DENVER (AP) Standing in the on-deck circle and with first base open, Carlos Gonzalez briefly wondered if the Los Angeles Dodgers would pitch around pinch hitter Jason Giambi to face him.

Sorry, CarGo. No chance.

Gonzalez had already hit two towering homers off NL Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw in the game and the Dodgers wanted no part of him at the plate.

So, they went after Giambi and he launched a three-run homer off Scott Elbert in the ninth inning, lifting the Rockies to an 8-5 win over the Dodgers on Wednesday.

Giambi was simply in an enviable spot.

With first base open and one out, the Dodgers really had no choice but to pitch to him with Gonzalez waiting in the wings.

”It’s a dream spot to be in – that situation with CarGo behind you,” Giambi said. ”It makes a tough decision for people. You’re not out of the woods walking me right there. You load the bases for CarGo? He’s been so hot. I figured I’d get something to hit.”

He did, too – a juicy four-seam fastball.

”He did what he’s supposed to do,” Elbert said. ”He got me. Tip your hat.”

The Rockies took a 2-1 lead into the late innings before it turned wild at Coors Field.

The Dodgers scored twice in the eighth, but Colorado bounced back with three in the bottom half for a 5-3 lead. Los Angeles tied it with two runs in the ninth.

It was the sixth multihomer game of Gonzalez’s career and helped the Rockies take two of three against the NL-leading Dodgers.

Gonzalez hit a solo shot in the fourth on a fastball from Kershaw and then lined an 85 mph slider just over the right-field fence in the eighth for a two-run homer. Backup catcher Wilin Rosario also hit a solo shot off Kershaw, who surrendered three homers in a game for the first time in his career.

Kershaw lasted 7 1-3 innings and gave up a season-high five runs. He was on the hook for his first loss since Aug. 7, but escaped with a no decision when the Dodgers rallied in the ninth off closer Rafael Betancourt (1-0).

Betancourt gave up a single to Adam Kennedy to start the inning and then struck out the next two batters. Rather than challenge big-hitting Matt Kemp, Betancourt intentionally walked him to face Dee Gordon.

The plan backfired as Gordon delivered a two-run double to right. Maybe earlier in the game, Gordon’s hit might have been just a single. But with Michael Cuddyer playing deep in right, a hustling Kemp was waved home by third base coach Tim Wallach and just beat the relay throw to score the tying run.

Given the chance to do it all over again, manager Jim Tracy wouldn’t change a thing.

Well, except the outcome.

”I certainly would not have slept very well tonight if I let Matt Kemp hit and if in fact he hits the ball out of the ballpark,” Tracy said. ”That’s on me. It didn’t work out.”

But Giambi came to the rescue.

Jamey Wright (1-1) walked the first two batters he faced in the Colorado ninth and Jonathan Herrera bunted them over. The Dodgers brought in an extra infielder from the outfield, but it didn’t matter as Giambi, batting for Dexter Fowler, met Elbert with a shot to center field.

It was the eighth pinch-hit homer of Giambi’s career and fifth as a member of the Rockies.

”I’m grateful for the opportunity,” Giambi said. ”That’s what I’m here for, try to get those big hits.”

Drew Pomeranz received a hard-luck no decision after the bullpen couldn’t hold a late one-run lead. Pomeranz gave up one run and four hits over 6 2-3 innings.

Relying on a four-seam fastball, Pomeranz struck out five before being relieved in the seventh with two on and two outs. Matt Belisle got former Rockies infielder Mark Ellis to fly out.

Belisle then started off the eighth and surrendered a single. Rex Brothers entered the game and gave up a single to Kemp, followed by Jerry Hairston’s two-run double down the left-field line.

The Rockies tied it in their half of the eighth when Marco Scutaro led off with a single and was bunted over to second. Fowler followed with an RBI single. Soon after, Gonzalez gave the Rockies the lead with his two-run shot. He has been locked in at the plate of late, hitting seven homers and driving in 18 runs since April 24.

As for two homers off Kershaw, one of the top pitchers in the game, Gonzalez said he was just trying to stay patient.

”He’s a great pitcher,” said Gonzalez, who struck out to end the game with a runner at third the night before. ”It’s a nice comeback.”

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly was livid with a call by Tim Welke at first that ended a threat in the sixth. With a runner on, Hairston sent a roller into the hole that third baseman Chris Nelson snared and came up throwing. But his throw was off target and clearly pulled Todd Helton well off the bag.

Welke called Hairston out and Mattingly ran from the dugout with his arms extended in exasperation. He had words with Welke, before pleading with plate umpire Paul Schrieber. The call stood and the inning was over.

