LOS ANGELES – The Dodgers crossed to the halfway point of the season Sunday and made it easy to see.
Mookie Betts hit two of the Dodgers’ seven home points in an 11-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies. He also stole two bases, becoming the first player in franchise history with two homers and two steals in the same game.
Kiké Hernandez, Will Smith, Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager and Max Muncy also hailed for the Dodgers, who completed a three-game sweep against their fading National League West rivals. The two teams were separated Friday morning by five games; the Rockies (13-15) are now within a half game of the Diamondbacks and Giants in the division basement.
“The ball dried up today, and we just stayed good in the zone,” said manager Dave Roberts. “We had a great game plan. The baseball increased. It was a good day for the usually speedy FC. ”
Through 30 games – the halfway point in the coronavirus short-lived season – the Dodgers are 22-8. It is their best start of 30 games since 1977 (24-6). Only in 1955 did the Brooklyn Dodgers have more wins in their first 30 games of the season (25-5). They lead the second-place San Diego Padres through four games.
Sunday’s final score was running, but a win was not unavoidable when Kiké Hernandez scored for the second time against Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela (3-1). The match was 2-2 tied in the fourth inning. Dodgers starter Ross Stripling had allowed a few solo home runs early. The Dodgers responded with solo shots from Seager (his seventh of 2020) and Betts (his 10th).
Two-out singles from Joc Pederson and Muncy placed rounds in first and third place for Hernandez. He took advantage of a fastball in the middle of Senzatela on a count of 1 and 1, and pummeled the ball over the fence in right-center field.
“By just trying to put good ABs 1 through 9, keep going with the stick,” Hernandez said, “and today it happens to be the homerbaton.”
The seven home points were the most the Dodgers have scored in a game this season. The 10 home games between the Rockies and Dodgers have also darkened the previous single-game high.
Individually, only Fernando Tatís Jr. of the Padres hit more home points this season (12) than Betts (11), which is two hits of 1,000 for his career. He has 151 homers and 131 steals.
Roberts said Betts’ two stalwarts in the seventh inning, both against pitcher James Pazos and catcher Elias Díaz, “had it all.”
“He just has a high baseball IQ,” Roberts said of Betts. ‘He saw something with Pazos from second base. Then with one out, Cody up, to then take 3rd base to get a situational scoring situation, I thought a heads-up game. They are a team that can score runs in bundles, so the approach is (running) great. ”
“He’s one of those guys we don’t get the chance to see too often,” Hernandez said of Betts. ‘Now that you see him on a daily basis, you see what the Mookie Betts hype is all about. I do not think there are many better players in the game. Whether he does it on the plate, at the base, with his glove or with his arm, there is nothing he can not do. ‘
Victor Gonzalez (1-0) threw two scoreless innings in relief from Stripling and was recognized with his first big league win. Dylan Floro (two thirds of an inning) and Adam Kolarek (one inning) allowed no run out of the bullpen. A solo home run by Sam Hilliard against Dennis Santana completed the score in the ninth inning.
The Dodgers will enjoy an off-day Monday before visiting San Francisco for a three-game series against the Giants beginning Tuesday.
