Hard-hitting Dodgers grab four-game split with Rockies

Hard-hitting Dodgers grab four-game split with Rockies

Freddie Freeman and Andy Pages homered and finished with two hits apiece, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 9-5 in Denver on Thursday.Alex Freeland had three hits and Mookie Bet

Freddie Freeman and Andy Pages homered and finished with two hits apiece, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 9-5 in Denver on Thursday.

Alex Freeland had three hits and Mookie Betts contributed two hits for Los Angeles, which earned a split of the four-game series without Shohei Ohtani.

Ohtani was out of the lineup a day after he was hit by a comebacker from Orlando Arcia while he was pitching.

The Dodgers scored at least one run in each of the first five innings to back Clayton Kershaw (8-2), who allowed three runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Brenton Doyle homered among his two hits and drove in four runs, while Jordan Beck finished with two hits for Colorado.

Los Angeles jumped on starter Chase Dollander (2-10) in the first inning. Betts led off with a walk and Freeman smashed his 16th home run 451 feet to center to make it 2-0.

Colorado got a run back in the bottom of the inning. Tyler Freeman led off with a single, went to second on a sacrifice, advanced to third when Kershaw was called for a disengagement violation and scored on Hunter Goodman’s groundout.

In the second, Pages hit a double and went to third on Tyler Freeman’s error in right field. Alex Call walked and Miguel Rojas reached on a bunt single to drive in Pages. Betts loaded the bases with a single and Dollander hit Will Smith to bring in another run.

Call had an RBI single in the third inning to make it 5-1, and the Dodgers chased Dollander in the fourth. Betts and Freeman led off with singles, Betts scored on a sacrifice fly and Freeland’s double made it 7-1.

Dollander allowed seven runs on nine hits in 3 2/3 innings.

Doyle hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth for Colorado. But Pages led off the fifth with his 21st home run and Smith drove in another run with a single in the eighth.

Doyle, who had an RBI single in the sixth, hit a two-run homer 442 feet to left in the bottom of the eighth, his 13th.