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Zack Greinke gets Dodgers back on track with 5-2 win over Phillies

Dodgers starting pitcher Zack Greinke gave up only five hits and struck out 11 in seven-plus innings against the Phillies on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.
Dodgers starting pitcher Zack Greinke gave up only five hits and struck out 11 in seven-plus innings against the Phillies on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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Zack Greinke looks pretty much the same whatever the situation. Whether his team is rolling or struggling, he’s unruffled, not overly concerned.

Which makes him a pretty good guy to send out to the mound when the Dodgers are scuffling. For the third time in this young season, Greinke followed a team loss by pitching them to victory the following night.

This time he went seven-plus innings, striking out 11, to lead the Dodgers to a 5-2 victory over the Phillies on Wednesday night that snapped a two-game losing streak before a Dodger Stadium crowd of 40,776.

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With Yasiel Puig driving in a pair of runs and Hanley Ramirez bursting out of his slump with a double and home run, the Dodgers remained in first place in the National League West by one game over the Giants.

Greinke (4-0) was in control all night. He gave up only five hits, and the one walk he permitted was intentional. Dating to Aug. 5, he is 11-1 in his last 16 starts with a 1.76 earned-run average. He pitched at least five innings in his last 17 starts and allowed two or fewer runs.

The Phillies were starting Cole Hamels, who had bicep tendinitis, for the first time this season, and he looked as if he’d never been away.

Still, the Dodgers took an early lead in the second when Matt Kemp doubled, went to second on a Scott Van Slyke single and scored on a Juan Uribe sacrifice fly.

Philadelphia tied the score in the fourth after Jimmy Rollins led off with a double and scored on a Ryan Howard base hit.

The Dodgers regained the lead when catcher Drew Butera singled with two out, Greinke walked and Puig bounced a hit in the hole between third and short. The Dodgers went up 3-1 in the seventh after Greinke doubled with two outs and Puig tripled off the right-field wall.

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Hamels went six innings for the Phillies, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk. He struck out five.

Greinke, who hadn’t thrown more than six innings this year, went out to start the eighth but his first pitch was hammered for another solo home run by Jayson Nix. And that ended the night for Greinke.

The Dodgers added two more runs in the bottom of the inning on a Ramirez solo homer, a Van Slyke double and a Justin Turner single.

Kenley Jansen, appearing in his fourth game in five days, pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn his eighth save.

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