Dodgers' offense gets healthy in Denver with four homers in 11-4 win

Dodgers’ offense gets healthy in Denver with four homers in 11-4 win

Los Angeles Dodgers' Howie Kendrick celebrates his three-run home run against the Colorado Rockies with teammates Adrian Gonzalez and Justin Turner at home plate during the eighth inning on Monday.

By Steve Dilbeck

June 1, 2015 9:06 PM PT

Maybe the Dodgers just love the high altitude. Maybe it’s the spacious confines of Coors Field. And just possibly, it’s the Rockies’ lousy pitching staff.

There’s little question the Dodgers enjoy making themselves at home in Denver. It might as well come with healing hot springs. They bring their struggles to Colorado and leave feeling all better.

They arrived Monday a struggling offensive team and left having driven balls all over Coors Field, hitting four home runs before finally settling for an 11-4 victory at Coors Field.

Their night’s 11 runs and 18 hits were more than they managed all weekend in three games in St. Louis. The Cardinals, however, have a staff 2.73 ERA, first in the majors. The Rockies have a 4.64 ERA, which is dead last.

Andre Ethier, Jimmy Rollins, Joc Pederson and Howie Kendrick all went deep. It was such a hit-fest, even left-hander Clayton Kershaw got into the act with three hits. Every starter had at least one hit.

Ethier and Rollins both hit solo homers in the second inning, but after Nolan Arenado hit a two-run homer off Kershaw in the fourth to tie it, it was pretty much all Dodgers.

They broke the game open in the sixth, sending 12 batters to the plate to account for six runs. Ethier tripled and scored the go-ahead run on an Enrique Hernandez single. Rollins singled but Hernandez was picked off second by right-hander Kyle Kendrick, which was probably his game highlight. After A.J. Ellis was safe on a throwing error on Arenado, Kershaw singled in Rollins.

That ended the night for Kendrick (2-7, 6.55 ERA). Trailing by two runs, the Rockies called on left-hander Christian Friedrich to face Pederson. The rookie promptly hit a three-run homer to give the Dodgers a five-run lead. It was Pederson’s 14^th of the season and second in two days against a left-hander.

Kendrick singled in one more run in the sixth before adding a three-run homer in the eighth to leave the Dodgers up 11-2.

Kershaw (4-3) went seven innings for his second consecutive strong start, allowing the two runs on five hits and a walk, striking out seven.

The Dodgers are now 3-0 at Coors Field this season and 8-2 overall against the Rockies. The Dodgers went 13-6 against the Rockies last year.

Adrian Gonzalez went four for four, including a pair of triples, and walked.