DENVER – Troy Tulowitzki drove in four runs, including a tying two-run single in Colorado’s five-run seventh inning, and the Rockies rallied past the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-7 Thursday night.

Tulowitzki delivered against Mike MacDougal and pinch-hitter Jason Giambi drew a bases-loaded walk to break the 7-7 tie as the Rockies sent 11 batters to the plate in the seventh.

With the rally, Matt Reynolds stood to get the win, but because he was ineffective — three runs and four hits in one inning — the official scorer gave the victory to Rafael Betancourt (2-0), who pitched a perfect eighth.

Scott Elbert (0-1) recorded just one out while picking up the loss, yielding two runs and a hit.

Chris Nelson’s sacrifice fly in the eighth provided an insurance run for the Rockies before Huston Street got the final three outs for his 18th save in 20 chances.

Street gave up a one-out double to Andre Ethier before striking out Matt Kemp and getting Rod Barajas on a flyout to right field.

Behind Kemp’s continued power surge — he hit his NL-leading 18th homer, drove in three runs and came a single shy of his first career cycle — the Dodgers built leads of 4-0 and 7-3 that left-hander Clayton Kershaw couldn’t hold.

Kershaw, who has a 5.76 ERA in nine career starts at Coors Field, cruised through five scoreless innings and even keyed two three-run rallies by L.A. with singles before allowing three runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh.

Kershaw, who gave up six runs and seven hits, left after Colorado loaded the bases with nobody out in the seventh. Elbert, a hard-throwing lefty who hadn’t allowed a run in 7 2-3 innings since being recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque on May 11, gave up an RBI single to Carlos Gonzalez.

After Chris Nelson struck out, Todd Helton drew a walk and Tulowitzki’s bloop hit to right off MacDougal tied it at 7. Ty Wigginton was hit by a 3-2 fastball to load the bases for Giambi, who drew a walk to give the Rockies their first lead of the night.

Blake Hawksworth came in and got Charlie Blackmon to foul out and Jose Morales to ground out, leaving the bases loaded.

Kemp continued his torrid road trip with a 3-for-5 night. Through the first seven games of the Dodgers’ 10-game swing, he’s 14 for 28 with five homers and 13 RBIs.

Kemp put the Dodgers ahead 1-0 when he started the fourth with a drive to center on an 80-mph slider from rookie right-hander Juan Nicasio.

Kershaw led off the fifth with a comebacker that was barely out of Nicasio’s reach. He came around to score on Ethier’s two-out single. Nicasio was one strike away from escaping further trouble when he served up a two-run triple to Kemp that made it 4-0.

Nicasio, who had allowed just three earned runs over his first 13 major league innings, gave up four earned runs and seven hits over five innings.

Kershaw ran into trouble in the sixth when the Rockies loaded the bases with one out and Tulowitzki sent Kershaw’s first pitch down the left-field line for a two-run double that cut the Dodgers’ lead in half. Wigginton’s groundout scored another run.

Kershaw led off the seventh with his second straight single, this one off Matt Reynolds.

Dee Gordon tried to sacrifice him to second, but the bunt hugged the chalk line as he sped past for a single. Morales, the catcher, scooped up the ball and while falling down, inexplicably threw the ball several feet wide of Helton at first base, allowing Kershaw to score all the way from first.

Casey Blake’s RBI double made it 6-3, and he moved up on a wild pitch and scored on Ethier’s sacrifice fly.

NOTES: The Dodgers optioned rookie OF Jerry Sands to Triple-A Albuquerque and recalled left-handed hitting OF Trent Oeltjen. Sands was hitting .200 with two homers, 10 doubles and 17 RBIs in 125 at-bats for the Dodgers. … Rockies RHP Esmil Rogers (strained side muscle) made a rehab start at Triple-A Colorado Springs on Thursday night.

DENVER – The Los Angeles Dodgers have optioned rookie outfielder Jerry Sands to Triple-A Albuquerque and recalled left-handed hitting outfielder Trent Oeltjen.

Sands has struggled lately, collecting just three hits, all singles, in his last 35 at-bats. He didn’t figure to get sufficient playing time with Marcus Thames back from the disabled list. Manager Don Mattingly said playing everyday for the Isotopes will allow Sands to work out the kinks in his game.

Sands was hitting .200 with two homers, 10 doubles and 17 RBIs in 125 at-bats for the Dodgers.

Oeltjen batted .339 with eight home runs and 34 RBIs at Albuquerque, where he had a .429 on-base percentage and a .483 slugging percentage.

By Grant Brisbee

– Editor

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Jun 6, 2011 – Someone in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ front office is on salary, because if they were getting paid by the transaction, there wouldn’t be mass updates like this …

The #Dodgers optioned Ivan De Jesus and John Ely and designated Jay Gibbons and Juan Castro for assignment.

