Freeman’s Early Homer, Kershaw’s Fourth Straight Win Power Dodgers Past Rockies 9-5

The Los Angeles Dodgers salvaged a split of their four-game set at Coors Field, defeating the Colorado Rockies 9–5 on Thursday. First baseman Freddie Freeman set the tone with a 451-foot, two-run homer on the sixth pitch of the afternoon, and Los Angeles scored in each of the first five innings to build an 8–2 cushion. Left-hander Clayton Kershaw collected his fourth consecutive victory, allowing three runs on six hits over 5 2⁄3 innings to improve to 8–2. The 36-year-old struck out three and walked one, boosting his career mark against Colorado to 29-11. Andy Pages and Alex Freeland added home-run and multi-hit support, while Brenton Doyle’s late two-run shot accounted for much of the Rockies’ offense. Two-way star Shohei Ohtani was held out of the lineup for scheduled rest after being struck above the right thigh by a comebacker during Wednesday’s loss, when he surrendered five runs in four innings. Manager Dave Roberts said the contusion is not expected to sideline Ohtani beyond Thursday, and the club anticipates his return for Friday’s series opener at San Diego.