Muncy hits 2 HRs, Buehler wins 10th as Dodgers beat Rockies

Jul 17, 2021, 8:32 AM | Updated: 10:20 pm

DENVER (AP) — Max Muncy had two home runs and four hits, Mookie Betts had a homer among his four extra-base hits before leaving with a hip problem, and the Los Angeles Dodgers won their fourth straight, beating the Colorado Rockies 9-2 on Saturday night.

Muncy homered is his last two at-bats and finished with five RBIs.

Walker Buehler (10-1) pitched seven strong innings to reach double digits in wins. He set down the last 13 batters he faced after yielding a two-out double to Ryan McMahon in the bottom of the third. He recorded six of his eight strikeouts in that span.

A.J. Pollock also homered, and Justin Turner hit a two-run double in the ninth ahead of Muncy’s second homer of the night, off reliever Zac Rosscup. It was the Dodgers’ eighth straight win over the Rockies since dropping the season opener at Colorado.

McMahon had a run-scoring double and starter Kyle Freeland had a sacrifice fly for Colorado.

Betts was running out his third double of the game in the top of the seventh when he slowed his gait and gingerly ran to second base. A team trainer hustled onto the field to tend to him and then walked him off the field and into the clubhouse. The Dodgers later announced that Betts was removed from the game with a right hip irritation. “It’s kind of been nagging him all year,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I think a lot of the running on the bases kind of caught up to him and irritated him a little bit. But I’ll have him down (Sunday) and he’ll be ready for that (San Francisco) series on Monday.”

Betts also figured he would be able to play through it.

“I’m good,” he said. “I’ve been dealing with it. I think I just made it a little more bad today than normal. But I’m fine.”

Muncy hit his second run-scoring single in the top of the sixth to put the Dodgers up 3-2. He connected for his 20th homer of the season in the eighth off Carlos Estévez. Muncy said he has been able to zero in on an array of pitches beyond fastballs this season, making his overall swing much more effective.

“I’ve always been a really good fastball hitter, but this year I feel like I’ve been able to react to a lot of different pitches and it’s not just selling out to the fastball anymore,” Muncy said. “I think it’s making me more of a complete hitter.”

Pollock hit his 13th homer of the season in the seventh off Mychal Givens, extending the Dodgers lead to 4-2.

Betts, who doubled and scored on Muncy’s first RBI single in the first, put the Dodgers up 2-1 in the top of the third when he drove Freeland’s 0-1 offering over the right-center field fence, into the Rockies’ bullpen, for his 14th home run of the season. Betts accounted for three of the hits off Freeland, including his home run.

“That’s how baseball goes sometimes,” Freeland said. “You’ve got some guy’s number for a little bit, then they turn around and got your number. … I think I really made one mistake to him — and that was the homer. Other than that, the other two pitches were quality pitches that he put swings on.”

Colorado evened the score at 2-all in its half of the third, getting a run-scoring double from McMahon.

Freeland (1-4) went six innings and allowed three runs on six hits. He struck out four.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Dodgers: SS Corey Seager, sidelined since suffering a right-hand fracture in mid-May when he was hit by a pitch, could be nearing a return. Last year’s World Series MVP has swung the bat well in recent simulated games. He’s expected to have his status re-evaluated after going through another simulated game on Monday. … Betts was replaced by Gavin Lux after leaving the game in the seventh with a hip problem.

Rockies: Manager Bud Black and first base coach Ron Gideon, along with pitchers Yency Almonte, Jhoulys Chacin and Antonio Senzatela and CF Yonathan Daza missed a second consecutive game under MLB’s COVID-19 and contact-tracing protocols. … C Dom Nunez fouled a pitch off his right knee in fourth inning at-bat and remained in the game after walking off the sting.

UP NEXT

Dodgers: LHP David Price (4-0, 3.23 ERA) is slated to start Sunday’s series finale, his fifth start of the season.

Rockies: RHP Jon Gray (6-6, 3.77 ERA) has gone 2-0 with a 2.35 ERA in four starts since returning from the injured list (right flexor strain).

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