Rockies 3, Dodgers 1: L.A. limps into break

The Dodgers had a successful two-week gauntlet through the National League West, going 9-4 against divisional opponents. But they ended the run on a bit of a sour note on Sunday, a 3-1 loss at the hands of the Rockies.

Jhoulys Chacin allowed one run in six innings for his ninth win of the season for Colorado.

Michael Cuddyer drove in all three runs for the Rockies with a pair of two-out hits. He singled home Dexter Fowler with two outs in the first inning for a 1-0 lead, then hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning for a 3-0 lead.

That hung a loss on Ricky Nolasco in his second start as a Dodger, who lasted five innings in his home debut in blue.

Manager Don Mattingly pinch hit for Nolasco in the fifth inning with Yasiel Puig, who was out of the starting lineup for a second straight day after aggravating a left hip injury. Puig singled, then moved with no problem around the bases, first to second base, then home on a single by Adrian Gonzalez.

That run was just the second scored by the Dodgers over the final three games of the series. Puig remained in the game to play three innings in right field and one inning in center field. But he also made the final out of the game, on his t-shirt day, flying out to the warning track in center field, much like the Dodgers on Sunday, falling just short.

Notes

• Cuddyer, who had driven in a run in seven of his nine games against the Dodgers before this series, was 0-for-7 with four strikeouts in his two games in the series before Sunday. This season Cuddyer is hitting .261 (12-for-46) with three doubles, four home runs and 15 RBI in 12 games.
• Skip Schumaker was 2-for-4 from the leadoff spot on Sunday and is hitting .444 (8-for-18) in July.
• Kenley Jansen, who pitched a scoreless ninth inning, heads into the All-Star break with 65 strikeouts and just seven unintentional walks.

Up next

Clayton Kershaw will pitch for the National League on Tuesday as the lone Dodgers representative in New York for the All-Star Game, but the rest of the team is off until Friday, when they open up a three-game series in Washington D.C. against the Nationals. Nolasco will start his second consecutive game on Friday night, facing off against Stephen Strasburg for Washington.

Sunday particulars

Home run: Michael Cuddyer (16)

WP - Jhoulys Chacin (9-4): 6 IP, 6 hits, 1 run, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts

LP - Ricky Nolasco (6-9): 5 IP, 8 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts

Sv - Rafael Betancourt (15): 3 up, 3 down