Padilla powers Dodgers to 3-2 win over Rockies in rubber match of crucial three-game series

Padilla pitches Dodgers past Rockies in L.A. debut

DENVER — Vicente Padilla gave the Los Angeles Dodgers a shot in the arm and the Colorado Rockies a punch to the gut.

The right-hander who was jettisoned by Texas earlier this month after angering the Rangers by throwing at hitters, returned to the National League on Thursday and pitched the Dodgers past the Rockies 3-2.

Padilla allowed two runs and six hits in five solid innings. He walked one and struck out four.

Rafael Furcal hit the tie-breaking RBI single in the sixth and Matt Kemp hit his career-high 19th homer as the Dodgers put the brakes on the red-hot Rockies by taking two of three in Colorado and opening a four-game lead in the NL West over the wild-card leaders.

And now the Rockies have to go to San Francisco for a weekend series after an emotional week in Colorado, where they took three of four from the Giants before losing two of three to Los Angeles.

Four relievers combined to preserve Padilla’s first win for his new team, and Jonathan Broxton got the last four outs for his 28th save in 32 chances.

The Rockies put runners on first and second with one out in the ninth before Broxton struck out Eric Young Jr. and Seth Smith.

The Dodgers’ win prevented the Rockies from slicing their division deficit to two games after having trailed the Dodgers by 15½ games on June 3.

Padilla, who played in Arizona and Philadelphia before getting traded to the Rangers in 2005, signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers on Aug. 19 after he was released by Texas, where he was 8-6 with a 4.92 ERA in 18 starts this year.

In going back to the NL, Padilla has to bat, which could make him a target for retaliation if he keeps plunking batters, something he didn’t have to face in the American League.

Padilla didn’t hit any Rockies hitters.

Dodgers manager Joe Torre was eager to see if Padilla could help L.A. down the stretch, especially with the uncertainty surrounding right-hander Hiroki Kuroda, who went on the disabled list after being hit in the head by a line drive Aug. 15.

With Padilla on the mound — he usually induces a steady diet of groundballs — Torre decided against giving slumping shortstop Furcal the day off, a decision that instead paid off at the plate when he singled up the middle to score Orlando Hudson from second base in the sixth to break a 2-2 tie.

Kemp’s 19th homer was a two-run shot in the first off Jorge De La Rosa (12-9), who allowed base runners in all seven innings in which he pitched but limited the damage to three runs and eight hits and three walks.

The Rockies tied it at 2 in the third when Smith hit a run-scoring triple and scored on Troy Tulowitzki’s bloop single.

Carlos Gonzalez returned to the Rockies’ starting lineup for the first time since cutting his left hand with a steak knife Saturday night, but he left in the fifth with a bruised left thumb.

Notes: To make room for Padilla on their roster, the Dodgers optioned 2B Tony Abreu to Triple-A Albuquerque and also moved RHP Jason Schmidt, who had shoulder surgery earlier this month, from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL. … Tracy isn’t ready to reveal his plans for a fifth starter next week following Josh Fogg’s poor performance Wednesday night in his first start for Colorado since the 2007 World Series. … The Dodgers are 12-3 against Colorado this season.