The baseball exited Alex Wood’s left hand at 92mph, destined for collision with the barrel of Colorado Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez’s bat in the sixth inning of a 4-0 Dodgers victory. Upon impact the velocity jumped to 107mph, a howler bound for the outfield. There was little time for rookie first baseman Cody Bellinger to react. Instinct guided him.
Bellinger bent to snatch the baseball out of the air. Then he stepped on the bag to conclude the double play. The combination of good fortune, studious positioning and supple hands allowed Wood to exit with a lead, and for the Dodgers to capture control of this four-game series.
After dropping the opener at Coors Field on Thursday, the Dodgers (22-15) roared back with stalwart performances from their starting pitchers. Clayton Kershaw logged seven innings of two-run baseball on Friday. Wood topped his teammate by blanking the Rockies for six innings.
The offense stitched together three runs against Rockies left-handed starter Tyler Anderson. Brett Eibner, a reserve outfielder, supplied a solo homer. Justin Turner sliced an RBI double in the seventh to provide some protection. The club will look to claim three victories in four games here when Julio Urias takes the ball on Sunday.
Wood (4-0, 2.27 earned-run average) bored his fielders all evening. He struck out 10 batters and restricted the Rockies to five singles. Colorado could not advance a runner beyond second base against him. It continued a recent stretch of distinction that could disrupt the Dodgers’ plans for reshaping the starting rotation.
Wood faced 42 batters in his first two starts this month. He struck out 19 of them, hinting at the cohesion of his fastball, changeup and curveball. With the Dodgers adding Brandon McCarthy and Rich Hill back into the rotation next week, Wood may get shifted to the bullpen. During his recent run, Wood credited the consistency of his role for his success. His role could change in the coming days.
The Dodgers staked Wood a two-run lead in the second. The bottom half of the batting order bloodied Anderson. Enrique Hernandez led off with a double. Two batters later, Austin Barnes sent a changeup zooming over the head of Colorado center fielder Gerardo Parra. Hernandez sauntered home on the double.
Manager Dave Roberts gave Barnes the start in order to keep regular catcher Yasmani Grandal fresh. With four games, Roberts felt compelled to avoid expending all of Grandal’s energy. He also hoped to benefit from Barnes’ strong start to the season.
As Anderson prepared to face Eibner, Barnes took off behind him and swiped third, which placed him in better scoring position for Wood after Eibner walked. Wood squeezed a bunt that scored Barnes.
The offense produced a third run in the fifth. Before Saturday, Eibner only had seven at-bats for the Dodgers this season. Roberts wanted to see him play before early next week, when the roster moves must be made.
“I want to gather some more information on Eibner,” Roberts said before the game. “I haven’t seen a whole lot of him.”
Eibner acquitted himself well. Anderson fed Eibner a fastball down the middle. Eibner unleashed a drive into the pine trees beyond the center-field fence.
Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager (5) during the second inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.
