Dodgers End Losing Ways

The Dodgers are playing for pride, and they displayed some Sunday afternoon in a 12-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.

They ended their season-high losing streak at five games and moved back into third place in the National League West before 36,273.

Leadoff batter Tom Goodwin was the catalyst as the Dodgers raced to a 6-0 lead after two innings and chased Colorado starter Pedro Astacio (12-9).

Goodwin doubled to start the game and scored on Mark Grudzielanek’s single, and had a two-run single and scored in the Dodgers’ five-run second.

Darren Dreifort (11-8) benefited from the strong support.

The right-hander got his first victory since Aug. 13, winning after three no-decisions and a loss in his previous four starts.

Dreifort struggled with his command, working only five innings despite giving up only two hits and a run. He walked five.

Rookie right-hander Matt Herges gave up three hits in four scoreless innings to get his first save.

The Dodgers (74-69) didn’t need much from their pitchers.

They finally awoke after sleepwalking the last week and fading further in the division and wild-card races.

The Dodgers pounded 12 hits and got production throughout the batting order.

Goodwin had three hits and scored three runs, and Gary Sheffield had three hits and three runs batted in--increasing his team-leading total to 102.

Todd Hundley hit his 23rd home run--a towering, three-run shot to right-center estimated at 428 feet.

Colorado first baseman Todd Helton was hitless in three at-bats and is batting .382.

Second place in the division is the Dodger goal now.

That’s not much for a $98-million club, but the Dodgers still want to strive for something.

“Well, that was refreshing,” Manager Davey Johnson said. “That was probably the worst I’ve seen Astacio.

“He was up and he didn’t have very good command. We jumped all over him.”

Goodwin got them started.

“I’m just trying to come out and do the best I can,” said Goodwin, who has an 11-game hitting streak. “Hopefully, we can sneak back in the races somehow, and the only way you can do that is to win.”

Along with the five walks, Dreifort struck out six while throwing only 55 strikes in 94 pitches.

“Dreif got better as the game went on, but he was all over the place,” Johnson said.

“Once we got the big lead, five [innings] was all he was going to give me.”

The problem?

“I felt good, I just wasn’t mechanically correct,” said Dreifort, who lowered his earned-run average from 4.61 to 4.53.

“That’s why I kept walking guys, but Hot Rod [Hundley] called a great game. We got on one of their best pitchers early and we kept it going all game.”

Astacio gave up six hits and six runs--five earned--in 1 1/3 innings. His ERA increased from 5.16 to 5.35.

Herges has been one of the Dodgers’ most effective relievers and he was outstanding again Sunday.

“[Pitching coach] Claude [Osteen] asked me if I wanted to go out for the fourth inning and I said, ‘Yeah!’ ” Herges said. “It was real nice of Davey to let me go back out.”

The Dodgers finally had something to feel good about, Sheffield said.

“The way we’ve been playing lately, we needed to get something going,” said Sheffield, who has had at least 100 runs batted in four times in his career, including the last two seasons.

“We needed to do anything we could. We’ve been in a funk, and the best way to break out of it is to score some runs.”