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Lowe sharp as Dodgers pound Rockies

Jun 3, 2008 - 7:19 AM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Derek Lowe pitched eight strong innings to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to an 8-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night.

Jeff Kent, Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp each homered for Los Angeles, which scored in each of the first three innings to open up a 5-1 lead.

Lowe (3-5) allowed just one run and five hits in eight innings. He struck out three and walked just one while throwing 63 of his 110 pitches for strikes.

"Derek had some of his best stuff going for him tonight," Los Angeles manager Joe Torre said. "When he can change speeds and use his movement to get ground ball outs, is when he's got his stuff working."

"I felt good out there tonight," Lowe said. "I haven't been pitching my best, but tonight was a good outing for me and we managed to get a big win after a tough trip. I know they have some aggressive hitters so I just wanted to throw strikes and hope they hit them at the guys behind me."

Greg Reynolds (0-3) took the loss, allowing six runs - four earned - and seven hits in five innings.

Colorado continues to struggle, both overall and on the road. The Rockies have now lost eight straight games, nine of 10 and 11 of their last 13 contests. On the road, Colorado has lost a franchise-record 13 consecutive games and is 2-19 in its last 21 road games.

"We just haven't been playing consistent baseball," Colorado manager Clint Hurdle said. "We've got a lot of young guys who are getting a chance to play regularly and get experience. The Dodgers always have a good club and they are a team that can beat you in many ways."

Kent homered in the first inning and the Dodgers added two more runs in the second, including one on a suicide squeeze by Lowe.

Ethier made it 5-1 with a leadoff homer in the third and James Loney added to the lead with an RBI single in the fifth. Kemp led off the seventh with his fourth home run of the season.

Kemp finished 3-for-5 with a homer, two doubles, and three runs scored.

"It was a good win after a long and tough road trip," Kemp said. "We want to play more consistently and put together some wins. I am feeling good at the plate right now, and just trying to look for a pitch I can hit and not chase something out of the strike zone."