Denver, CO – A.J. Ellis went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI, Andre Ethier belted a three-run homer, and the newly-owned Dodgers held on for a 7-6 win over the Rockies at Coors Field.
Los Angeles, coming off a 16-win April, spotted starter Ted Lilly a 7-0 lead that dwindled to the smallest of margins heading to the last inning.
On the day the ownership of the club was officially passed from Frank McCourt to Guggenheim Baseball Management LLC, the Dodgers survived thanks to Javy Guerra fanning Carlos Gonzalez with a runner on third for the final out.
"It seems like no lead is really safe," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "Those guys seem to do it all the time. ... It was one of those games."
Lilly (3-0) allowed two runs on four hits and one walk in his six-inning start, while his counterpart, Jhoulys Chacin (0-3), was pounded for seven runs on 11 hits and four walks in just 4 2/3 innings.
Down 7-0 in the sixth inning, Gonzalez began Colorado's comeback bid with a two-run homer off Lilly down the right-field line.
The Rockies added three more in the seventh off Josh Lindblom. Ramon Hernandez and Chris Nelson hit consecutive doubles to bring in a run, and Tyler Colvin poked a pinch-hit blast over the wall in right-center.
Troy Tulowitzki tripled high off the wall in right to open the eighth, and Todd Helton followed with a sacrifice fly that was tracked down by Tony Gwynn Jr. at the left-field warning track.
In the ninth, Wilin Rosario hit a pinch-hit, one-out single, then moved into scoring position on a passed ball. Rosario advanced to third after Marco Scutaro hit a sharp ground ball up the middle that was backhanded by Mark Ellis, who threw to first for the second out.
Guerra secured the win and his eighth save by getting Gonzalez to swing at strike three.
"It was a little out of the strike zone," Gonzalez said of the last pitch.
Colorado won the opener of this three-game set, 6-2, but found themselves in a 4-0 hole in the first inning.
Dee Gordon slugged his first career home run on the game's fourth pitch -- a no-doubter that caromed off the second-deck facade in right field.
Mark Ellis and Matt Kemp followed with base hits, and Ethier, on a payoff pitch, cleared the wall in right-center for his sixth home run of the year.
A.J. Ellis doubled home Gwynn in the third and plated Gwynn again two innings later when he went deep over the left-field wall.
Game Notes
Lilly improved to 9-2 in 13 career starts against the Rockies...Gordon's homer came in his 312th career at-bat...Mark Ellis had four of LA's 14 hits...Hernandez went 3-for-4 in defeat.
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