… and this …

The club activated Uribe, Hawksworth and Thames from the DL and has purchased the contract of Dee Gordon, who will be in uniform tonight

So in order:

• Ivan De Jesus, the 24-year-old middle infielder, was hitting .188 with a .188 slugging percentage in 32 at-bats. He hasn’t done much since his breakout season in double-A in 2008, and back to Albuquerque he goes.
• John Ely, a 25-year-old right hander, made a spot start and an relief appearance, and was roughed up in both.
• Jay Gibbons, seemingly out of the game after a PED suspension in 2007, had an unlikely return as a Dodgers bench player last season. He was having almost the exact same season this year, though with a lot less power. That was about the only thing that made him valuable of the bench, so ….
• Juan Uribe had hip soreness, and he performed well in his rehab assignment. With Rafael Furcal going on the DL, Uribe is coming back at a good time.
• Marcus Thames is the Jay Gibbons of the right side of the plate, and he’s hit even worse this year, but he still should offer some power against lefties.
• And Gordon is the Dodgers’ top prospect, a shortstop that the Dodgers hope will hit some day. John Sickels wrote this Dee Gordon scouting report:

Gordon was drafted in the fourth round in 2008 from Seminole Community College in Florida. Although his father Tom was a major league pitcher, Gordon was fairly raw when drafted. Speed is his best attribute, rating at a strong 70 on the traditional 20-80 scouting scale. He hit .277/.332/.355 with 53 swipes last year for Double-A Chattanooga. He doesn’t have much power, but scouts see him as a top-of-the-order player, assuming he maximizes his on-base percentage.

Gordon is 23, and he was hitting .315/.361/.370 in triple-A, though it should be noted that Albuquerque is a hitter’s park in a hitter’s league.

And there you have it: proof that the Dodgers’ PR department doesn’t get paid by the individual transaction. Actually, they might not get paid at all, but that’s a different story.

Read More: Los Angeles Dodgers

ALBUQUERQUE – Former Great Lakes Loons star Jerry Sands is wasting little time in Triple A.

Sands homered for the third straight game Monday in Albuquerque’s 6-5 win.

In three games, Sands is hitting .421 with nine RBis in five games.

Sands, 23, was picked in the 25th round of the 2008 draft. He broke out last season, splitting time between Great Lakes and Chattanooga, hitting .301 with 35 homers and 93 RBIs.

This season, Sands was invited to the Los Angeles Dodgers training camp, but was sent to Albuquerque, the Dodgers’ Triple A farm team in the Pacific Coast League.

minorleaguebaseball.com: “Being able to see how big leaguers approach the plate and being able to talk to guys about their approach at the plate was beneficial, I learned a lot,” Sands said. “Gabe Kapler was one of the nicer guys, he would give tips here and there. You have Jamey Carroll, you can’t really find a better person in the locker room. Even talking to guys who are my style of player, like Matt Kemp, was big for me.”

SAN FRANCISCO — Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal suffered a broken thumb sliding headfirst into third base during Monday night’s game with the San Francisco Giants. He is expected to be placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday, and while club officials didn’t want to offer a prognosis until after Furcal meets with a hand specialist in Los Angeles, injuries of this nature typically take four to six weeks to heal.

Furcal left the game after the bottom of the sixth inning and immediately had the thumb X-rayed at AT&T Park. That X-ray revealed the fracture.

Furcal actually hinted at retirement, but that seemed to be nothing more than an emotional reaction to having received the bad news.

“I’m thinking about retiring if I can’t get back to being healthy,” said Furcal, who has a history of back injuries and missed a month each last season with injuries to his lower back and right thigh. “I was feeling so good with my back, and now I break my finger.”

Furcal hurt himself when he slid headfirst into the bag stealing third base in the top of the fifth, then played two more innings in the field before leaving.

Furcal already was dealing with soreness in his left wrist that had kept him out of the lineup for the previous two games, but that had subsided enough to allow him to return against the Giants. Furcal suffered that injury on a checked swing during last week’s two-game series against the Colorado Rockies.

“It’s bad,” an obviously frustrated Furcal said. “I’m trying to get back in there after being out for two days, and as soon as I come back, I break my finger.”

The Dodgers will announce a corresponding roster move on Tuesday. The most obvious candidate to be recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque is longtime infield prospect Ivan DeJesus Jr., who began the season in the majors, went hitless in seven at-bats with five strikeouts, then was optioned to Albuquerque last Tuesday night to clear a roster spot for third baseman Casey Blake, who was coming off the 15-day DL.

The stolen base was Furcal’s first of the season, and he might have gotten help from third base umpire Todd Tichenor. The throw from Giants catcher Buster Posey clearly beat Furcal to the bag, and televised replays appeared to show third baseman Pablo Sandoval tagging Furcal on the left forearm before Furcal’s left hand touched the bag.

Furcal, the Dodgers’ leadoff hitter, is batting just .192 for the season after going 0-for-2 with a walk and a run scored against the Giants.

Tony Jackson covers the Dodgers for ESPNLosAngeles.com. Follow him on Twitter.