70°Few Clouds
4:10 PM ET, September 28, 2014
Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California
Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California
Associated Press
Dodgers Power Past Rockies
Adrian Gonzalez hit a three-run homer to finish with a major league-leading 116 RBIs and Matt Kemp added a two-run drive in a 10-5 win over the Colorado Rockies 10-5 Sunday for the Dodgers' fifth straight victory."As that game was coming to an end, you can almost feel a change," manager Don Mattingly said. "The next game we play is going to be a lot different."The Dodgers open the NL division series at home Friday against the St. Louis Cardinals, who knocked them out in the league championship series last season."They've been a thorn in our side the last couple years," Mattingly said. "It's kind of turning into a pretty good rivalry."The Dodgers' 94 wins were their most since going 95-67 in 2009. They ended the regular season without a losing streak longer than three games, something only their 1924 and 1988 clubs had done.Zack Greinke (17-8) set a career high for wins and remained unbeaten in his last eight starts, going 5-0 with a 2.34 ERA since Aug. 15. He allowed one run and four hits in five innings, struck out six and walked one while finishing 12-0 with a 1.74 ERA in 15 starts against NL West opponents."I felt good," he said. "I used all the pitches; they all had some crispness to them. I didn't give up too many hard-hit balls, so that was the goal."Clayton Kershaw acted as pitching coach in place of Rick Honeycutt. Before the game, Kershaw threw 32 pitches in two simulated innings in an effort to limit rustiness over the nine days between his scheduled starts. He will take the mound in the playoff opener after becoming the first pitcher to lead the major leagues in ERA in four consecutive years at 1.77."He was kind of half doing his job," Greinke said of Kershaw, while giving props to third baseman Juan Uribe, who served as manager. "Juan was more intense doing his job."Uribe started out wearing Mattingly's name and number on his jersey. He later changed to a jersey with Hall of Fame manager Tom Lasorda's name on it."Easy game today," said Uribe, who got a cooler full of a blue sports drink tossed on him by Kemp before a postgame rally on the field."He did great. We won, right?" Mattingly said of Uribe. "He had them playing hard and got them to do what he wanted."Lasorda took the mic during the rally and showed he could still muster some bombast after turning 87 earlier in the week."I think we're going to get to the Fall Classic," he told the crowd. "Then the big Dodger in the sky can take me away."Colorado's Justin Morneau won the NL batting title, finishing at .319 after he grounded out as a pinch hitter in the eighth. It's the lowest average for a batting champion since the late Tony Gwynn hit .313 for San Diego in 1988."I'm most proud that I was consistent all season," Morneau said. "Sometimes you get hot for a while and hit .450, but I think I was consistent all season and I focus and concentrated on that."Morneau edged Pittsburgh's Josh Harrison, who was hitless in four at-bats Sunday and slipped three points to close at .315.It was the Rockies' second straight batting title and ninth in 22 years; Michael Cuddyer led the NL last season at .331. Morneau finished the season two hits shy of 1,500 for his career, although his 160 hits are his most since he had 187 in 2008.Gonzalez finished three RBIs short of his career high, set in 2008. His 27th homer helped power a 16-hit attack and extended the Dodgers' lead to 5-1 in the third. It scored Darwin Barney who singled and Yasiel Puig, who reached on an error by shortstop Josh Rutledge.Kemp's 25th homer into the left-field pavilion with two outs in the first gave Los Angeles a 2-0 lead and scored Gonzalez, who doubled."They've been a force together," Mattingly said.Dodgers second baseman Dee Gordon, who didn't play, finished as the major league stolen base leader with 64.Rookie Christian Bergman (3-5) gave up eight runs -- seven earned -- and 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings.FIRST HITDefensive replacement Roger Bernadina collected his first hit in nine games with the Dodgers. He hit a three-run homer on his first pitch from Rob Scahill in the sixth, making it 9-1. He finished 2 for 2 with four RBI.Hawkins replied.TRAINER'S ROOMRockies: INF DJ LeMahieu (sprained left knee) will have a MRI on Monday.Dodgers: Gordon had a MRI on his right hip Sunday after leaving in the second inning a day earlier. The results were not available, but Mattingly said he expects Gordon to be ready for the playoff opener. ... LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (left shoulder inflammation) threw a bullpen session and used all his pitches, topping out in the 85 mph range. He is set to throw a simulated game on Wednesday.
Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press
Photo Wire
LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 28: Pitcher Zack Greinke #21 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches in the first inning...
(Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)
(Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)
Game Information
| Stadium | Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA |
| Attendance | 48,278 (86.2% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:15 |
| Weather | 75 degrees, partly cloudy |
| Wind | 6 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Mike Estabrook, First Base - Manny Gonzalez, Second Base - Jim Reynolds, Third Base - Fieldin Culbreth |
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