DENVER — No late-night magic this time for the Colorado Rockies. Left-hander Randy Wolf and the Los Angeles Dodgers' big bats made sure of that.
Andre Ethier hit two of L.A.'s three home runs, powering the descending Dodgers past the resurgent Rockies 6-1 Wednesday night to restore their teetering lead in the NL West to three games over Colorado.
The Rockies, who had won eight of 10, were trying to move within a game of Dodgers, a team they trailed by 15 games on June 3. The teams wrap up their crucial three-game series on Wednesday.
Colorado had posted four straight come-from-behind wins, including a 5-4 victory in 10 innings over the Dodgers in the series opener. The Rockies, though, couldn't muster another comeback against Wolf (9-6), who scattered five hits over 7 1-3 spectacular innings. He walked two and struck out five.
Ethier hit his 26th and 27th home runs off spot starter Josh Fogg (0-2), who allowed six runs, all of them on the long ball, and four hits in three-plus innings.
Ethier's two-run shot gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead in the first and he made it 3-1 with a solo shot to the same spot in the bullpen in right-center leading off the fourth, when Fogg unraveled.
Starting for the first time in nearly a year, Fogg failed to retire any of the half-dozen batters he faced in the fourth.
After Ethier's leadoff homer, Manny Ramirez was hit by a fastball and Casey Blake drew a walk before James Loney stroked an 86 mph offering over the right-field wall for his eighth homer and a 6-1 lead.
Russell Martin followed with a single and Orlando Hudson drew a walk, sending Fogg to the showers. Right-hander Juan Rincon, activated off the DL earlier in the day, came on and got out of the jam by inducing Rafael Furcal into a double-play.
But the damage was done and so were the Rockies.
Colorado got its only run on Ryan Spilborghs' eighth homer in the second before Wolf retired 14 of the next 16 batters he faced.
George Sherill got the last two outs of the eighth and Jonathan Broxton pitched the ninth for L.A.
NOTES: Rincon threw four hitless innings in relief, his longest stint since July 27, 2003, at Cleveland. ... Ethier has six multihomer games this season and eight in his career. ... Rincon, who had been on the DL since Aug. 1 with stiffness in his right elbow, grounded back to the pitcher in the fifth inning in his first at-bat since June 16, 2004, at Montreal.