Dodgers Keep Rolling With 6-1 Rout of Rockies, 8 in a Row and Counting

Mark it eight, dude. 

Yasiel Puig homered and the Los Angeles Dodgers won their eighth consecutive game as they rolled over the Rockies, 6-1, on Friday night at Dodger Stadium.

The Rockies entered into a world of pain as Colorado collided with the hottest team in the Major Leagues in a clash of two of the top teams in the National League West. 

Cody Bellinger got the scoring started with a sacrifice fly to straightaway center that scored Corey Seager from third in the bottom of the first inning. 

Colorado tied the game in the top of the second after left fielder Franklin Gutierrez was slow getting to a ball that was hit to his right, allowing Ramiel Tapia to score all the way from first on the play.

Seager and Justin Turner added RBI singles in the bottom half of the second and Bellinger followed with his second RBI of the game, a double to the gap in left-center that gave the Dodgers a 4-1 lead. 

"They pitched in the last series the same way they did today, so I was looking for something on the outside part of the plate," Bellinger said of his RBI double to the gap. "I was able to put a good swing on it, it went into the left-center gap and we were able to keep the inning going."

Yasiel Puig hit a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth, that extended the Dodgers home run streak to a season-high 15 consecutive games, the fourth longest stretch in franchise history, and the longest since 1977.

Alex Wood  continued his hot start to the season, as the 26-year-old left-hander made his 11^th consecutive start without loss, the second longest active streak in MLB and tied with Orel Hershiser for the longest undefeated streak to open a season.

Wood (8-0) remained perfect on the season and surrendered just one run three hits with two talks and seven strikeouts in six solid innings for the boys in blue. Wood also lowered his ERA to an NL-best 1.86 on the season.

"We're rolling right now," said Wood of his team's eight-game winning streak. "My changeup was good tonight, our gameplan was to attack them, and I was able to get some early contact. I was rolling the last couple innings and we got the first game of the series under our belt."

Rockies' rookie Kyle Freeland (8-5) took the loss, allowing five runs on a season-high 10 hits with three strikeouts in six innings. Freeland earned his first career victory over the Dodgers on April 7.

"The first time he faced us was his debut and he had some adrenaline and extra heat on his heater," said Bellinger of Freeland. "We watched some of his previous starts and we had a good game plan against him and executed it really well. Plus, when you're clicking like we are, it helps."

The Dodgers added an extra run in the bottom of the eighth after catcher Austin Barnes led off the inning with a triple to right field, scoring two batters later on a sacrifice fly by Logan Forsythe.

Seager left the game with a right hamstring injury, and will undergo more tests on Saturday morning. Manager Dave Roberts said he will be out of the lineup, but believes the reigning National League Rookie of the Year will not have to miss any significant time. 

"I don't see him in the lineup tomorrow, but I still think we got ahead of it," said Roberts. "We'll know more tomorrow, but we're hoping it's just a cramp."

Seager himself said he's had a similar injury in the past, and does not believe it's serious.

"I've had a bunch in the past and I know when it's really bad," said Seager. "I very easily could have stayed in, I've done that in the past, and made it worse, so it was the smart thing to do."

Seager said he first felt tightness in the muscle during his swing, but the pain increased when running the bases.

"I first felt it during the swing and then the first initial step and then right around second base," said Seager of when the injury occured. "It felt more like a cramp, and then coming around third, there was really no point to push it. I'm pretty confident I won't need to go on the DL, but honestly I don't really know right now."

The Dodgers put some space between themselves and the three best teams in the league as they are now 2.5 games ahead of the Rockies and Diamondbacks in the West.

Arizona, Colorado, and Los Angeles have the three best records in the NL, and it's the first time in the divisional era (since 1969) that three or more teams have had a winning percentage of .615 or greater on June 23^rd or later.

The Dodgers season-high eight-game winning streak is the longest streak since August 7-17, 2013, when they won eight in a row during a 42-8 stretch that catapulted them to their first of four straight NL West crowns.

The Dodgers have the best run differential in baseball at 128 and have won 14 of their last 15 games.

Up Next:

The Dodgers will have their ace on the mound on Saturday night as they look to put more space between themselves and Colorado in the N.L. West. RHP Tyler Chatwood gets the call for the Rockies. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10PM PST.