Dodgers’ Bats Come Alive, Beat Cardinals, 6-4

After being stymied by St. Louis Cardinals' pitching, the Los Angeles Dodgers used the long ball to stay alive in the National League Championship Series.

The Dodgers got four solo homers, two by first baseman Adrien Gonzales, and Zach Greinke overcame a slow start as the Dodgers won 6-4 to extend the NLCS and send the venue back to St. Louis.

Greinke was in trouble in the first inning as the Cards loaded the bases with no one out. But the right-hander struck out Matt Adams and got Yadier Molina to hit into a double play to avoid damage.

The home team took a 2-0 lead in the second off losing pitcher Joe Kelly on RBI singles by Juan Uribe and Greinke, but St. Louis tied it in the third on an RBI triple by Carlos Beltran and a double by Matt Holiday. Adams followed with a single to put runners at the corners but Greinke again induced a double play grounder off the bat of Molina to keep the Cardinals from doing further damage.

From there, Greinke was dominant, retiring the final 13 batters he faced.

Gonzales hit the first Dodgers' homer of the series in the bottom of the third to give Los Angeles a lead they would never relinquished when he hit the first of his two home runs. In the bottom of the fifth, left fielder Carl Crawford hit a monster home run to right, and the Dodgers concluded their scoring on homers by A. J. Ellis in the seventh and Gonzales in the eighth.

Greinke threw 104 pitches through seven innings of work. Brian Wilson pitched a scoreless eighth before Kenley Jansen came in and allowed two runs in the ninth inning, but struck out the side to end it.

The two teams have an off day tomorrow to head back to St. Louis for game six. Clayton Kershaw will start for the Dodgers, while Michael Wacha will pitch for St. Louis in a rematch of game two starters.