• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Ethier wins it 6-5 for Dodgers after Drew's gaffe

Apr 16, 2010 - 7:27 AM LOS ANGELES(AP) -- Andre Ethier's first walkoff hit of the season was a fitting climax to a grueling three-game series that lasted about as long as two coast-to-coast flights.

Arizona shortstop Stephen Drew's wild throw over the first-base dugout gave Los Angeles the tying run with two outs in the ninth, then Ethier got another game-winning hit and the Dodgers beat Arizona 6-5 in 10 innings Thursday night.

The combined time of the series was 12 hours, 21 minutes. This one went 3:42.

"It's probably going to be like that quite a bit with the Dodgers," Arizona center fielder Chris Young said. "Both teams put up runs and play good baseball. So when you match the two together, you're going to have some long games. There's a lot of strategy involved and every game is big. The games went back and forth the whole series."

Arizona closer Chad Qualls blew a save for the second straight night, with help from Drew's first error of the season. He charged Casey Blake's slow bouncer and the ball appeared to slip, flying from his hand and into the seats.

Manny Ramirez hit a two-out RBI single to make it 5-4 and came home on the error before the Dodgers captured the rubber game of the series.

"Steven's about as sure-handed a shortstop as you can get," teammate Justin Upton said. "He was trying to make the great play, and you can't fault him for that. We wanted to get this game over with and get the W. I'd put my money on him to make that play any time of the week, but it just didn't happen."

Ethier drove a pitch from Blaine Boyer (1-1) over Young, who was playing in shallow center with runners on second and third for the 10th winning hit of his career. Six came last season.

"It always feels like the first time. It's a great feeling," Ethier said. "One swing of the bat either gets the job done, of you walk back to the dugout with your tail between your legs. I don't know if it's being in the right place at the right time or in the right spot in the lineup, but I seem to keep getting those situations popping up in my favor like that."

Blake DeWitt led off the 10th with a single and advanced on Rafael Furcal's sacrifice bunt before Matt Kemp was intentionally walked. Both advanced on a wild pitch before Ethier's hit.

Jonathan Broxton (1-0) pitched a perfect 10th.

Upton hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth off overworked Dodgers reliever Jeff Weaver, giving Arizona a 4-3 lead after Aaron Heilman blew a 3-1 lead he inherited from Dan Haren. Manager Joe Torre was planning on resting Weaver for a second straight day after he pitched in six of the Dodgers' first seven games.

Arizona made it 5-3 in the ninth against George Sherrill before Ramon Ortiz retired Mark Reynolds on a checked-swing grounder with the bases loaded.

Haren was charged with two runs and six hits over 6 1-3 innings and struck out seven. The three-time All-Star was pulled by manager A.J. Hinch with a 3-1 lead after 121 pitches - four more than his season high in 33 starts last year.

Heilman came on and threw a wild pitch that let Ronnie Belliard go to second before Kemp homered to center field on the right-hander's next delivery to tie it at 3. At that moment, a frustrated Haren made a beeline to the tunnel leading to the clubhouse.

"It was a game we should have won, but I made a mistake and let them get back in the game," Heilman said. "Danny pitched a phenomenal game and our offense scored a bunch of runs, so this one kind of stings a little bit. It was a tough-fought series."

Kemp has homered in four of his last five games. It's the third time in his career that he has homered in three straight.

"Everyone asked me all spring who's the best player in the league, and I told them it's Matt Kemp," Ethier said. "The guy hits right in front of me and plays right beside me in the outfield, so I get to see the stuff he does on a regular basis. I'm lucky because I get to watch him 162 games a year."

Hiroki Kuroda gave up three runs - two earned - and 10 hits in seven innings with seven strikeouts and no walks.

All uniformed personnel on both teams - and the umpires - wore No. 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson on the 63rd anniversary of his first major league game with the Dodgers in Brooklyn. The evening began with a home plate ceremony that included remarks by former teammate Don Newcombe and native New Yorker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - who was born one day after Robinson's debut.

NOTES: Newcombe threw out a ceremonial first pitch to Kemp. ... RHP Kris Benson, who began the season in Triple-A Reno, will be recalled on Saturday to make his first start for the D-Backs at San Diego.