Denver, CO – Aaron Harang tossed six innings of one-run ball as the Los Angeles Dodgers took down the Colorado Rockies, 6-2, in the middle tilt of a three-game set at Coors Field.
Harang (4-3) allowed just four hits and three walks while striking out six. Javy Guerra allowed a run in the seventh, but Kenley Jansen closed it out in the ninth for Los Angeles, which snapped a five-game skid.
Elian Herrera went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI, Andre Ethier knocked in a pair to go with his two hits, Bobby Abreu hit a solo homer and Adam Kennedy contributed an RBI base hit in the win.
Juan Nicasio (2-3) allowed three runs -- two earned -- on four hits and a walk in just 1 2/3 innings. He left the game in the second inning with a strained left knee and was replaced on the mound by Josh Roenicke.
Michael Cuddyer and Wilin Rosario had RBI doubles for the Rockies, who had their five-game winning streak halted.
Tony Gwynn Jr. began the top of the first inning by reaching on an error by second baseman D.J. LeMahieu and Abreu followed with a walk. Ethier then brought home the speedy Gwynn with a base hit into right field.
Dexter Fowler led off the bottom of the first with a triple into the right field corner and scored on a Cuddyer double, but the Dodgers took the lead for good in the second.
A.J. Ellis began the frame with a base hit, Dee Gordon followed with a single and both runners moved up on a sacrifice bunt by Harang. After Gwynn reached on a fielder's choice and swiped second, Herrera came up with a clutch two- out, two-run single up the middle for a 3-1 lead.
"Herrera's been solid," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "He's done a good job and given us quality at-bats when we needed them."
With two outs in the fourth, Gwynn and Abreu walked around a double by Herrera to load the bases. Ethier followed with a walk to plate Gwynn.
Colorado squandered an outstanding scoring opportunity in the fifth as a single by LeMahieu and walks to Fowler and Marco Scutaro loaded the bags with one out. Harang worked his way out of trouble by getting Carlos Gonzalez to foul out before inducing an inning-ending groundout from Cuddyer to keep it a three-run game.
"We were trailing, we had the bases loaded and the two guys up that you would want to have up there," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. "But we missed (an opportunity) there and gave them two more runs in the top of the sixth."
The Dodgers added two more runs in the sixth to extend their lead to 6-1. Abreu cracked a 3-1 fastball from Rockies reliever Matt Reynolds and deposited it into the left field seats. Ethier followed with a double and came home on a base hit by Kennedy.
Colorado pulled a run back in the seventh when LeMahieu slapped a single up the middle and scored on a double by Rosario. Scott Elbert escaped a jam later in the inning by getting Gonzalez to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Game Notes
Colorado fell to 5-13 in day games this season...Herrera has 19 hits in 17 games played this season...Abreu's home run was his first in a Dodgers uniform...Los Angeles went 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 10 on base, while Colorado went 1-for-8 and stranded seven.
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