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 The Dodgers, winners of 16 of their past 23 games, took three out
of four from the Rockies to remain unbeaten (6-0-1) in their past
seven road series. Los Angeles' 29-17 (.630) road record is the best
in the majors.
"After you win the first two, then lose yesterday, if you don't win
today, then you've really had kind of a negative series in my mind,"
Dodgers manager Don Mattlingly said. "So it was good to be able to
get this one and make it three out of four."
Coming out of spring training, Beckett was the fifth starter for the
Dodgers and something of a question mark. He had not pitched since
mid-May 2013 and had undergone season-ending surgery for thoracic
outlet syndrome on July 10.
Beckett (6-5) held the Rockies to three hits in five scoreless
innings and lowered his ERA to 2.26, third best in the National
League behind Adam Wainwright (1.89) and Johnny Cueto (1.99). It was
Beckett's eighth start of at least five innings without allowing an
earned run. Opponents are batting .203 against Beckett this season.
He held the Rockies hitless in three at-bats with runners in scoring
position, leaving opposing hitters with a .169 average against
Beckett in those situations.
 After beginning the five-run rally in the fifth with a one-out
double, Beckett broke back toward second while waiting to see
whether second baseman Dee Gordon's ground ball went into a left
field -- it did -- and tweaked his left hip when he then started
toward third. After setting the Rockies down in order in the bottom
of that inning, Beckett left after throwing 82 pitches when
Mattingly said trainer Stan Conte said it looked like Beckett was
changing his arm angle.
"It's been bothering me for a few weeks," Beckett said of his hip.
"We'll see where we're at tomorrow. It's been a little bit of a
battle."
Flande, 28, made his third career start, which is 326 fewer than
Beckett, 34, has made. After pitching five and 5 1/3 innings in his
first two starts, Flande (0-2) held the Dodgers scoreless for four
innings but didn't make it out of the fifth when they erupted for
five runs and sent 11 batters to the plate. That uprising came after
Flande gave up four singles through the fourth but got nine ground
balls outs, including a double play.
"Up until that point, he was pretty much cruising," Rockies manager
Walt Weiss said.
After giving up the hits to Beckett and Gordon, Flande walked right
fielder Yasiel Puig on four pitches to load the bases. First baseman
Adrian Gonzalez, who finished with three RBI, lined a 1-2 pitch to
center for a two-run single that sent Puig to third.
Left fielder Matt Kemp, who went 4-for-5 with two RBIs, grounded a
first-pitch single past Flande and up the middle to make it 3-0.
Flande then walked center fielder Scott Van Slyke to load the bases
and bring Brooks Brown out of the bullpen to make his major league
debut.
Juan Uribe hit a chopper that third baseman Nolan Arenado barehanded
near the base line. He threw home, and Adrian Gonzalez was called
out by home plate umpire Jeff Kellogg. But the Dodgers challenged
the call, saying that catcher Wilin Rosario, who was not on the
plate for a force play when he caught the ball, never tagged
Gonzalez. After a review, the call was overturned, and the Dodgers
had a 4-0 lead.
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With two out, Brown hit Miguel Rojas with a pitch to force in a run
and make it 5-0.
The Rockies were trying to win consecutive games for the first time
since they won a season-high five straight from June 11-15. Since
that bright spot, however, the Rockies have been shrouded in
darkness, losing 17 of their past 20 games.
Beckett's effort helped lower the major league leading ERA of the
Dodgers' starters to 3.00. In this series, Zack Greinke, Clayton
Kershaw, Dan Haren, who gave up eight earned runs, and Beckett
combined to go 3-1 with a 2.73 ERA (9 earned runs, 26 1/3 innings).
By contrast, the Rockies, whose rotation has been jumbled by
injuries, saw their starters go 1-3 with a 7.20 ERA (16 earned runs,
20 innings
"This game's about pitching," Mattingly said. "I don't know exactly
their situation, and this is a tough place (to pitch). We feel like
our pitching's our strength. It's really what's going to get us
where we want to go."
NOTES: Rockies RHP Nick Masset was placed on the 15-day disabled
list with a strained patellar tendon in his left knee, an injury he
suffered covering home plate Saturday. The Rockies selected the
contract of RHP Brooks Brown from Triple-A Colorado Springs. To make
room on the 40-man roster, high-Class A Modesto RHP Raul Fernandez
was designated for assignment. ... Rockies SS Troy Tulowitzki was
back in the lineup after missing the past two games with right groin
tightness. ... Dodgers INF Erisbel Arruebarrena (right hip flexor
strain) was placed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to
Saturday. INF Carlos Triunfel was recalled from Triple-A
Albuquerque. ... Dodgers LF Carl Crawford (left ankle sprain) played
four innings in the field in his first rehab game Saturday night
with Triple-A Albuquerque. ... Dodgers SS Miguel Rojas was removed
from the game in the sixth with a right forearm contusion, one
inning after he was hit with a pitch. X-rays were negative, and he
is listed day-to-day.
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