Lowe, Dodgers maintain wild-card lead with win vs. Rockies

DENVER (AP) -- Big and ugly is how the Los Angeles Dodgers described their latest win over the Colorado Rockies.

Derek Lowe won his seventh straight decision despite a shaky outing and the Dodgers held onto their lead in the NL wild-card race by overcoming a three-run deficit for a 6-4 victory on Wednesday night.

"Right now it doesn't matter how we win, only that we win," center fielder Kenny Lofton said after helping the Dodgers stay one game ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies, who beat Washington 8-7 in 14 innings.

The not-so-stylish Dodgers also pulled within one game of NL West-leading San Diego, which lost to St. Louis 4-2.

"Still, our No. 1 goal is to win our division," said Lowe (16-8), who got the win despite scuffling through six innings and getting roughed up for four earned runs and 10 hits.

Lowe said he won't look back with any regrets on his performance because at Coors Field, outfielders play deep and fly balls that are outs at other ballparks fall in for hits here, and the runners often take the extra base.

"This is the only place where I try to go into the game and all I think about trying to stay in the game longer than the other starting pitcher," he said. "It doesn't matter what the score is because runs are going to be scored here.

"It was an exceptionally good win because of the time of the year it came."

Jonathan Broxton pitched two hitless innings of relief and Takashi Saito pitched the ninth for his 22nd save in 24 chances.

The Dodgers fell behind 4-1 entering the sixth with Rockies right-hander Aaron Cook (9-15) in command. But J.D. Drew's two-run triple put Los Angeles within striking distance, and the Dodgers scored three times in the seventh to secure their 14th win in 18 games against Colorado this season.

"They have been like this (against) us all year," Rockies first baseman Todd Helton said. "They get the clutch hits, and they did all the little things to win ballgames, and that is why they are in the race right now and we're not."

Andre Ethier, pinch hitting for Lowe, tied it at 4 with a run-scoring single, and a bad throw by shortstop Troy Tulowitzki allowed Wilson Betemit to score the go-ahead run. Jeff Kent followed with a run-scoring double.

Rafael Furcal and Lofton each hit potential double-play ground balls during the three-run inning but beat the relay.

"Those were the keys to the whole inning," Los Angeles manager Grady Little said. "I tell you, the hustle that we got out of some baserunners kept us right in there for a chance at a couple of big hits, and that was the difference."

Cook allowed six earned runs and 11 hits in 6 2/3 innings but felt good about his outing.

"There is a whole different level of energy when someone is in the playoff race and the position they are in," Cook said. "They are just going to fight and scratch the whole game to try and pull out a win, and they were able to do it tonight."

Betemit gave Los Angeles a 1-0 lead with a 437-foot homer into the second deck in right-center field above the bullpens in the third.

The Rockies erased that deficit in the fourth when Helton singled home a run and Matt Holliday scored when Brad Hawpe grounded into a double play.

They added two runs in the fifth, thanks in part to a balk by Lowe.

Jeff Salazar, who reached on a one-out single, was balked to second just before Garrett Atkins grounded a double down the left-field line, allowing Salazar to score. Holliday followed with an RBI-single.

Dodgers shortstop Nomar Garciaparra tied his season high with three hits despite a sore side muscle and a sore quadriceps, which limited him to a single when he hit a ball off the wall in the first inning. Little said he probably won't start Garciaparra against the Rockies on Thursday. Garciaparra said he'll be ready to pinch hit, however.

Little said that because Lowe was limited to 90 pitches, he will pitch on three days' rest Sunday at San Francisco if the Dodgers need to win that day to wrap up a playoff berth.

"If the Dodgers played us all the time, they probably would win the World Series this year," Cook said.

Game notes
Lowe, who has one win in relief, hasn't lost since Aug. 9, against Colorado. ... The only other team to beat Colorado 14 times in one season was Arizona in 2002. ... Drew's triple gave him a career-high 95 RBI.