Dodgers 6, Rockies 1: Chris Capuano, Mark Ellis push win streak to 5

Chris Capuano rebounded from two poor outings for his best start of the season, leading the Dodgers to a 6-1 victory over the Rockies Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. The win was the fifth straight for the Dodgers, who remained 1½ games behind the Diamondbacks in the National League West.

Capuano has been Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde since coming off the disabled list, and the last two starts nearly kicked his hide out of the rotation. After pitching 11 scoreless innings without a walk, including once on three days rest, Capuano allowed 13 runs and 17 hits in eight innings in his last two stars.

Thursday night was more like the first two, as Capuano pitched into the seventh inning without allowing a run or a walk. The Dodgers have had eight starts this season with no walks and no runs allowed. Three each have come from Capuano and Clayton Kershaw, and the other two came from Zack Greinke and Hyun-jin Ryu.

Capuano did strike out a season high eight for his third win of the season.

The Dodgers' offense came largely from the bat of Mark Ellis and the legs of Juan Uribe.

Uribe singled with one out in the second inning, then raced home on a double by Jerry Hairston. Uribe would have been out at the plate had catcher Wilin Rosario held onto the ball, but Uribe's slide helped knock the ball free for a 1-0 lead.

In the fifth Uribe walked and stole second base, his second steal of the season. Drew Pomeranz walked the bases loaded, then Ellis made him pay with a two-run single to left field to widen the lead.

Capuano left with one out in the seventh inning and a pair of runners on base, but Ronald Belisario needed just one pitch to get two outs, inducing a double play grounder by Nolan Arenado to Uribe to end the threat. Belisario stayed in to pitch a scoreless eighth before the Dodgers but the game away with three runs in the bottom of the inning.

Notes

• Ellis drove in four runs, the sixth time a Dodger has driven in at least that many runs in a game this season. Ellis drove in five runs on Apr. 23 against the Mets in New York, too.
  
• Yasiel Puig went 2-for-4 for his 18th multi-hit game in 36 career games.
• Belisario needed just 11 pitches to record five outs and has quietly pitched 10 consecutive scoreless appearances. He has allowed four hits and a walk in nine innings during that span, with nine strikeouts.
• Adrian Gonzalez on his bobblehead night went 2-for-4 with a double off the wall that missed a home run by a few feet in the seventh inning. During his current five-game hitting streak Gonzalez is hitting .400 (8-for-20).
• Andre Ethier entered the game for Puig in the eighth inning, then drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning. The fly out, though it doesn't count as an at-bat, ends Ethier's hitting streak at nine games.
  
• In case you missed it before the game, Brandon League changed numbers from 31 to 43, taking his old number that he had with Seattle before the Dodgers acquired him in July 2012. League allowed a booming home run in the ninth inning to Carlos Gonzalez but recovered to retire the final three batters he faced, including two by strikeout.
• The Dodgers have scored at least six runs in four straight games, their longest streak since a six-game stretch from May 17-22, 2012, when they won all six contests.
  
• The Dodgers are one game over .500 (46-45) for the first time since Apr. 15, when they were 7-6.
  

Up next

Clayton Kershaw takes the mound looking to run the Dodgers' winning streak to six games, while Juan Nicasio will be recalled from Triple-A to start for the Rockies.

Thursday particulars

Home runs: Carlos Gonzalez (25)

WP - Chris Capuano (3-6): 6⅓ IP, 6 hits, 8 strikeouts

LP - Drew Pomeranz (0-3): 4 IP, 7 hits, 3 runs, 5 walks, 4 strikeouts