Kemp hits grand slam, Dodgers beat Rockies 7-6 to complete 3-game sweep at Coors Field

Kemp hits grand slam, Dodgers sweep Rockies

DENVER — Matt Kemp hit a grand slam and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 7-6 Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep.

A day after eliminating the Rockies from postseason contention, Los Angeles sent them to their fourth straight loss.

Colorado went 1-5 on its final homestand, part of a stretch in which it lost nine of 10 overall. The Rockies finished 52-29 at Coors Field this season, but faded in the races for the NL West and wild card.

Kemp’s slam capped a five-run third inning against Jhoulys Chacin (9-11).

The Dodgers, who are 78-81, need to sweep their final series of the season at home against Arizona to avoid their first losing season since 2005.

Chacin fanned seven in five innings, giving him 138 strikeouts for the season and a record for a Rockies rookie. He broke the mark of 134 set by Shawn Chacon in 2001.

Kemp’s fifth career slam was one of only two hits in the Dodgers’ big inning, with all five runs unearned. Chin-Lung Hu doubled, Trent Oeltjen walked with two outs and then third baseman Ian Stewart muffed Ryan Theriot’s grounder. After walking James Loney on five pitches, Kemp connected.

The Dodgers added a run in the fourth on Hu’s sacrifice fly, scoring Reed Johnson, who led off with a double. Los Angeles made it 7-3 in the fifth when Oeltjen was hit by a pitch, moved up on catcher Miguel Olivo’s throwing error and scored on Loney’s single.

The Rockies took a 1-0 lead in the second when Kemp broke in a couple steps on a fly ball by Troy Tulowitzki, who wound up with a triple and scored on Todd Helton’s sacrifice fly. Tulowitzki went 4 for 4 with a walk and scored four times.

Olivo led off the third with his 14th home run and first in 124 at-bats since July 31.

Ramon Troncoso(2-3) won in relief of starter Carlos Monasterios.

Down 7-5, the Rockies loaded the bases with two out, but Jeff Weaver relieved George Sherrill and got pinch-hitter Melvin Mora to fly out on the first pitch.

The Rockies scored a run in the ninth, but the game ended on Olivo’s soft lineout with runners on second and third. Ronald Belisario got his second save.

Notes: Esmil Rogers will start the Rockies’ final game of the season Sunday at St. Louis, replacing Jeff Francis, who is 0-2 with an 8.38 ERA in three starts since coming off the disabled list Sept. 13. Rogers has made seven starts, the last on Aug. 31. … Rockies 3B Ian Stewart made his first start since Aug. 25 and went 0 for 3 with one error. He had been sidelined until Sept. 23 with a right oblique strain and then was ill with the flu. … The Rockies drew 2,875,245 in 80 home dates, their largest attendance since 2001 (3,159,385).