DENVER (AP) - Cody Bellinger has been doing plenty of damage with his bat. He showed his defense is pretty good, too.
The 2017 NL Rookie of the Year homered again and made two big plays in right field, Max Muncy also went deep and the homer-happy Los Angeles Dodgers outslugged the Colorado Rockies 12-6 on Sunday night.
Bellinger had three hits, including his major league-leading seventh home run, and has hit safely in 11 straight games dating to last year. The Dodgers have 24 homers and have connected in all 10 games. They scored 29 runs and swept a series at Coors Field for the second consecutive season.
Bellinger has two more home runs on his own than the Dodgers had through 10 games in 2018.
“He’s covering a lot of different pitches, a lot of different zones,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s playing that cat-and-mouse and picking his spots to release that barrel. The numbers speak to it - he’s dangerous.”
He can also play in the field. In the first inning, Bellinger made a tough catch near the stands in foul territory to end Colorado’s bases-loaded threat. In the sixth, he threw out Trevor Story trying to go from first to third on a single by Nolan Arenado.
“If you can get both in one day, it’s a huge confidence booster,” said Bellinger, who is hitting .455 with 18 RBIs. “I think everyone wants to do that.”
Joe Kelly (1-1) pitched 1 2/3 innings in relief to get the win as “Sunday Night Baseball” on ESPN made its first appearance at Coors Field since 2001 with a game that lasted 3 hours, 52 minutes.
Colorado has lost seven of eight since starting the season with two wins. Arenado had three hits and three RBIs and Charlie Blackmon added two hits for the Rockies but committed a pair of embarrassing errors in right field.
“It’s rare to see that especially from Charlie because he’s steady, dependable,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “So that was a rare occurrence to see that tonight, especially two plays.”
Los Angeles scored two runs in the second and four in the third off Chad Bettis (0-2) and led 9-3 when Muncy hit a two-run homer in the sixth.
Bellinger capped a big weekend with a line drive to the second deck in right field. His seven home runs are more than five teams have hit this season - including the Rockies.
“I just feel really good and just trying to stay within myself in the cage and not get too ahead of myself and give in to the hype,” Bellinger said.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Dodgers: LHP Clayton Kershaw (shoulder inflammation) will likely make his second rehab start Tuesday with Triple-A Oklahoma City or Double-A Tulsa. … Roberts said LHP Tony Cingrani (left shoulder impingement) stretched his throwing to 120 feet.
Rockies: OF David Dahl left in the third inning. Black told the ESPN broadcast Dahl felt something in his abdomen below his oblique, and after the game Dahl said he felt it on his strikeout in the first inning. “I don’t think it’s anything too serious,” Dahl said. “Right now it’s just tight. Iced it a little bit. But I think it’s going to be fine. I’m not too worried.” … LHP Tyler Anderson (left knee inflammation) was placed on the 10-day injured list. The team recalled RHP Yency Almonte from Triple-A Albuquerque. Anderson (0-2, 9.00 ERA) struggled in his two starts.
FAN INTERFERENCE
With Bellinger at the plate and one out in the sixth, the game was interrupted by a fan who climbed over the railing in left-center and ran onto the field. He made it to the infield by second base before falling. He was apprehended and walked off the field.
NEW MATH
Dodgers second baseman Enrique Hernandez took a toss from shortstop Corey Seager for a force at second and started jogging off the field. Problem was, there were only two outs. Hernandez’s mental error kept the inning alive and allowed Arenado to score from third.
“He made a joke that he was thinking we get to play two outs an inning in Colorado,” Roberts said. “That’s not the case, but he backed that play up with a fantastic play off the bat of (Ian) Desmond.”
WELCOME BACK
The Dodgers recalled right-hander Dennis Santana from Triple-A Oklahoma City and optioned righty Brock Stewart to their top farm team. Santana, who made his only major league appearance at Coors Field last season, was one of the last players left off the roster coming out of spring training. He entered with one out in the seventh and hit Mark Reynolds with his first pitch of the night.
UP NEXT
Dodgers: LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (2-0, 2.08 ERA) opens a series in St. Louis on Monday night. He is 1-2 with a 2.25 ERA in five games (four starts) against the Cardinals.
Rockies: LHP Kyle Freeland (1-1, 2.31) makes his third start when Colorado begins a three-game home series against Atlanta on Monday night.
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