LOS ANGELES – Drew Pomeranz struggled again on the road, where Colorado dropped to 18-18 even as Dexter Fowler and Troy Tulowitzki returned to the Rockies’ lineup.
The Rockies lost 6-1 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the series opener Thursday night, falling to 2-5 with three games left on their 10-game trip.
Pomeranz (0-3) gave up three runs and seven hits in four innings, struck out four and walked five. The left-hander has an 8.75 earned-run average and is winless in 10 road starts (0-5) since July 20, 2012.
“Walks killed me. The fourth inning I was just missing in off the plate,” he said. “They had some bleeder hits, some hits that found a hole or fell in or whatever, but if I’m not walking those guys, they’re not going to score. So I hurt myself.”
Chris Capuano pitched shutout ball for 6 1/3 innings, and Mark Ellis drove in four runs to help the Dodgers win their fifth in a row and move above .500 for the first time since April 15.
Colorado’s lone run came on a ninth-inning homer by Carlos Gonzalez off Brandon League. Gonzalez went 3-for-4.
Tulowitzki was hitless in four at-bats and struck out three times in his first game since June 13. He had been on the DL with a broken right rib.
“As stupid as it sounds – three strikeouts – I felt good out there,” he said. “I mean, you look at some of our better hitters in our lineup, they didn’t have great games, either. CarGo took some bad swings against him, just like me.”
Capuano (3-6) allowed six hits, struck out a season-high eight and walked none to earn just his second win at home and first since beating Miami 5-3 on May 12.
Ellis went 3-for-4 with a walk, the fourth time he has had three or more hits in a game this season. The Dodgers loaded the bases in the eighth when Ellis singled off Wilton Lopez to make it 5-0. Andre Ethier’s sacrifice fly added another run.
Los Angeles had taken a 3-0 lead in the fourth on Ellis’ two-run RBI single. Pomeranz gave up three consecutive walks to open the inning before Capuano struck out and Ellis singled to left.
The Dodgers led 1-0 on Jerry Hairston Jr.’s RBI double in the second after Juan Uribe slid into catcher Wilin Rosario, causing the ball to pop loose.
Dodgers rookie Yasiel Puig, who finished second in the fan voting Thursday for the final NL roster spot in next week’s All-Star game, went 2-for-4 with a strikeout before being replaced in center field by Ethier in the eighth.
Rockies rumpus
Carlos Gonzalez’s 15 homers and 51 runs batted in against the Dodgers since 2010 are the most by any player. ... Troy Tulowitzki was on the DL with a broken rib. He will wear a protective vest under his jersey. Also coming off the DL was CF Dexter Fowler, who had a bone bruise in his right hand. ... The Rockies optioned OFs Tyler Colvin and Corey Dickerson to Triple-A Colorado Springs. ... The Rockies fell to 3-8 in their last 11 games. ... Colorado is 0-21 in games when they don’t score first.
