CINCINNATI (AP) -- Sweep? This was a swamping.

Shawn Green homered during an eight-run sixth inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers finished off their first Cincinnati sweep in 12 years with an 11-3 victory Sunday.

The Dodgers pummeled the Reds' pitching staff during the three-game series, piling up 36 runs and 37 hits with eight homers. At 11-6, Los Angeles is off to its best start since 1988.

The Reds won two-of-three in Los Angeles last weekend, but didn't even come close in the rematch.

"We got good pitching in all three games and when you do that, you give your offense a chance," Dodgers manager Davey Johnson said. "And we jumped all over their staff this time. That's the difference."

Baseball's first professional team played like amateurs in its 1,000th loss to the Dodgers. The Reds committed two errors and let in runs on a passed ball and a wild pitch.

"Any time you get beat like we did over the last three days, it's an embarrassment," third baseman Aaron Boone said. "You know during a long season you're going to go through periods where you're not playing well, but we're better than this. There's no reason to play the way we are."

It was fitting that victory No. 1,000 over the Reds came in Cincinnati. Los Angeles is the only visiting NL team with a winning record at Riverfront Stadium/Cinergy Field, going 120-115 since 1970.

The Dodgers hadn't swept a series in Cincinnati since taking three in June 1988. They made this one a reference point -- Los Angeles hadn't scored so many runs in a series since piling up 38 in three games against Colorado in 1996.

"We scored a lot of runs and a few of us haven't even hit our stride yet," marveled Green, who was hitless in the first two games. "That's a great sign."

It's a measure of the Reds' pitching staff. Cincinnati hadn't given up 36 runs in a three-game span since 1981 and hadn't allowed so many runs in a series since 1969.

Manager Jack McKeon had a difficult time Sunday when he tried to think of the "Bad News Bears" movies for a reference point.

"You go through streaks like this. It's kind of like the 'Barefoot Bears,' or whatever you call 'em," McKeon said. "But you can't panic."

Todd Hundley got the Dodgers going with a two-run homer in the second off Ron Villone (2-1), who completed a trilogy of poor starts by the Reds. The NL's worst pitching staff melted down in the sixth, when Los Angeles sent 11 batters to the plate for eight runs.

The crowd of 29,124 rose to its feet and booed each departing Reds pitcher as the Dodgers put together their biggest inning in two years. The Reds also had two errors in the inning, let in runs on Benito Santiago's passed ball and Dennys Reyes' wild pitch, and hung their heads after Green's two-run homer to center made it 11-2.

By the bottom of the inning, the fans were booing every misstep, even razzing a ball boy who let a foul grounder scoot through his legs.

Carlos Perez (2-1) gave up nine hits and two runs in five innings. Green threw Dante Bichette out at the plate on Sean Casey's two-out single to right to end the fifth with Los Angeles up 3-2.

Cincinnati's pitching staff brought the NL's highest earned run average (5.87) into the game and lived up to it. Villone, who lasted only 2 2/3 innings during a 13-9 loss to San Francisco on Tuesday, routinely fell behind on batters, going to three-ball counts on 11 of the first 22 he faced.

It caught up with Villone in the sixth, when the Dodgers got rolling on Adrian Beltre's RBI double, Santiago's passed ball and Hundley's sacrifice fly. Reyes later let in a run with the Reds' 19th wild pitch in 19 games, most in the majors.

Ken Griffey Jr., bothered by a sore back in the first two games of the series, went 1-for-5 with a check-swing infield single. He was 2-for-11 during the three games.

Game notes
Los Angeles is 1,000-973 against the Reds. The only team with more wins over Cincinnati is San Francisco, which has 1,086. ... Kevin Brown, who broke the small finger on his right hand while trying to bunt April 8, threw without a problem again Sunday and is scheduled to return against Atlanta on Tuesday. ... The sixth inning was the Dodgers' biggest since they scored nine runs against Chicago on April 24, 1998. It was the biggest inning allowed by the Reds since they gave up eight to the Giants on July 24, 1998. ... Orel Hershiser, who tied the major league record by hitting four Houston Astros on Wednesday, re