Second wind: Dodgers bash Reds for fourth straight win

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Cincinnati's shaky defense opened the door and Rafael Furcal broke through.

Furcal drove in four runs and Wilson Betemit added a two-run homer as the Los Angeles Dodgers extended their winning streak to four games with a 10-4 victory over the Reds on Tuesday night.

The Dodgers, who lost eight straight and 13 of 14 before the current winning streak, broke a four-all tie with five unearned runs in the seventh.

"I like the way this team looks now," said manager Grady Little, who has had Betemit, Julio Lugo and Greg Maddux join the team since last Friday. "If we continue to play, this thing will turn around."

Right fielder Ryan Freel dropped Betemit's fly ball with one out in the seventh to load the bases. Russell Martin drove in the tie-breaking run with a grounder that shortstop Royce Clayton fielded and stepped on second for one out before throwing high to first baseman Scott Hatteberg.

"How far away was I from the bag?" Clayton said. "I had to get to the bag and make a perfect throw. I'm not perfect."

"Every time we give them an extra out, it seems to come back to bite us," manager Jerry Narron said.

Some television replays indicated Hatteberg might have come down with his foot touching the bag before Martin stepped on it, which would have ended the inning.

"The guy who does our replays said it was pretty definitive that he was out," Hatteberg said. "It was a huge play. It changes everything."

"I'm glad you're not umpiring," Little said when told about the replay.

Consecutive walks produced another run before Furcal, who extended his hitting streak to eight games in the first, capped the inning with a three-run double. He drove in a run with a single in the ninth.

"I'm seeing the ball, and I'm putting good swings on the ball," Furcal said. "I just concentrated. I said to myself, 'We need a couple of more runs, get a good pitch to hit,' and I put a good swing on it."

Aaron Sele (7-4) allowed eight hits and four runs over six innings for his first win in three starts since July 9 and his first win on the road since June 9 of last season for Seattle. He was 0-3 in five road starts with the Dodgers this season.

"I didn't think about that," Sele said. "My job is to go out and give the team a chance to win. I try to control the things I can control. I try to throw quality pitches and repeat them."

Bill Bray (2-2) started the seventh and gave up three unearned runs to take the Reds' third straight loss.

The Reds took a 1-0 lead in the second on two-out doubles by Brandon Phillips and David Ross. The Dodgers answered by scoring four runs off of Bronson Arroyo with two outs in the third. J.D. Drew started the rally with a double. Andre Ethier followed with a single to left to drive in Drew, who beat Adam Dunn's one-hop throw to the plate with a slide, and Betemit, acquired from Atlanta in a trade last Friday, gave Los Angeles a 3-1 lead with his 10th homer of the season.

Martin kept the inning alive with a single to center, stole second and scored on James Loney's double to the gap in left center.

"I felt like I was throwing the ball decent," Arroyo said. "That one inning got away from me."

Ross drove in his second run of the game with a solo homer to left in the fifth, his 13th of the season and first in 21 at-bats since July 2. He was on the disabled list from July 16 to July 25 with a lower abdomen strain.

Dunn followed Freel's leadoff double in the seventh with his 32nd homer, tying the score at 4.

Game notes
Arroyo failed in his eighth consecutive attempt to get his 10th win of the season. The right-hander, who is 0-4 since beating the Mets on June 19 at New York, allowed 10 hits and four runs with six strikeouts and one walk in six innings. ... Furcal needed just two pitches to extend his hitting streak (15-for-32, .469) with a single to lead off the game. ... To make room on the roster for IF Lugo, the Dodgers designated OF Jose Cruz Jr. for assignment before the game. ... To make room on their roster for trade deadline pickups LHP Rheal Cormier and RHP Kyle Lohse, the Reds optioned LHP Brian Shackelford to Triple-A Louisville.