Rockies’ Chad Kuhl throws three-hit shutout of Dodgers

Kris Bryant made his long-awaited comeback and the sunset at Coors Field was spectacular, but Chad Kuhl stole the show.

The right-hander pitched a three-hit shutout in the Rockies’ 4-0 win over the Dodgers Monday night. Kuhl struck out five and didn’t walk a single batter.

Kuhl needed only 102 pitches to paint his masterpiece, the seventh-fewest pitches in franchise history in a complete-game shutout and the fourth-fewest ever at Coors Field. He became only the fourth Rockies pitcher to allow three or fewer baserunners in a complete-game shutout.

“I always want to win, that’s the top priority, but it’s been one of those personal goals for me,” Kuhl said. “Not necessarily (pitching) a complete game, but going long into a game like this.”

Kuhl became the first Rockies pitcher to throw a shutout since German Marquez took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Pirates on June 29 of last season at Coors Field. Marquez finished with a one-hit masterpiece.

“I was so happy for him,” Marquez said. “That is so hard to do. I was watching from the dugout and I was getting really nervous in the ninth inning.”

Manager Bud Black, a major-league pitcher back in the days when complete games were not such a rarity, was thrilled for Kuhl.

“He just stayed within himself the whole game,” Black said. “I thought he had life to his fastball, with movement. It wasn’t overly hot (91-93 mph), but he had a really good slider, especially behind in the count. … A really good mix. Really good. He was very unpredictable.

“It was impressive. Outstanding pitching, against a really good lineup.”

Kuhl became the first Rockies pitcher to throw a complete-game shutout of the Dodgers since Jason Marquis did it with a two-hitter on June 30, 2009 at Dodger Stadium. Kuhl is the first Rockies starter to ever shut out the Dodgers in Colorado.

“Wow! Pretty incredible stuff,” Kuhl said when he was informed of that history.

A short time after the game, Kuhl knelt in the tunnel outside the Rockies clubhouse, making a FaceTime call on his cellphone with his parents, Clint and Wendy Kuhl, back home in Delaware.

“They are super proud of me, living and dying with me every fifth day,” he said. “No question it was emotional. Surprisingly, they are more amped than I am.”

The Dodgers tested Kuhl in the ninth. Gavin Lux led off with a double, but Kuhl struck out Trayce Thompson and got Trea Turner to ground out to third baseman Ryan McMahon for the second out.

When Freddie Freeman lined out to center fielder Yonathan Daza to end the game, Kuhl pumped his fist, much like an Avalanche player after they won the Stanley Cup Sunday night.

Bryant, returning from a back injury that had kept him out of the lineup since May 22, started in left field and went 1-for-4. His leadoff single in the third inning was his first hit since May 21.

Left-hander Tyler Anderson, the former Rockie whose career has been rejuvenated in Los Angeles, was the pitcher in the spotlight coming into the game. But Kuhl was the better pitcher Monday night.

Anderson has pitched like an ace for the Dodgers this season, entering Monday’s game 8-0 with a 3.00 ERA. But he looked very much like the pitcher who never harnessed his talent during his four seasons with the Rockies when he went 11-14 with a 4.09 ERA in 43 appearances (41 starts).

The Rockies ripped him for four runs on 10 hits over six innings.

The biggest swing of the bat came from Jose Iglesias, who launched a two-run, 432-foot homer to left field in the sixth.  Iglesias took a moment to admire his homer while standing at the plate. And why not? He’d gone 262 at-bats without a home run. His homeless streak was the seventh-longest streak in the majors. His last home run came on Sept. 13, 2021, at Seattle, when he was playing for Toronto.

“It feels great to get the first one out of the way,” he said. “And especially on such a big stage against the Dodgers, to contribute. It was perfect timing.”

Colorado jumped on Anderson quickly. Connor Joe led off the first with a double to left-center on Anderson’s 2-2 changeup. Bryant advanced Joe to third on a deep flyball to right and Joe scored on C.J. Cron’s single to right.

The Rockies made it 2-0 in the second on Randal Grichuk’s two-out double and Elias Diaz’s RBI single to center.

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