DENVER -- When Shawn Green capped a dramatic ninth inning with a go-ahead two-run homer to seal a 7-6 victory over the Rockies on Sunday, Milton Bradley leaped into the air from the on-deck circle, and the roar from the Dodgers dugout sent chills down Green's spine as he ran toward first, still "wishing" the ball over the fence.
Having been down, 5-0, in the top of the seventh, the Dodgers left Coors Field safely atop the National League West, but they are far from complacent about their lead in the standings, relishing each win as if it was the seventh game of the World Series. Their 2 1/2-game lead has grown comfortable with familiarity, but despite their front-runner status in the race for the pennant, they are beginning to think of themselves as the comeback kids.
"We have had the flair for the dramatic in this series," manager Jim Tracy said after coming back from a five-run deficit for the second time in three games and posting the seventh come-from-behind victory in their last 13 games. "I look back on the third game in the Padres series (a 2-1, 12th-inning victory on Aug. 1), and at that time that was probably our biggest win of the season. This one obviously takes on a little more magnitude even than that one. To be down five and come back in the manner that we did, right now it looms as the biggest game we've played all year."
After tying the game in the eighth inning, it looked as though the Dodgers had gone to the well one too many times. The Rockies reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the inning before Green made sure his team won the rubber match and the season series with a single swing.
Shawn Green / 1B
Born: 11/10/72
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 200 lbs
Bats: L / Throws: L
Dodgers spot starter Edwin Jackson held the Rockies to one run through the first four innings -- a Jeromy Burnitz solo shot, turning around Jackson's 2-1 fastball and depositing it 412 feet into the center-field bullpen.
"I got a little gassed out in the fifth inning, but I continued to battle," Jackson said. "Early in the game, I was aggressive. I had a couple walks that I didn't really want. But it's something to build off of."
Ultimately, it was those walks that haunted Jackson's first big league start in 10 weeks. Three free passes (one intentional) and two hits added up to a four-run fifth for Colorado, driving Jackson from the game with a five-run deficit hanging over his head.
Though Rockies starter Jason Jennings gave up only four hits in 6 2/3 innings, he kept the Dodgers in motion, walking five and hitting two. He left the game after plunking Jayson Werth for the second time, with two out in the seventh. Lefty Javier Lopez couldn't finish off the inning, walking Steve Finley to load the bases for Adrian Beltre.
The Rockies had elected to walk Beltre three times Saturday night, but with the bases full of Dodgers, there was nowhere to put him Sunday. Chin-hui Tsao challenged Beltre, and Beltre won the bout, knocking a bases-clearing double past left fielder Luis Gonzalez.
Milton Bradley / CF
Born: 04/15/78
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 205 lbs
Bats: S / Throws: R
The Dodgers continued their comeback in the eighth inning when Bradley slammed a 479-foot homer into the third deck in right field, the longest home run at Coors Field this season. With a one-run lead and nobody out, reliever Allan Simpson gave up a single to Alex Cora, who advanced to second on a wild pitch and then to third when Simpson threw wildly in a pickoff attempt. Pinch-hitter Robin Ventura hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Cora and tying the game.
With the score deadlocked in the bottom of the eighth, Tracy turned to setup man Yhency Brazoban (2-0), who opened the inning with the dreaded walk to J.D. Closser. After a sacrifice moved pinch-runner Choo Freeman over, Jorge Piedra slapped a run-scoring single to center.
In the ninth, Rockies closer Shawn Chacon (1-9) struck out two and walked one, bringing Green to the plate with the tying run on first. Down to his last strike, Green unloaded with a 422-foot home run to dead-center.
"That was probably the biggest one I've had," Green said of his game-winning long ball. "He was trying to throw a high fastball to set up a breaking ball or something else. He left if over the plate and got in on me a little bit. When I hit it, I wasn't sure, but I heard the dugout screaming, so it made me feel a little more confident about it."
Eric Gagne / P
Born: 01/07/76
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 235 lbs
Bats: R / Throws: R
Fired up from his team's second stunning comeback in three days, Eric Gagne took center stage for a flawless final frame.
"It's ridiculous," Gagne observed. "We just keep battling, no matter how many runs we're back."
Gagne brought his 98 mph heat to set up the heart of the Rockies order, striking out Clint Barmes and Todd Helton on changeups, and getting Vinny Castilla on a high fly to center.
"Win or lose leaving here, we're still in first place," Tracy observed. "But the magnitude of this game, when we look back at the final result, could end up being the biggest game of the year."
Owen Perkins 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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Shawn Green / 1B
Milton Bradley / CF
Eric Gagne / P
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