LOS ANGELES — Four years ago, Nolan Arenado’s El Toro High School baseball team from Lake Forest, Calif., defeated Tyler Chatwood and Redlands East Valley High in the regional playoffs.
On Monday, they basked in the bright lights of Dodger Stadium, their hometown digs, now members of the Colorado Rockies.
The cool California kids delivered against the Dodgers time and time again, in front of friends and family, delighting the few cheering Rockies rooters.
How far they’ve come — even if they didn’t have to go too far.
Chatwood threw six shutout innings and added three hits, and Arenado had three hits, including a home run, in his second career big-league game, and the Rockies rolled over the Dodgers 12-2.
Even without Troy Tulowitzki, sidelined due to a strained shoulder after an awkward slide Sunday, the Rockies dominated up and down the lineup.
Colorado shook Los Angeles pitchers Ted Lilly and Josh Wall early, finished with 19 hits and had six players register multiple hits.
Arenado’s two-run home run in the fifth inning, scoring Wilin Rosario, got the loudest ovation in the opposing ballpark, his contingent of 60 to 70 strong making up an entire section of the stands.
“(I) could hear them; they were loud,” Arenado said. “You try to zone it out as much as you can, but especially when you get a hit, you hear them a little more. … It’s hard to put into words right now. It hasn’t sunk in as much as you’d think.”
The Dodger Stadium crowd was mostly quiet throughout the evening, silenced early by an aggressive Colorado lineup that feasted despite not having batting practice after a long flight delay from Arizona set their day back.
Dexter Fowler opened the game with leadoff home run, and three batters later, Rosario smashed a three-run home run, scoring Jordan Pacheco and Carlos Gonzalez.
The Rockies didn’t stop there.
Colorado had 12 runs and 17 hits through six innings, tearing through Lilly (0-1) and Wall. Lilly exited after three innings, having allowed five runs, four earned, and eight hits. His back stiffened, and he will undergo an MRI exam Tuesday.
Wall allowed seven runs and eight hits in two innings.
“We didn’t take batting practice, so we were just working on putting the barrel on the ball and seeing what happens,” Fowler said. “We barreled up a few balls. We actually didn’t hit bad in Arizona (while losing three of four), just at the wrong times. It’s baseball, you go out swinging the bats the way we are and things happen.”
Rosario continued his strong start by going 3-for-4 and scoring three runs. Gonzalez, Arenado and Chatwood joined in the hit parade, each getting three. Fowler, Pachco, Arenado and Chatwood each had two RBIs.
“That was impressive, and it was just what the doctor ordered after a tough series in Arizona,” Colorado manager Walt Weiss said. “A rough night last night, guys came out and played really well. It was good to see.”
The Dodgers, meanwhile, got little from their star-studded lineup.
Chatwood (1-0) shut down Los Angeles over six innings, allowing five hits, no walks and no runs while striking out five.
“It definitely helps when you just have to go out there and throw strikes and try to get us back in the dugout,” Chatwood said. “We just had a long inning, and you just want to get them back in there as quick as you can.”
As for Chatwood’s offense, Weiss said, “He’s a good athlete — we saw that in his last start with some of the things out there. I didn’t know he could swing like that. I knew he could hit, but that was quite a show he put on.”
Jerry Hairston Jr. hit a two-run pinch home run for the Dodgers off relief pitcher Adam Ottavino, but Los Angeles left five runners on base.
“It’s disappointing, (but) it’s actually a lot easier to throw this one out than a 3-2 (loss), or a game you had a 4-0 lead going into the eighth and you blow one of those,” Los Angeles manager Don Mattingly said. “Those hurt. Not that these don’t hurt, but those are the ones you carry home. Tonight, you just got your butts beat.”
NOTES: Los Angeles placed Clayton Kershaw on the bereavement list, but the staff expects him to make his next scheduled start Friday in San Francisco. Kershaw is required to be on the bereavement list for at least three days and at most seven. … The Dodgers activated Hanley Ramirez from the disabled list after two rehab games for Class A Rancho Cucamonga. Ramirez tore a ligament in his right thumb in the championship game of the World Baseball Classic. He struck out as a seventh-inning pinch hitter Monday. … Lilly was 4-0 against the Rockies with a 2.15 ERA in his last four home starts entering the game. … The Dodgers ended last season with a four-game winning streak over Colorado, and L.A. won the season series 10-8. Los Angeles is 30-15 at home against the Rockies since 2008.