LOS ANGELES - Darren Dreifort certainly appeared to be on his game, striking out a career-high 12.
Yet he credited catcher David Ross for helping him Thursday as the Dodgers defeated the Rockies 4-3 for their seventh consecutive victory.
"I really didn't feel like that was my best stuff or I was feeling that great, but for whatever reason it worked. It kept them off-balance," Dreifort said. "David Ross did a heck of a job calling the ballgame, and we got ahead of a lot of hitters."
Brian Jordan was 3-for-3 with a tiebreaking single as Los Angeles completed a three-game sweep.
Dreifort struck out four in the second when pitcher Aaron Cook reached on a wild pitch after fanning.
Pitching for the sixth time in seven days, Eric Gagne worked the ninth, striking out two, for his 18th save and 26th consecutive dating to last season. He has saved the past six Dodger victories.
Colorado's Mark Sweeney tied the score at 3 with a double in the third - the Rockies' last hit. Jordan singled in the winning run in the bottom of the inning.
EXPOS 8, MARLINS 2: Livan Hernandez pitched his first complete game as an Expo and Endy Chavez hit a three-run double as host Montreal completed a three-game sweep.
Hernandez had his first complete game since his two-hitter Sept. 25 for San Francisco against San Diego. He also had a run-scoring single.
The Expos (30-17) have won eight of 10 and never have reached 30 wins faster in their 35 seasons. Montreal took a 4-0 lead with two outs in the second on Chavez's double and Jose Vidro's run-scoring single.
BRAVES 9, REDS 4: Javy Lopez homered twice and tripled, driving in three runs, to help visiting Atlanta avoid a series sweep.
After dropping consecutive games for the first time since April 11-12, baseball's top team rebounded.
Lopez tripled and scored in the second, hit a two-run homer off Ryan Dempster in the third, then led off the sixth with his 10th homer.
Jose Guillen homered in each of his first two at-bats against Shane Reynolds but the right-hander allowed only four other hits in 62/3 innings.
Marcus Giles, who left the series opener with a bruised calf, returned for the Braves and had three hits.
METS 6, PHILLIES 3: Cliff Floyd, playing through an aching right Achilles' tendon, homered for the third consecutive game. Floyd's homer tied the score at 3 in the third and he made a nice running catch that bailed winning pitcher Pedro Astacio out of trouble in the fifth. Pinch-hitter Timo Perez's two-out, two-run double in the sixth gave host New York a 5-3 lead.
ASTROS 5, CARDINALS 2: Jeriome Robertson won for the first time since April 10 and Adam Everett hit his first major-league homer for host Houston. In the fourth, Richard Hidalgo and Everett homered to give Houston a 4-1 lead.
CUBS 3, PIRATES 2: Tom Goodwin, getting an infrequent start, hit a go-ahead homer in the ninth as visiting Chicago ended a season-high three-game losing streak. Goodwin hit Scott Sauerbeck's 2-2 pitch into the rightfield seats for his 24th homer in 14 seasons.
