LOS ANGELES -- As he took the mound at Dodger Stadium for the first time in more than a year Sunday, right-hander Brandon McCarthy felt as if he had been away for only a week.

When he walked off the mound, McCarthy had pitched five shutout innings and led the Dodgers to a 4-1 win over the Colorado Rockies in front of 41,836.

The 10-year veteran conceded just two hits and one walk, collected eight strikeouts, threw 72 pitches and displayed a fastball that reached 94 mph in his first game since April 2015, when he underwent Tommy John surgery.

"He commanded the fastball well," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "That's what he did well for being out for so long."

McCarthy (1-0) pitched four games at Class A Rancho Cucamonga and Triple-A Oklahoma City on a rehabilitation assignment before being activated from the disabled list.

"I was surprisingly normal," McCarthy said. "In the past, when I've come back off rehab and gone into a first start, I felt like a hyped-up rookie. I wasn't expecting to feel like I had just gotten back into the swing of things. But once I started getting loose in the clubhouse, it felt very normal.

"Really, it felt like I had just taken a week off. That was a nice surprise."

McCarthy's performance came at a critical time for the Dodgers, who have four other starters on the disabled list, including ace Clayton Kershaw.

"Going forward, he'll be part of the rotation," manager Dave Roberts said about McCarthy.

McCarthy combined with four relievers in permitting just four total hits and amassing 15 strikeouts, with Kenley Jansen getting his 24th save.

Corey Seager extended his hitting streak to 16 games, matching the Miami Marlins' Marcell Ozuna for the major leagues' longest this year. Trayce Thompson and Yasmani Grandal added solo home runs as Los Angeles earned its sixth victory in seven games.

Despite Daniel Descalso's second home run of the season, the Rockies sustained their fifth consecutive loss and their eighth in 11 games.

The Dodgers took a 3-0 lead in the second inning against right-hander Jon Gray (5-4). Thompson began the rally by propelling Gray's 91 mph fastball over the center field fence for 13th home run.

Gray then hit Howie Kendrick, who scored following successive walks to Yasiel Puig, Grandal and McCarthy. Gray then induced a flyout from Chase Utley before striking out Seager. But Justin Turner hit a line drive just over shortstop Cristhian Adames' glove to drive Puig home. Grandal tried to score on Turner's single, but left fielder Brandon Barnes threw Grandal out at the plate.

"He really labored through the second inning, almost 40 pitches," Weiss said of Gray. "We've seen a few times where he has an inning where the command gets away from him. But more times than not, he's able to reel it back in, stay in the game and give us some length. That's what he did today."

Gray allowed three runs, six hits, three walks and a hit batsman in his six innings. He struck out four.

Descalso ended the Dodgers' shutout bid with a solo home run in the top of the seventh inning. Descalso pounded an 87 mph slider from right-hander Casey Fien into the first row of the right field bleachers.

Grandal responded in the bottom of the inning with his eighth home run. The catcher sent left-hander Chad Qualls' 85 mph slider just over the center field fence. Center fielder Charlie Blackmon tried to make a leaping one-handed catch at the wall, but the ball eluded him by inches.

Five fans ran onto the field waving black banners endorsing animal protection in the bottom of the ninth, but security quickly apprehended and ejected them.

NOTES: Colorado SS Trevor Story (bruised right finger) entered in the seventh inning as a defensive replacement in a double switch. He played for the first time in three games and for just the second time in six games. Story struck out in his lone plate appearance. ... Los Angeles LHP Clayton Kershaw could miss at least a month of action with a herniated disk, Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal reported. The Dodgers placed Kershaw on the disabled list Thursday. ... Dodgers 2B Chase Utley returned to the starting lineup after getting Saturday night's game off. He went 0-for-4. ... Los Angeles RHP Joe Blanton struck out all three batters he faced in the eighth inning.