The Dodgers scored at least one run in each of the game’s first five innings, and once you do that, the chances of smooth-sailing your way towards a win are rather large. The rookie Chase Dollander had no chance against the savvy work of the veteran Clayton Kershaw in this 9-5 Los Angeles win.
Before Kershaw could even toss his first pitch, the Dodgers were already out in front of this one, courtesy of a Freddie Freeman two-run bomb. It wasn’t your run-of-the-mill homer from Freeman either, with the first baseman
taking full advantage of the power supplied by Chase Dollander’s 97 MPH down-the-middle heater, crushing it 451 ft. over the right-centerfield wall.
It was only the second time this season that a Dodger hitter had managed to hit a ball 450+ ft. More curious than the fact that neither of these long balls belongs to Shohei Ohtani is that they came in back-to-back games. Freeman nearly eclipsed Alex Call’s 453 ft. bomb from Wednesday’s matchup but came up just a tad short.
It was a different game for the Dodger offense without Shohei Ohtani out there, which meant Will Smith came in as the DH, Dalton Rushing went behind the plate, and everyone moved up a spot in the order. It turned out to be a good day to give Ohtani a breather, as Mookie Betts flourished in the leadoff spot, reaching base in four out of his five times up at the plate. Los Angeles has tried its best to schedule Ohtani’s starts with an off-day on the following day, but with none in sight, it had to make a decision this time around. Playing a day game after a night game in which Ohtani labored on the mound, it made all the sense in the world to sit him.
A notorious home hitter in 2025, Andy Pages finally broke through on the road, hitting his first home run away from Dodger Stadium since late April. And in case you were wondering, not even Coors Field had been kind to him in 2025, coming into this game 5 for 25 in Colorado, with just one extra-base hit.
This being a game in Coors Field, you can score a lot and still not feel safe, but it wasn’t the case with Kershaw on the mound. The southpaw had another one of his 2025 outings in which he doesn’t wow or dazzle you, but the game goes by, and you eventually realize he gave you what you needed on that particular day.
Three runs allowed in 5.2 innings of work aren’t flattering enough, as Kershaw ran into some issues with two outs in the sixth to prevent a quality start, but Ben Casparius worked his way out of a jam and kept the Dodgers’ lead at a comfortable margin of five runs. Having pitched at Coors Field more than any other road location except for Oracle Park, Kershaw earned his 14th win in Colorado.
Brenton Doyle hit a mammoth home run in the eighth to make this a 9-5 game, but all that really accomplished was forcing Dave Roberts to use Alex Vesia in the ninth instead of a low-leverage arm. Unfortunately, Vesia had to labor a bit more than ideal to get those final three outs, needing
On an individual note, Alex Freeland had, by all accounts, his best game as a big leaguer, a home run short of the cycle with a 3 for 5 afternoon, including one run scored and one RBI.
Game particulars
- Home runs: Freddie Freeman (16), Andy Pages (21), Brenton Doyle (13)
- WP —Clayton Kershaw (8-2): 5.2 IP, 6 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts
- LP — Chase Dollander (2-10): 3.2 IP, 9 hits, 7 runs, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts
Up next
Not a lot of time for resting as the Dodgers hit the road back to California for three games against the San Diego Padres, defending this tentative lead in the NL West. A battle of veterans awaits us on Friday at 6:40 p.m. (PT) with Blake Snell and Yu Darvish squaring off.
