Los Angeles, CA – Matt Kemp hit a three-run homer, Shane Victorino scored three times, and the Dodgers avoided a sweep with a 6-4 win over the Rockies on Wednesday.
Kemp went 3-for-4 while Victorino also had three hits and added an RBI for the Dodgers, who concluded a 4-5 homestand. They trail the NL West-leading Giants by 1 1/2 games.
Chad Billingsley (8-9) won his fourth straight start, allowing four runs on seven hits over 6 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out five.
"My command wasn't quite there but I was able to make quality pitches," said Billinglsey. "Our offense played great tonight."
DJ LeMahieu went 2-for-4 and tied the game with a fourth-inning RBI single, but Carlos Torres (1-1) issued a bases-loaded walk to Hanley Ramirez in the fifth, putting Los Angeles on top for good.
Jeff Francis gave up three runs on four hits with two walks and two strikeouts in a four-inning start for the Rockies, who won the first two games of this series and were looking for their first road sweep of the season.
Eric Young began the game with an inside-the-park homer -- the 13th in Colorado history. He belted a long fly off the wall in center field and scored when the ball caromed past a pursuing Kemp.
"The last time I saw the ball was when Kemp missed it," said Young. "I looked a the third base coach and he was waving me in. Then I thought, 'We're going for the whole thing? OK.' And I made the best of it."
Dexter Fowler followed with a one-out double and Tyler Colvin drove him in with an RBI single later in the frame for a 2-0 lead, which proved short-lived.
Victorino led off the bottom half with a single and Mark Ellis walked before Kemp blasted his 17th homer of the season into the seats in left-center. He has five home runs and 16 RBI in 24 games since returning from the DL on July 13.
Jordan Pacheco doubled and scored the tying run on LeMahieu's fourth-inning line drive, but Torres faltered in the fifth.
A Victorino single, a walk to Ellis and an infield hit by Kemp loaded the bags before four straight balls to Hanley Ramirez made it 4-3.
Torres temporarily prevented further damage, lining out Andre Ethier and inducing a 5-4-3 double play, before allowing RBI singles to Victorino and Ellis an inning later.
Victorino's base hit scored Matt Treanor, whose wife Misty May-Treanor, along with teammate Kerri Walsh, picked up a third consecutive gold medal in women's Olympic beach volleyball on Wednesday.
Ronald Belisario relieved Billingsley with two aboard in the seventh and gave up a run base hit before escaping.
He also tossed a scoreless eighth and Kenley Jansen faced the minimum in the ninth for his 22nd save of the year.
Game Notes
Colorado recorded its first series win since taking two of three from the Nationals in early July...The Rockies were looking for their first road sweep since taking four games from the Mets at Citi Field in April of 2011.
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