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Dodgers' streak of series wins at home ends

Loss to Rockies also ends Greinke's win streak at 10

LOS ANGELES -- Talk about strange nights. On Saturday, Dodgers pitchers struck out 11 Rockies and walked just one, but came out on the wrong side of 7-1 score at Dodger Stadium.

The loss ended two long Dodgers' streaks at 10.

Right-hander Zack Greinke had won 10 decisions in a row over two seasons, but lost despite giving up just a Carlos Gonzalez home run in the first inning.

And the Dodgers had won 10 consecutive home series, one shy of the franchise mark accomplished twice in Brooklyn, before the Rockies earned at least a split of this four-game series behind left-hander Jorge De La Rosa, who held the Dodgers to just two hits in 7 1/3 innings

"I felt pretty good," said Greinke, who came out trailing 1-0 and after 100 pitches. "My defense made a lot of plays behind me, but De La Rosa pitched better."

As for his first loss since Aug. 9 at Milwaukee coming in a game in which he pitched well, Greinke said: "It happens. Defensively, we played really well. Offensively, I thought he [De La Rosa] pitched really well. There's not much you can do about that."

Center fielder Kiké Hernandez, in the fourth, and shortstop Jimmy Rollins, in the fifth, made the defensive plays Greinke cited.

Hernandez ran down Michael McKenry's liner to deep center field with his back to the infield.

Video: COL@LAD: Hernandez makes over-the-shoulder catch

Rollins made a diving stop of a De La Rosa grounder on the outfield grass, and threw the Rockies pitcher out from one knee.

Video: COL@LAD: Rollins dives, throws to first from a knee

Manager Don Mattingly said: "Obviously, Zack was great. He challenged CarGo there with two out in the first. Obviously, he's a dangerous guy, and it seems like he's finding his rhythm. Zack kept us in the game, he gave us a chance."

Greinke second-guessed his first-inning approach to Gonzalez, who hit his fourth homer on a 2-0 pitch.

"He's one of the best," Greinke said. "I didn't want to nibble that early, and it wasn't a good idea. It wasn't a bad pitch, but it wasn't a good pitch."

Gonzalez praised Greinke.

"I'd say he's top five in the league," the Rockies right fielder said. "He has the best command. When you face a guy like him, you don't try to do too much. I'm just trying to get a good pitch to hit and I got in a good spot, 2-0, and he gave me a pitch that I was able to drive."

De La Rosa kept it 1-0 until the Rockies broke through against reliever Sergio Santos for two runs in the seventh, on a Daniel Descalso home run, and three in the eighth, including a two-run shot by Nolan Arenado.

"Just two bad pitches, really," Santos said. "Two big mistakes. Descalso hit a changeup that I left up, and Arenado hit a hanging slider."

Santos also had four strikeouts in the eighth, but the first reached on a wild pitch and scored.

Video: COL@LAD: Santos strikes out four batters in the 8th

"It was just where we were at the time in the game," Mattingly said, when asked why Santos went two innings. "I thought he threw the ball OK."

Earl Bloom is a contributor to MLB.com.
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