CINCINNATI — Manny Ramirez hit the first of Los Angeles' four homers, and the Dodgers blew a four-run lead Saturday before powering their way to an 11-4 victory that ended the Cincinnati Reds' longest winning streak of the season at five games.
Ramirez connected on a two-run shot in the first inning off left-hander Matt Maloney (0-3), his first homer since Aug. 11. Rafael Furcal hit a tiebreaking solo shot in the fifth, and Matt Kemp and Orlando Hudson homered as the Dodgers pulled away.
Jeff Weaver (6-4) bailed out starter Charlie Haeger, who had a bad day with his knuckleball. Haeger squandered a 4-0 lead in less than three innings.
The NL West leaders improved to 21-4 against Cincinnati since 2006, their best mark against any NL team. Two slumping hitters got them through an early rough spot.
Ramirez took a called third strike with the bases loaded to end the Reds' 4-2 win on Friday night, the third time he failed with runners in scoring position during the game. The outfielder has been in a deep slump — his homer in the first inning Saturday was only his second extra-base hit in the last 14 games.
Furcal came in batting .198 over his last 19 games, but had a sacrifice fly, a solo homer and a single.
Falling behind fast is the Reds' way. They've given up 109 runs in the first inning, the most in the majors. This time, they did something very much out of character: They caught up.
Their biggest comebacks of the season involved four-run deficits. Down 4-0, Craig Tatum broke an 0-for-22 slump by leading off the third inning with a homer, the first of his career. Paul Janish added a two-run homer later in the inning off Haeger.
Manager Joe Torre liked what he saw of Haeger in his two previous starts, when he gave up a total of three runs in 14 innings. The 25-year-old pitcher wasn't afraid to throw the knuckleball at any point in the count, showing full faith in his unpredictable pitch.
Torre also knew the steep downside to a knuckleball pitcher: If that one pitch doesn't do much, there's not much else to do but get him out of the game. And that's what he did after the 66th pitch.
The Dodger bullpen had two big escapes. The Reds failed to score in the fifth off Weaver despite loading the bases with none out. Weaver was replaced by Ramon Troncoso with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth, and Hudson made a diving stop of Scott Rolen's grounder to second, ending that threat.
NOTES: Dodgers RHP Hiroki Kuroda threw 35 pitches in a simulated game without any problems. Kuroda was hit on the right side of the head by a line drive Aug. 15 and went on the disabled list with a concussion. He could begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment as early as next week. ... Reds OF Laynce Nix was sidelined for a second day with a sore neck. He got treatment and is expected to miss a few more games.