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Dodgers keep rolling, tie club record with 12th straight road win

Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez hits a double during the first inning of the Dodgers' 6-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday.
(Tannen Maury / EPA)
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Say this for the Dodgers during their current hot streak -- they’ve been versatile.

They squeak out narrow victories, or clobber opponents, or use walk-off heroics. And sometimes, like Friday, they just sort of win.

Their 6-2 victory Friday over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field unfolded without much in the way of dramatics, unless you count the ejections of Manager Don Mattingly and second baseman Mark Ellis in the fourth inning.

BOX SCORE: Dodgers 6, Cubs 2

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But it was another win, which is almost all the Dodgers know these days. It was their 12th consecutive road victory, tying the franchise record set by the Brooklyn Robins in 1924. It gave them an 11-2 mark since the All-Star break and was their 29th win in 36 games overall.

And the Dodgers pulled it off all sorts of ways.

Hyun-Jin Ryu was at less than his best Friday, which seems to be a theme for him on the road, but was good enough to earn the victory and raise his record to 10-3. He became the first Dodgers rookie to win 10 games since Kaz Ishii in 2002.

Ryu went 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs and 11 hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out six.

But he was supported by enough offense from the Dodgers, and generally disinterested-looking play by a bad Cubs team, to make it hold up, and the Dodgers went to 59-49. It’s the first time this season the Dodgers have been 10 games over .500.

The Dodgers managed nine hits, and were the recipients of five walks by Chicago starter Travis Wood -- including four consecutive in the third inning. Add to that some lousy Cubs defense, and the only real surprise Friday was that the Dodgers didn’t win by more.

Nick Punto, Adrian Gonzalez and Yasiel Puig each had two hits for the Dodgers, who scored one run in the first, two in both the third and fourth innings, and one more in the fifth. Then they seemed to get bored. After Puig’s leadoff single in the sixth, the Dodgers never managed another hit.

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But the team’s increasingly effective bullpen held the Cubs scoreless the rest of the way. J.P. Howell, Brandon League, Ronald Belisario and Carlos Marmol -- pitching for the first time against his former teammates -- held the Cubs to three hits over the final 3 2/3 innings.

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