Rays pitchers set a franchise record with 22 strikeouts.
_ The Angels came away with an 8-3 win over the Athletics as Shohei Ohtani and Kole Calhoun each hit two-run homers off loser Tanner Anderson. Griffin Canning allowed only three hits over six innings to help Los Angeles earn its four straight win. Ramon Laureano and Matt Olson homered off Canning.