DENVER -- Clayton Kershaw baffled the Rockies and aided his own cause with the first three-hit game of his career Monday, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to an 11-4 romp over Colorado.

Right fielder Andre Ethier and shortstop Jimmy Rollins hit solo homers for the Dodgers in the second inning. Center fielder Joc Pederson hit a three-run shot in the sixth, when the Dodgers sent 12 batters to the plate and broke open a 2-2 game with a six-run uprising that matched their highest-scoring inning of the season.

Pederson's homer, his 14th of the season, came against left-hander Christian Friedrich. It gave the Dodgers a 7-2 lead and ended Friedrich's homerless streak at 38 1/3 innings dating to June 26, 2014. It was the first homer Friedrich has allowed relieving.

"It was a terrible pitch, especially in a 2-2 count," said Friedrich, who relieved starter Kyle Kendrick. "I threw some good sliders before that. Trying to get him with a heater down and away. Left it up in the zone, didn't execute. Just a really bad pitch. I had us in a close ballgame and kind of put us out of reach."

Los Angeles second baseman Howie Kendrick hit a three-run homer in the eighth to give him four RBIs, tying his career high. First baseman Adrian Gonzalez went 4-for-4, and everybody in the Dodgers' starting lineup had at least one hit in the team's 18-hit attack.

Kershaw (4-3) hit a run-scoring single and scored a run in the sixth after earlier hitting a double and a single.

The Dodgers' ace left-hander was coming off his best start of the season -- seven scoreless innings with no walks and 10 strikeouts May 26 against the Atlanta Braves -- and he continued to put the early-season talk about his unexpected struggles far behind him. He allowed two runs -- on third baseman Nolan Arenado's two-run homer in the fourth -- on five hits in seven innings. He walked one, struck out seven and lowered his ERA to 3.73.

"The last two, especially, I felt happy coming out of the game," Kershaw said. "That's a new feeling for me (this season). I try to build on that, for sure."

Kershaw has 16 career wins against the Rockies, more than he has against any other club. In his past nine starts against them, Kershaw is 8-0 with a 2.62 ERA. His last loss to Colorado was July 12, 2013.

"He was pretty good," Rockies center fielder Charlie Blackmon said. "I felt like he really didn't give in. Pitched ahead in the count most of the time. He's just got good stuff, and he rarely leaves it over the plate. He doesn't always get you out the way he meant to get you out. He just finds a way to make you miss the barrel."

The Rockies saw their season-high four-game winning streak end as they fell for just the second time in nine games. The Dodgers scored eight total runs while losing three of their previous four games.

Colorado starter Kyle Kendrick (2-7) allowed six runs (five earned) on 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings. Other than the two homers to Ethier and Rollins, Kendrick held the Dodgers in check until their sixth-inning rally, when the first run-scoring hit was left fielder Kike Hernandez's broken-bat single just out of Kendrick's reach and up the middle.

"He didn't have his 'A' stuff tonight like he has recently," manager Walt Weiss said. "But I thought he battled with what he had and got to a point in the game where he put us in pretty good position. But once the lineup turns over (for a third time), I'm going to try to match up. It didn't work out."

On May 10 at Coors Field, Kershaw gave up five runs in 5 2/3 innings and left with the game tied at 5 and wasn't involved in the decision. In 17 career starts at Coors Field, Kershaw is 8-3 with a 4.63 ERA.

"Feels good to pitch OK here, too." Kershaw said. "It's always a little bit of an extra challenge to pitch here. To come out of it, get a win, keep our team in it long enough for us to score some runs