Rockies 2 - 1 Dodgers
Final
  for this game

Rockies clip Dodgers in Helton's final game

Sep 30, 2013 - 2:25 AM Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - The Los Angeles Dodgers, down a run, loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth inning, but Rex Brothers struck out Skip Schumaker to send Colorado Rockies icon Todd Helton into retirement on a winning note.

Charlie Blackmon and Troy Tulowitzki both knocked in a run, helping Colorado close out the regular season with Sunday's 2-1 win at Dodger Stadium.

Helton, who announced earlier this month that the 2013 campaign would be the last in his 17-year career, went 1-for-4 with a walk in his final contest.

"The last at-bat, I got a little emotional, but other than that, it's Sept. 29th and I'm ready to go home," Helton said.

Jeff Francis (3-5) limited the NL West champion Dodgers to a run on three hits and two walks over five innings.

Hyun-Jin Ryu (14-8) worked four innings for Los Angeles, which heads into the playoffs having dropped four of its last five games.

The Dodgers (92-70) will play the Braves in the division series, beginning Thursday in Atlanta. However, center fielder Matt Kemp will not be available for the duration of the playoffs because of his troublesome ankle.

"To sum it up, if I keep playing on it, my ankle could break," Kemp said.

Brothers tight-roped the ninth inning, pitching out of a jam to record his 19th save. His outing began with a leadoff walk to Michael Young and he issued another free pass following a one-out single by Mark Ellis. The left-hander battled back to fan both Tim Federowicz and Schumaker to secure the win for Colorado (74-88).

Ryu got off to a wobbly start as the first four batters reached base to open the game. He did manage to limit the damage in the first inning to a Tulowitzki RBI single.

Blackmon plated Charlie Culberson with a base hit in the fourth, but the Dodgers halved their deficit an inning later on Schumaker's run-scoring single.

Game Notes

Colorado right fielder Michael Cuddyer won the NL batting title with a .331 average ... The Rockies won the season series against the Dodgers for the first time since 2007 after going 10-9 ... Colorado was 4-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left 12 men on base.






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