DENVER — The Colorado Rockies continued their second-half surge Tuesday night with a 7-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Carlos Gonzalez drove in four runs. Jon Gray pitched five scoreless innings. And Chris Rusin, pitching for the first time in nearly two months, kept the bullpen intact with three innings, the first two perfect, as the Rockies improved to a major league best 13-5 since the All-Star break. They have won six of their past seven games.
The Rockies, who began an important eight-game homestand, reached .500 (53-53) for the second time in three games and will try to go above that mark Wednesday for the first time since they were 20-19 on May 18.
The Rockies’ hot stretch has carried them within 3 1/2 games of the Miami Marlins for the second wild-card spot in the National League. The Marlins follow the Dodgers into Coors Field for a three-game series this weekend. St. Louis, New York and Pittsburgh are ahead of the Rockies in the wild-card chase.
Gray (8-4) won his third straight start and was done in more by his pitch count (96) than the Dodgers’ hitters. Indeed, Gray held the Dodgers hitless until the fourth and allowed just two hits while lowering his ERA to 3.77. In his past five starts, Gray is 3-0 with a 1.11 ERA (32 1/3 innings, 4 earned runs).
Gonzalez, who went 3-for-5 with two doubles, extended his season-high hitting streak to 14 games, his longest since he hit safely in 21 consecutive games from Sept. 23, 2015-April 15, 2016. He drove in runs with ground outs in the third and the three-run fourth and doubled home two runs in the sixth when the Rockies scored three runs to take a 7-0 lead and spoil the Dodgers’ debut of Jesse Chavez, whom they acquired Monday from Toronto.
Rusin made his first appearance for the Rockies since June 8. He had been on the disabled list with a left shoulder strain and was reinstated Wednesday. He retired the first six batters he faced but gave up a two-out, two-run double in the eighth to Justin Turner.
Yasmani Grandal homered off Jake McGee in the ninth.
Brandon McCarthy (2-2) issued a career-high five walks in three shaky innings. He left after walking the first two batters he faced in the fourth, throwing a staggering 85 pitches and just 48 for strikes.
NOTES: Rockies LF David Dahl singled in the sixth and his hit safely in his first eight career games. … Dodgers RF Yasiel Puig will be assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he is expected to report by the weekend. … Dodgers RHP Ross Stripling and RHP Josh Fields, who was acquired Monday from Houston, were optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City. … Dodgers RF Josh Reddick, acquired Monday from Oakland, joined the team and batted fourth. … Dodgers LHP Rich Hill (blister), acquired Monday from Oakland, was transferred to the Dodgers’ disabled list. The Dodgers have set a National League record for the most players on the disabled list with 23. Hill played long toss and will throw a bullpen session Wednesday. … Dodgers RHP Brock Stewart was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City and will be added to the roster to start Wednesday. RHP Kenta Maeda, who had been scheduled to start, will be pushed back to Thursday. And LHP Scott Kazmir, the scheduled Thursday starter, will instead pitch Friday. … Dodgers RHP Bud Norris, who left his start Sunday after 13 pitches with back muscle tightness, remained in Los Angeles to receive treatment but could start Saturday. … Rockies SS Trevor Story was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb and will undergo season-ending surgery. … Rockies INF Rafael Ynoa was recalled fron Triple-A Albuquerque, where he is hitting .264 with 24 doubles, two homers and 27 RBIs in 94 games. He played in 72 games for the Rockies last year. … Rockies RHP Chad Qualls (colitis), who last pitched for the Rockies on July 15, threw an 18-pitch bullpen session and is scheduled for another bullpen session Thursday.