Greinke Homers; Dodgers Win Series Finale Vs. Phillies
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Zack Greinke's hitting outshined his pitching.
Greinke was 3 for 3 with a homer to offset his worst start in three years and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 10-8 on Thursday.
Greinke (11-2) gave up five runs before recording an out and finished with six runs allowed and seven hits in six innings. But he helped himself at the plate and Adrian Gonzalez hit a three-run homer to pace the NL West-leading Dodgers.
"I was mad after the first inning so I had motivation to get more hits," Greinke said.
The six runs equaled the total Greinke gave up in his previous nine starts combined. He had a scoreless streak of 45 2-3 innings during that span. Greinke hadn't allowed six earned runs since Aug. 19, 2012, when he gave up six for the Angels at Tampa Bay.
Greinke's ERA rose from 1.41 to 1.71. His batting average went from .170 to .220.
"He's a good hitter. He has good mechanics," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said.
WATCH GREINKE'S BAT FLIP HERE:
Zack Greinke home run (w/bat flip) in third inning gave Dodgers 7-5 lead. pic.twitter.com/cSpqAdJZXP
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) August 6, 2015
Domonic Brown hit a three-run homer for the Phillies, who lost their first series since the All-Star break. They're 13-5 since the break but still have the worst record in the majors at 42-67.
Fans gave Jimmy Rollins a loud standing ovation when he led off the game for the third straight day. Rollins, the Phillies' all-time hits leader, was 1 for 5.
Philadelphia starter David Buchanan (2-6) lasted four innings and gave up seven runs and 10 hits.
"To score that many runs off Greinke and not win has to hurt," Buchanan said. "I just didn't make quality pitches. I have to work on a few things and get ready for the next start."
Gonzalez connected for his 22nd homer in the second to put the Dodgers ahead 6-5. Greinke hit his fifth career homer in the third to make it 7-5.
Greinke reached on an infield single for his third hit to start the sixth. Rollins followed with a double and Howie Kendrick hit a two-run double to make it 9-6. Yasmani Grandal's sacrifice fly extended the lead to 10-6.
Kenley Jansen got the final two outs to record his 21st save in 22 chances. He entered with two runners on and allowed a two-run double to Maikel Franco and a single to Ryan Howard before Brown lined into a double play to first baseman Gonzalez.
The Dodgers jumped ahead 3-0 in the first on Carl Crawford's two-run single and Andre Ethier's RBI double.
But the Phillies answered in the bottom half. Brown followed Howard's two-run single with a shot to right for a 5-3 lead. Brown's RBI single in the third cut it to 7-6.
"Their top five in the order are up there with best top five we have to face and you probably don't hear people say that," Greinke said. "It's a tough top three."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Phillies: 2B Chase Utley, on the DL since June 23 with right ankle inflammation, will be activated on Friday. LHP Adam Loewen also will be called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. RHP Dalier Hinojosa and OF Jordan Danks were sent to Lehigh to make room on the roster.
UP NEXT
Dodgers: LHP Clayton Kershaw (9-6, 2.37) faces Pirates RHP Gerrit Cole (14-5, 2.29) in the opener of a three-game series.
Phillies: RHP Aaron Nola (2-1, 3.38) opposes Padres RHP James Shields (8-4, 3.74) in the opener of a nine-game road trip.
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