DENVER — Coors Field is perfectly suited for the kind of milestone J.D. Martinez was chasing – not so much for the kind of history Clayton Kershaw teased.
Kershaw retired the first 12 batters in order and took a no-hitter into the sixth inning at Coors Field which has yielded just one no-hitter in its 28-year history (Hideo Nomo’s for the Dodgers in 1996). Meanwhile, Martinez hit two home runs, reaching 300 for his career, as the Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies, 5-0, Tuesday night.
Martinez became the 156th player in baseball history to hit 300 career home runs, joining a group that includes teammate Freddie Freeman (now at 306 after reaching 300 last month).
Home run No. 299 came in the third inning off of Rockies starter Connor Seabold with one out and a runner on. Martinez drove a 1-and-1 fastball over the high wall in right field.
He led off the sixth inning with his milestone homer, sending the first pitch he saw from lefty reliever Brad Hand over the wall in left field.
If Martinez reaching 300 career home runs seemed inevitable, Kershaw flirting with a no-hitter at Coors Field was unexpected. The veteran left-hander entered the game with a 4.82 ERA in 26 previous career starts at altitude and had ended just two of those without giving up a run.
It hadn’t gotten better recently either. Kershaw allowed 17 runs in 15 innings over three starts at Coors Field the past two seasons.
But he breezed through the Rockies’ lineup for six stress-free innings Tuesday. He walked Elias Diaz to start the sixth inning and gave up a single to No. 9 hitter Brenton Doyle with two outs in the sixth. A hard ground ball to third baseman Max Muncy’s left just made it into left field to end Kershaw’s no-hit bid.
Diaz was erased in a double play and Kershaw picked Doyle off first base to end the sixth inning having faced the minimum 18 batters while throwing just 79 pitches.
He didn’t go back out for the seventh, raising concerns about the only member of the Dodgers’ season-opening starting rotation not to go on the injured list yet this year.
With their rotation depleted by injury, the Dodgers have leaned on Kershaw over the past month. He went seven innings in three of his previous four starts, throwing at least 96 pitches in all four. He allowed just four runs in 33 innings in June.
The bullpen finished off a three-hit shutout with three scoreless innings, continuing that group’s turnaround. Phil Bickford loaded the bases with walks in the ninth but Dodgers relievers have been charged with just one earned run over their past 31⅓ innings.
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