Adrian Gonzalez hit a three-run homer to finish with a major league-leading 116 RBIs, Matt Kemp added a two-run shot and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 10-5 Sunday for their fifth straight victory heading into post-season play.
The Dodgers’ 94 wins were their most since going 95-67 in 2009. They ended the regular season without a losing streak longer than three games, something only the 1924 and 1988 clubs had done.
Zack Greinke (17-8) set a career high for wins and remained unbeaten in his last eight starts, going 5-0 since Aug. 15. He allowed one run and four hits in five innings, struck out six and walked one while finishing 12-0 in 15 starts against NL West opponents.
Colorado’s Justin Morneau won the NL batting title, finishing at .319 after he grounded out as a pinch hitter in the eighth. It’s the lowest average for a batting champion since the late Tony Gwynn hit .313 for San Diego in 1988.
Morneau edged Pittsburgh’s Josh Harrison, who was hitless in four at-bats Sunday and slipped three points to close at .315.
It was the Rockies’ second straight batting title and ninth in 22 years; Michael Cuddyer led the NL last season at .331. Morneau finished the season two hits shy of 1,500 for his career, although his 160 hits are his most since he had 187 in 2008.
Gonzalez finished three RBIs short of his career high, set in 2008. His 27th homer helped power a 16-hit attack and extended the Dodgers’ lead to 5-1 in the third. It scored Darwin Barney who singled and Yasiel Puig, who reached on an error by shortstop Josh Rutledge.
Kemp’s 25th homer into the left-field pavilion with two outs in the first gave Los Angeles a 2-0 lead and scored Gonzalez, who doubled.
Defensive replacement Roger Bernadina added a three-run homer on his first pitch from Rob Scahill in the seventh, making it 9-1. Bernadina added a two-out RBI single in the seventh.
Dodgers second baseman Dee Gordon, who didn’t play, finished as the major league stolen base leader with 64.
Rookie Christian Bergman (3-5) gave up eight runs — seven earned — and 11 hits in 5 1-3 innings.
Colorado lost its fourth straight and finished 66-96, including a franchise-worst 21-60 road mark. The Rockies became the 22nd team in major league history to lose 60 road games in a season.
Third baseman Juan Uribe served as Dodgers manager in the regular-season finale although he wore Don Mattingly’s name and number on his jersey. He later changed to a jersey with Hall of Fame manager Tom Lasorda’s name on it.
Clayton Kershaw acted as pitching coach in place of Rick Honeycutt. Before the game, Kershaw threw 32 pitches in two simulated innings in an effort to limit rustiness over the nine days between his scheduled starts. He will take the mound Friday for Game 1 of the NL division series against St. Louis.
Kershaw became the first pitcher to lead the major leagues in ERA in four consecutive years at 1.77.
Colorado got a two-out RBI single by Rutledge in the second, a bases-loaded double by Rafael Ynoa in the seventh and a homer by Wilin Rosario in the eighth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rockies: INF DJ LeMahieu (sprained left knee) will have a MRI on Monday.
Dodgers: Gordon had a MRI on his right hip Sunday after leaving in the second inning a day earlier. The results were not available, but manager Don Mattingly said he expects Gordon to be ready for the playoff opener. … LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (left shoulder inflammation) threw a bullpen session and used all his pitches, topping out in the 85-mph range. He is set to throw a simulated game on Wednesday.
