Game 158: Dodgers @ Colorado Rockies 6:4

Even the Dodgers described this game as ugly.

Derek Lowe won his seventh straight decision despite a shaky outing and the Dodgers held onto their lead in the NL wild-card race by overcoming a three-run deficit for a 6-4 victory on Wednesday night.

"Right now it doesn't matter how we win, only that we win,"
center fielder Kenny Lofton said after helping the Dodgers stay
one game ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Dodgers also pulled within one game of NL West-leading San Diego, which lost to St. Louis 4-2.

"Still, our No. 1 goal is to win our division," said Lowe
who improved to 16-8on the year.

He got the win despite scuffling through six innings and getting roughed up for four earned runs and 10 hits.

Lowe said he won't look back with any regrets on his performance because at Coors Field, outfielders play deep and fly balls that are outs at other ballparks fall in for hits here, and the runners often take the extra base.

"This is the only place where I try to go into the game and all
I think about trying to stay in the game longer than
the other starting pitcher," he said. "It doesn't matter
what the score is because runs are going to be scored here.

"It was an exceptionally good win because of the time
of the year it came."

Jonathan Broxton pitched two hitless innings of relief and Takashi Saito pitched the ninth for his 22nd save in 24 chances.

The Dodgers fell behind 4-1 entering the sixth but J.D. Drew's two-run triple put Los Angeles within striking distance, and the Dodgers scored three times in the seventh to secure their 14th win in 18 games against Colorado this season. Andre Ethier, pinch hitting for Lowe, tied it at 4 with a run-scoring single, and a bad throw allowed Wilson Betemit to score the go-ahead run. Jeff Kent followed with a run-scoring double.

Rafael Furcal and Lofton each hit potential double-play ground balls during the three-run inning but beat the relay.

"Those were the keys to the whole inning," Los Angeles manager
Grady Little said. "I tell you, the hustle that we got out of some
baserunners kept us right in there for a chance at a couple of
big hits, and that was the difference."

Betemit gave Los Angeles a 1-0 lead with a 437-foot homer into the second deck in right-center field above the bullpens in the third.

The lead was short lived though, a mile high into the atmosphere, where no lead is safe. The
Rockies erased that deficit in the fourth when Helton singled home a run and Matt Holiday scored when Brad Hawpe grounded into a double play.

The Rockies added two runs in the fifth, thanks in part to a balk by Lowe.

Nomar Garciaparra tied his season high with three hits despite a sore side muscle and a sore quadriceps, which limited him to a single when he hit a ball off the wall in the first inning.

Why Garciaparra got the start over Loney is beyond me. Let the kid contribute. We will need him down the stretch and in the playoffs. More importantly, we will need Nomar at full health once the playoffs begin. Little said he probably won't start Garciaparra against the Rockies on Thursday. Garciaparra said he'll be ready to pinch hit, however. You do gotta love his dedication, regardless. Little also said that because Lowe was limited to 90 pitches, he will pitch on three days' rest Sunday at San Francisco if the Dodgers need to win that day to wrap up a playoff berth.