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Adrian Beltre hit his 32nd home run, tying a record for a Dodgers' third baseman. (Jon SooHoo/Dodgers)

• Beltre hits No. 32:  56K | 350K

The Los Angeles right-hander inherited the bullpen's setup role from Guillermo Mota when he was included in a trade with Florida on July 30. Dreifort blew a save in the first appearance in his new role on July 31, and allowed two runs of a five-run, ninth-inning lead to get away before yielding to Eric Gagne on Aug. 7.

Dreifort struggled again in his latest setup appearance, on Thursday against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. He entered the game in the eighth inning with Los Angeles leading, 5-3, and proceeded to give up two hits -- including Wily Mo Pena's game-tying, two-run homer -- two walks and three runs as Cincinnati came from behind to beat the Dodgers, 6-5, and take the finale of the three-game series.

"I just didn't make good pitches," said Dreifort (1-3). "That's what happens."

The Dodgers were in position for their fourth sweep of a road series involving three or more games this season before Pena followed Adam Dunn's eighth-inning, leadoff walk with a two-run, game-tying homer. One out after Pena's homer, Barry Larkin singled and Darren Bragg walked. Yhency Brazoban came in and got Tim Hummel to fly out to right field before giving up D'Angelo Jimenez's go-ahead single.

"I'm not learning on the job," Dreifort said. "This is not a new role. I've done this role. It's not Pitching 101. It's going out and doing the job, and I didn't get the job done. It's not a learning experience.

"You've got to do the job, no matter what inning it is. Pitching's pitching, no matter when it is."

"It's a single game with a club that's 21 games over .500," manager Jim Tracy said, referring to his Dodgers. He added that Dreifort will remain in the role. "You have to find out, and the only way to find out is to create opportunities."

Tracy was just as chagrined about the top of the eighth, when the Dodgers had the bases loaded with one out before Gabe White (1-1) came on to coax leadoff hitter Cesar Izturis into an inning-ending double play.

"The offensive part in the top of the inning hurt us just as bad," Tracy said. "We had a chance to put a team away, and we didn't do it."

Left-hander Wilson Alvarez, in his 11th start of the season for Los Angeles and first since July 29, allowed six hits and three runs in 5-1/3 innings, but Pena's homer cost him a chance to improve to 4-0 in four career appearances against the Reds, including 3-0 in Cincinnati.

Dodger pitchers did not walk a Cincinnati batter in the series until Giovanni Carrara walked Felipe Lopez with two out in the seventh inning.

Jason Grabowski followed Izturis's third-inning, one-out bunt single with his seventh homer of the season and first in 19 games since July 7. One out later, Adrian Beltre added his 32nd of the season, tying him with Pedro Guerrero for the single-season franchise record for third baseman. Guerrero hit 32 in 1983.

The Reds cut the lead to 3-2 on three hits and a sacrifice fly in the fourth, but the Dodgers capitalized on pitcher Josh Hancock's throwing error on another Izturis bunt to score two unearned runs in the fifth. Grabowski followed the error by beating out an infield single. One out later, Beltre drove in Izturis and moved Grabowski to third with a single to right-center field, and Grabowski scored on Shawn Green's groundout to first.

The Reds got into position for their comeback in the sixth on back-to-back, one-out singles by Dunn and Pena and Jacob Cruz's two-out, pinch-hit single up the middle.

Mark Schmetzer is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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