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Five-run eighth leads Dodgers past Reds

May 14, 2007 - 12:33 AM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Beating the Cincinnati Reds is becoming old hat for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Nomar Garciaparra had three hits and three RBI and the Dodgers posted five runs in the eighth inning to secure a 10-5 victory over the Reds on Sunday.

Rafael Furcal went 4-for-4 with an RBI and Jeff Kent added a homer for the Dodgers, who have beaten the Reds in eight consecutive games. Cincinnati has just four wins in its last 19 meetings with the Dodgers.

"We just went out there and everyone did their jobs today," Garciaparra said. "Our pitching is doing a good job and it's good to go out there and pick them up."

Tied 5-5 in the eighth, the Dodgers took control against reliever Kirk Saarloos (0-3).

Consecutive singles to open the inning by Andy LaRoche, Furcal, Juan Pierre and Garciaparra gave Los Angeles a 7-5 lead. After Kent made the first out of the frame, Mike Stanton replaced Saarloos and recorded the second out.

Back-to-back walks to Russell Martin and Ramon Martinez forced in Pierre with the third tally of the inning. Andre Ethier blew the game open with a two-run single to center and made a winner out of Jonathan Broxton (2-1), who pitched a perfect eighth.

"We don't have a lot of strikeout guys here so we have to make quality pitches," Reds manager Jerry Narron said. "We got in a tough jam and just couldn't get out of that inning."

"We have swung the bats good yesterday and today, it seemed like everything dropped for us," Ethier said. "Sometimes hits fall and sometimes they come in bunches."

The Dodgers, who have won six of seven, fell behind early on.

Ken Griffey Jr. hit a three-run homer off starter Mark Hendrickson to highlight a four-run fourth that gave the Reds a 5-3 lead.

"We scored early, got a lot of two out hits and Griffey's bomb helped us," Narron said. "It doesn't matter who we play, we just can't get anything going for us right now."

It was the seventh blast of the season for Griffey, who is .438 (21-for-48) with six home runs and 14 RBI in his last 13 games.

"I think Griffey woke us up with the home run and we realized we needed to get runs," Kent said.

The Dodgers second baseman hit his fourth home run of the year in the bottom of fifth off Reds' starter Bobby Livingston, pulling the Dodgers within a run.

The Dodgers then drew even in the sixth off reliever Todd Coffey, who replaced Livingston after one out was recorded.

LaRoche singled and then advanced to second on a wild pitch by Coffey. A single by Furcal moved LaRoche to third.

"I'm trying to get on base no matter how I can do it," Furcal said. "I got a lot of guys behind me that can drive me in."

With Pierre batting, Furcal stole second and LaRoche came home with the tying run on throwing error by catcher Dave Ross. Coffey prevented further damage by striking out Pierre and Garciaparra.

Recalled from Class AAA Louisville to start Sunday's game, Livingston allowed four runs, 10 hits and a walk while striking out one in 5 1/3 innings.

"I felt alright today," Livingston said. "I didn't have good command and located the ball OK. They only had three balls hit hard and the others just found holes."

This was Livingston's first career start as he filled in for Eric Milton, who is on the disabled list with a left elbow sprain.

"He got ground-ball outs early," Narron said. "It was his first outing so I think he was a little nervous, but he did good."

Hendrickson allowed five runs - four earned - and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. The 6-9 lefthander walked three and struck out three.

Brandon Phillips had two hits for the Reds and extended his hitting streak to 16 games.

"We just didn't play good and we just go out there and play our best," Phillips said. "Just trying to get a win, it's a crazy game."