Dodgers' wins keep rolling

LOS ANGELES >> Clayton Kershaw will pitch for the Dodgers today under an unusual set of circumstances. He will not be required to halt a losing streak; the Dodgers’ 6-1 win over the Colorado Rockies on Friday was their 14th win in their last 15 games.

Nor should Kershaw worry about getting help from his offense. After years of being required to scrape out narrow victories, or losing by equally thin margins, only five qualified starters have gotten better run support this season than the Dodgers’ ace.

Friday, Yasiel Puig extended the Dodgers’ streak of games with a home run to 15. It’s the longest such streak in franchise history since 1977.

Is this the best lineup Kershaw has pitched behind?

“I think about May (Ramirez) in the second half of 2008,” he said. “I think about when Hanley (Ramirez) was really hot. As far as up and down, it’s impressive. What Puig’s doing in the 8-hole. Joc (Pederson). Obviously (Corey) Seager, (Justin) Tuer, Belli (Cody Bellinger). It’s impressive.”

Puig was not even batting eighth Friday. He jogged in off the bench when Seager was forced to leave after two iings due to a cramp in his right hamstring. Seager pulled up tenderly at second base after driving in Austin Baes with the Dodgers’ third run.

Though he was able to score from second on a Justin Tuer single, Seager promptly headed down the clubhouse tuel with a trainer, never to retu. The cramp was the fly in the Dodgers’ ointment.

Alex Wood (8-0) lowered his team-leading eaed-run average to 1.86 by allowing one run in six strong iings. The left-hander did not allow a hit after the second iing.

Kenta Maeda, Brandon Morrow and Sergio Romo did not allow a run in relief. Morrow’s penultimate pitch was clocked at 100 mph, the fastest he’s been clocked in a major league game since 2014.

After clubbing 15 home runs in a four-game sweep of the fading New York Mets, the Rockies (47-29) were supposed to offer more resistance. Instead, the Dodgers (49-26) picked up where they left off, jumping out to an early lead with their most consistent starting pitcher on the mound.

The win padded the Dodgers’ lead in the National League West to two games over the Arizona Diamondbacks (46-28), and 2 ½ games over the Rockies.

Seager scored on a sacrifice fly by Bellinger in the first iing.

In the second iing, Baes drew a leadoff walk against Rockies starter Kyle Freeland (8-4). Three consecutive hits -- singles by Seager and Tuer, and a double by Bellinger -- led to three more Dodger runs.

Advertisement

Puig’s solo home run in the fourth iing was his 14th of the season. Baes tagged up and scored on a sacrifice fly in the eighth iing to provide the final score.

The Rockies got their only run in the second iing, when a double by catcher Tom Murphy scored Raimel Tapia from first base. Had left fielder Franklin Gutierrez taken a better path to Murphy’s line drive into the coer, the Rockies might still be searching for their first run of the series.

sport world...