Coming Clean at the Break

The Dodgers ended a frustrating first half with an encouraging performance Sunday afternoon in a 9-3 rout of the Colorado Rockies.

They salvaged a victory in the three-game series and won for the first time in the teams’ six meetings this season at Coors Field, sprinting to a 5-0 lead in the first inning against shaky Colorado starter Denny Neagle.

And the third-place Dodgers (49-44) moved a game ahead of the Rockies (50-47) in the National League West, finding something positive in their 5-15 freefall before the All-Star break.

That’s not what the Dodgers expected coming out of spring training, but they’re dealing with reality now.

“The first half of the season is over, and we know that if one phase of our game would have been a little bit better, our record would be a lot better,” said Manager Jim Tracy, referring to the Dodger offense.

“The All-Star break is something that I always looked at as an interruption. But in the case of this year, I think it’s a very good thing for our club.”

So do the players, who figured the Dodgers would be either atop the division or very close to the leader.

Instead, they’re 7 1/2 games behind the first-place San Francisco Giants and tempering their comments.

“Obviously, we know we didn’t get the job done in the first half, and no one is happy about that,” Paul Lo Duca said. “When you get to this point, the season is more than half over, so you have to look at it like that.

“We know we’ve got to get going right after the break. We know we all have to pick it up in a hurry.”

The point has been repeatedly reinforced in team meetings.

“The first half is over and there’s nothing we can do about it, but division [titles], wild-card [berths] and all those things aren’t won in the first half,” said right fielder Shawn Green, who drove in two runs.

“We’ve got a lot of games left [69] to make up for some of the troubles we had the first half. We have to try to get some hot streaks going; put a couple of winning streaks together.”

They had a good formula Sunday before 32,483.

The temperature was 97 degrees at game time and the Dodgers were just as hot with 12 hits, including the second home run of reliever Guillermo Mota’s career.

Leadoff batter Cesar Izturis went two for five with a double and a triple and scored two runs, and No. 2 batter Alex Cora went two for four with an a RBI double.

The Dodgers started with three consecutive hits for extra bases in matching their biggest opening inning of the season for the second time in four games.

The first seven batters reached safely against Neagle (2-3), and Jolbert Cabrera’s three-run double provided a five-run cushion for Wilson Alvarez (1-1).

Alvarez, making his second consecutive start in place of injured right-hander Kevin Brown, endured stifling heat and swirling wind long enough to earn his first victory since June 28, 2002, while pitching for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

“I couldn’t breathe,” said the left-hander, who gave up five hits -- Todd Helton’s 21st homer among them -- and three runs in five innings.

“I wasn’t tired physically, it was just hard to breathe. I was thinking about that instead of making my pitches, and I got in trouble with a couple of guys. But the main thing is that we won.

“We need wins if we want to get into the pennant race. That’s really all that matters right now.”

As usual, Tracy continues to be optimistic.

“As far as seasons are concerned, you position yourself in the first half, but you win championships in the second half,” he said.

“What’s coming up is the race to the finish line, and the best part of the baseball season is yet to come.”

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NL WEST RACE

*--* Team W L GB San Francisco 57 37 -- Arizona 52 42 5 DODGERS 49 44 7 1/2 Colorado 50 47 8 1/2 NL WILD-CARD RACE Philadelphia 52 40 -- Arizona 52 42 1 DODGERS 49 44 3 1/2

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