Dodgers Ride 3 Homers To 7-4 Victory Over Reds

CINCINNATI (AP) — Scott Van Slyke, A.J. Ellis and Yasiel Puig homered during a five-run fourth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers held on for a 7-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night.

Kike Hernandez added three hits and Adrian Gonzalez chipped in a ninth-inning RBI double for the NL West-leading Dodgers, have won two straight games after a season-high, five-game losing streak.

The Reds, who have lost 11 of their last 12 games and slipped to 1-8 on their 10-game homestand, reached left-hander Brett Anderson for three unearned runs. Anderson (8-8) gave up five hits with one walk, four strikeouts and a wild pitch.

Luis Avilan struck out Jay Bruce with the tying runs on base in the eighth and Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth for his 25th save.

Left-hander David Holmberg (1-4) allowed all three of the Dodgers' fourth-inning homers.

After Hernandez gave Los Angeles a 1-0 lead with a second-inning single, Van Slyke led off the fourth with his fifth homer of the season and first since June 26 at Miami. Ellis followed with a 413-foot, two-run shot, his fourth, before Puig also launched a 413-footer to center field with Jimmy Rollins on base for a 6-0 lead.

Puig's 11th homer of the season knocked Holmberg out of the game. The left-hander was roughed up for seven hits and six runs with two walks and one strikeout.

Holmberg also allowed three home runs against the Dodgers on Aug. 15, giving up seven runs in just two innings of a loss in Los Angeles.

The Reds took advantage of second baseman Chase Utley's two-out error on Jay Bruce's popup in the seventh inning to score three runs. Ivan De Jesus Jr. broke up the shutout with an RBI single before Brayan Pena added a two-run liner past a sprawling Anderson.

Jim Johnson struck out Ryan LaMarre to end the seventh.

Brandon Phillips added an RBI single in the eighth.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Dodgers: RHP Juan Nicasio reported no problem after facing five batters in the eighth inning of Los Angeles' 5-1 win on Tuesday, manager Don Mattingly said before Wednesday's game. Nicasio was reinstated from the disabled list before the game after missing 12 games with a left abdominal strain.

Reds: Baseball-related activities are not in OF Billy Hamilton's immediate future. Hamilton, the major leagues' stolen-base leader, still has to wear a shoulder harness for periods of time every day and is in physical therapy while trying to recover from a sprained capsule in his right shoulder. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Aug. 19.

UP NEXT

Dodgers: RHP Zack Greinke (13-3, 1.67), the major leagues' ERA leader, is the scheduled starter as Los Angeles tries to salvage an eight-game road trip that opened with five straight losses.

Reds: Rookie RHP Anthony DeSclafani (7-9, 3.97), the most experienced of Cincinnati's all-rookie rotation with 30 career starts, is the scheduled starter in the finale of the Reds' 10-game homestand.