By Jill Painter Lopez, Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw was irritated before even throwing his first pitch. That's because Rockies starting pitcher Tyler Anderson left the bullpen late, and Kershaw, already on the mound, had to wait for him.
Kershaw said that didn't cause his rocky first inning, but he got out of a bases-loaded jam by allowing just one run and was his trusty Cy Young self afterward. He struck out a season-high 10 in seven innings to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 4-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night.
"That was one of the more disrespectful things I've been a part of in a game," Kershaw said. "Really didn't appreciate that. The game starts at 7:10. It's started at 7:10 here for a long time. Go around or finish earlier but that wasn't appreciated, for sure. I'm not going to say any more or I'll get in trouble."
According to Kershaw, his troubles in the first inning weren't a product of that.
"I threw a few extra pitches in the bullpen before the game," Anderson said. "I didn't mean any disrespect by it. I was surprised the umpire didn't let him pitch."
Kershaw (3-1) allowed two runs on five hits. He walked just one and was done after 97 pitches. It was the 52nd time in his career that Kershaw has struck out 10 or more, and the Dodgers are 41-11 in those games.
Kershaw struggled at the outset, walking the first batter he faced and giving up consecutive singles to load the bases. He struck out Carlos Gonzalez, but Marc Reynolds' sacrifice fly scored one run. Kershaw struck out Gerardo Parra to end the inning and retired the next 12 consecutive batters.
"I don't think it affected him. Actually, it kind of started a fire," Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal said of Anderson's late trot out from the bullpen. "That's probably the best way to describe it. Him actually doing that was probably a bad thing for them. It's a learning process. He's young. Hasn't even had a year in the big leagues yet. He'll learn from that and get it right."
Kenley Jansen's fourth save of the season — his second four-out save of the homestand — was by design.
"We talked about it before the game," manager Dave Roberts said. "It was a game we really wanted to win with Clayton on the mound. Kenley, with his usage recently, talking him before the game, to get four outs seemed that was the way we were going to go."
The Dodgers have an off day Thursday.
Kershaw avenged an early season loss at Coors Field. The left-hander gave up three home runs in six innings on April 8.
Left-hander Anderson (1-3) went five innings, allowing four runs — two earned — while striking out five and walking one.
The Dodgers used a three-run fifth inning to break a 1-1 tie. Corey Seager drove in his 100th career run in that inning.
Gonzalez left the game with a bruised right hand while swinging at Kershaw's pitch in the fourth inning. Preliminary X-rays were negative. He was wearing a wrap on his pinkie finger.
"It hit me. They called it a swing but it was miscall by the umpire," Gonzalez said. "It's just a bruise. It's nothing bad. I expect to be out there on Friday helping my team."
Scott Van Slyke hit his first home run of the season, a solo home run to left-center field in the second inning. Kike Hernandez had a double and a triple with an RBI and run scored.
