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Homers help Dodgers down Padres

Sep 4, 2008 - 5:56 AM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- The Los Angeles Dodgers have been using the long ball to keep pace in the National League West .

Rookie Blake DeWitt and Angel Berroa hit back-to-back home runs and Casey Blake also went deep as the Dodgers claimed a 6-4 victory over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday.

The trio of homers gave Los Angeles 12 in its last five games - all wins - while the pitching staff has surrendered two over that span. The recent surge has helped the Dodgers (70-70) move to within 1 1/2 games of the Arizona Diamondbacks (71-68) for first place in the NL West. Los Angeles hosts the Diamondbacks for a series this weekend.

"We know what we are capable of and we have been playing some of our best baseball lately," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "It's good to have confidence going into the series with Arizona."

After falling behind, 3-1, the Dodgers erupted for four runs in the fourth off Padres rookie starter Wade LeBlanc (0-1), who allowed five runs and eight hits in four innings during his major league debut.

"It was a great experience for me to make my debut, but it didn't end the way I wanted it too," LeBlanc said. "I took a lot from this start and hope to turn it around my next time out."

Matt Kemp singled to lead off the frame and DeWitt followed with his seventh homer. Berroa duplicated the feat, launching his first home run since September 25, 2006 to put the Dodgers on top.

"It feels great to hit one out after two years," Berroa said through interpreter Manny Ramirez. "Every day I battle, and I get more confidence playing everyday. My glove should be illegal because it catches everything."

Blake capped the frame with an RBI single to left field, plating Andre Ethier to give the Dodgers a 5-3 advantage.

Josh Bard pulled San Diego back within one in the sixth when he plated Wilson Venable with a single to right, bouncing Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda (8-10) from the game after the Japanese import yielded four runs and 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings, walking one while striking out four.

"He didn't have his best stuff out there tonight, but he battled and kept us in the game," Dodgers catcher Russell Martin said of Kuroda. "We won the game and that's all that matters right now."

Blake sealed the win in the seventh, launching a solo shot to center field - his eighth homer since joining the Dodgers from the Cleveland Indians on July 25.

"It's just good to be able to come through," Blake said. "This was a big win for us and we got confidence on our side, just have to hold onto that and ride that wave."

Three relievers bridged the gap to closer Jonathan Broxton, who pitched a perfect ninth to earn his 12th save.

"Our bullpen has been doing what they were doing early in the season," Torre said. "They all came in and did a great job holding onto the lead and giving us the win."

The Dodgers opened the scoring in the third inning when Martin plated Berroa with a single to left-center field.

The lead didn't last long as Kevin Kouzmanoff stroked his 20th homer off Kuroda to lead off the fourth. Bard extended the Padres' lead to 3-1 with a two-run double later in the inning.

"We did what we wanted to do, which was to jump out to an early lead," Padres manager Bud Black said. "They are playing extremely good baseball now and it showed this series."