<
>

Rapid Reaction: Dodgers 6, Rockies 5 (F/12)

LOS ANGELES -- Scott Van Slyke scored from third on a wild pitch in the 12th inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers found another way to win a game Saturday night, as they beat the visiting Colorado Rockies 6-5 in the penultimate game of the regular season.

The No. 1 concern for the Dodgers has to be the health of starting second baseman Dee Gordon, who left the game with irritation in his right hip after he grounded out in the first inning.

Hanley Ramirez also gave many in the stadium a scare when he went down after fouling a ball off his left knee in the fourth inning. He finished the at-bat with a walk but was quickly replaced by a pinch runner.

How it happened: The Dodgers had seen 19 straight batters retired before Van Slyke singled off Colorado left-hander Franklin Morales to right with one out in the 12th. Tim Federowicz then was hit by the first pitch from Morales, and Van Slyke stole third on the next pitch home. Miguel Rojas stepped up, and Morales bounced a pitch to the backstop, which brought Van Slyke home with the winning run.

Hits: Justin Turner continues to make a bid for heavy playing time in the postseason. He delivered two more hits in his two plate appearances to bump his average up to .338. If Gordon is out for any length of time, at least the Dodgers know they have a solid replacement in Turner. L.A. first baseman Adrian Gonzalez was just as efficient in his two plate appearances. He hit a towering solo home run deep into the Colorado bullpen in the first inning, then walked in the third before he was replaced by a pinch runner. Good thing the Dodgers had rookie right-hander Carlos Frias in the bullpen, as he came on to retire the first eight batters he faced in the 10th, 11th and 12th innings and struck out five. Frias was especially zeroed in on the strike zone and threw 26 of his first 30 pitches for strikes.

Misses: Dodgers starter Dan Haren looked to be a beneficiary of the four-run fifth, which put him in good position to win his 14th game of the season, but the bullpen gave away the three-run cushion in slow-drip fashion. Jamey Wright gave up a run on three singles in the sixth, Yimi Garcia was tagged for a solo home run by Michael McKenry in the eighth, and Ben Paulsen led off the ninth with a solo shot off Paco Rodriguez, the second straight night the left-handed-hitting first baseman went deep.

Stat of the game: Haren might not have earned his 14th win of the season, but he pocketed an extra $500,000 by making his 32nd start of the season.

Up next: Dodgers right-hander Zack Greinke (16-8, 2.74 ERA) will get his final tune up before the postseason when he faces off against Colorado right-hander Christian Bergman (3-4, 5.29) in the season finale at Dodger Stadium. First pitch is at 1:10 p.m. PT.