DENVER — A third straight NL West title seems oh-so-close for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Can’t get caught looking ahead, though. They still have some work to do.
Corey Dickerson hit one of Colorado’s three solo homers in the fourth inning and the Rockies beat the Dodgers 7-4 on Friday night, preventing Los Angeles from moving even closer to clinching the division crown.
Los Angeles did have its magic number reduced to two later in the evening when Oakland beat San Francisco. The Dodgers hold an eight-game lead over the defending World Series champion Giants in the division, with a four-game series at AT&T Park looming next week. Los Angeles is 0-6 in San Francisco this season.
"That would be nice and ideal for us, if we can take care of business now," outfielder Carl Crawford said. "But we’re not looking forward to nothing."
Charlie Blackmon, Carlos Gonzalez and Dickerson hit homers off Mike Bolsinger (6-5). Dickerson finished a triple shy of the cycle, striking out in his final at-bat. He drove in three runs.
David Hale (5-5) allowed five hits and one run over five innings in his first start since Aug. 23. He stepped in for Yohan Flande, who’s sidelined with a bruised knee.
John Axford pitched a perfect ninth for his 25th save as Colorado snapped a five-game skid. Just what they needed after being swept by Pittsburgh and outscored 24-14.
"It’s nice that we got some runs early, especially coming off the series we just had," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said.
Bolsinger allowed seven runs — four earned — and walked three in four innings. He wasn’t helped out by his defence, either, with first baseman Adrian Gonzalez committing a key error in the third. The Rockies scored three times that inning to make it 4-1.
It didn’t get any better for Bolsinger in the fourth. Blackmon hit a fastball over the fence in right and Carlos Gonzalez soon followed with a shot to centre for his 38th homer of the season. Dickerson later hit one to almost the same spot as Gonzalez.
"I haven’t put myself in a good position for anything. It’s kind of embarrassing at this point right now," Bolsinger said. "Got to figure out what to do to finish strong."
Howie Kendrick had a two-run single in the seventh to cut the deficit to 7-4. With two on and two outs, Crawford grounded out to end the inning.
"It’s always tough this time of year," Crawford said. "We’re playing against teams that (don’t) have anything to lose — they play us a little harder."
QUICK THINKING
Rockies 3B Nolan Arenado added to his list of highlight-reel plays in the second inning. Shifted way over, he sprinted over to stop Crawford’s slow bouncer near third base. Crawford took a wide turn as if he might go to second, not realizing that Arenado threw behind him. A stunned Crawford was tagged out.
"It was a crazy play. It was a good play," Arenado said. "When I first threw it I thought he was going to keep going but luckily enough he tried to get back to first."
NO WEIGHTY CONCERN
Manager Don Mattingly and ace Clayton Kershaw were fine after their public spat in the dugout when the manager pulled the left-hander from Thursday’s game.
The two had a conversation in the weight room.
"I said, ‘I need that 25 (pound weight), you still using that 25?"’ Mattingly joked. "He’s like, ‘No, go ahead.’ I was good with that."
COORS FIELD BLUES
The Rockies moved to 34-45 at Coors Field this season. They’re trying to avoid their worst home mark (35-46 in 2012) with two games remaining at the hitter-friendly park.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Dodgers: INF Corey Seager was given the day off with what Mattingly described as heavy legs. "I didn’t want to take any chances with him," Mattingly said. … OF Kike Hernandez went through a heavy workout Friday to test his hamstring. If he comes out of that feeling fit, "we’re going to see him pretty soon," Mattingly said.
Rockies: Blackmon returned to the lineup after missing two games with neck stiffness.
UP NEXT
Dodgers: LHP Brett Anderson (9-9, 3.52) faces his former team for the second time in 11 days.
Rockies: RHP Kyle Kendrick (6-13, 6.37) has a 7.35 ERA at Coors Field this season.