”It really doesn’t matter at this point,” Mattingly said after the game. ”I think he knows he missed it. I think Helton told him he was off the bag. We had a chance to get a run there. I just don’t think he realized he came off the bag.”

The attendant at the umpires’ clubhouse said the umpires declined comment.

NOTES: Despite his prodigious offensive numbers, Kemp was walked intentionally for the first time this season in the third. … It was Colorado’s eighth comeback win of the season.

DENVER, May 2 (UPI) — Andre Ethier cracked a three-run homer and E.J. Ellis had three RBI to stake Los Angeles to a 7-0 Tuesday and the Dodgers held on the beat Colorado 7-6.

The Rockies pulled to within one with two runs in the sixth inning, three in the seventh and one in the eighth but Dodgers closer Javy Guerra struck out two in the bottom of the ninth for his eighth save of the year.

Ted Lilly (3-0) sailed through six innings, allowing two runs on four hits.

Jhoulys Chacin (0-3) took the loss with seven runs on 11 hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings.

Carlos Gonzalez drove in two runs for Colorado and pinch-hitter Tyler Colvin hit a two-run homer in the seventh as the Rockies chipped away at the Dodgers’ lead.

DENVER — Ted Lilly threw six solid innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers got home runs from Dee Gordon, Andre Ethier and A.J. Ellis in a 7-6 win over the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night.

Lilly gave up four hits and two runs while the Dodgers pounded out 11 hits off Rockies right-hander Jhoulys Chacin and then held on despite a shaky bullpen performance. The victory capped a big day for the storied franchise that marked the end to the tumultuous Frank McCourt era.

The $2 billion sale of the team to Guggenheim Baseball Management, a group that includes former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson, was finalized Tuesday, just hours before the Dodgers improved to an NL-best 17-7.

“I think the fans of L.A. are pretty excited about the new ownership and what it’s bringing. As long as L.A. is happy, I’m happy,” Dodgers slugger Matt Kemp said. “As long as we’re winning, I’m happy.”

The Dodgers were even happier after this latest display of pinpoint pitching and power at the plate that has propelled them to their best start since 1983.

Lilly (3-0) improved to 9-2 against the Rockies. He got all the run support he needed by the time the Dodgers had sent four batters to the plate in the first inning.

The only downer for Los Angeles was the bullpen that allowed four runs in two ugly innings before Javy Guerra shut the door in the ninth for his eighth save in 10 chances. He allowed a one-out single to pinch-hitter Wilin Rosario, who advanced on a passed ball and went to third on Marco Scutaro’s groundout.That brought up Carlos Gonzalez, who already had homered earlier in the evening. With first base open, the Dodgers decided to pitch to the Rockies’ slugger, and Guerra fell behind 2-0 before throwing three straight strikes to end it.

Gonzalez’s bat splintered as he smashed it into the ground in frustration.

Chacin (0-3) gave up an RBI double in the third to Ellis, who made it 7-0 with a two-run shot in the fifth, his second of the season. The seven earned runs Chacin allowed were a career worst.

Gordon led off the game with his first career homer, a no-doubt shot off the second deck in right field, and Ethier homered into the bullpen in right-center field following singles by Mark Ellis and Kemp to make it 4-0.

Lilly’s only mistake among his 79 pitches was a fat fastball that Gonzalez sent into the right-field seats for a two-run homer, his fifth, in the sixth inning that made it 7-2.

The Rockies tagged Josh Lindblom for three runs on four hits in the seventh.

Chris Nelson hit a run-scoring double and pinch-hitter Tyler Colvin a two-run homer to right that made it 7-5. In just two-thirds of an inning, Lindblom gave up as many hits as Lilly did. With the tying run at the plate, lefty Scott Elbert came on and retired Gonzalez on a groundout.

Troy Tulowitzki led off the eighth with a triple against Kenley Jansen, and Todd Helton drove him home with a sacrifice fly that left fielder Tony Gwynn Jr. tracked down at the wall in the power alley, making it 7-6. Jansen gave up a two-out single to Ramon Hernandez but struck out pinch-hitter Jason Giambi to end the threat.

Notable

LHP Josh Outman impressed the Rockies with his one inning of work Monday at Triple-A Colorado Springs as he inches closer to joining Colorado’s bullpen. Outman (oblique) hit 95 mph with his fastball, manager Jim Tracy said. … Tracy said Rosario is getting enough playing time at catcher to avoid stunting his development. Tracy noted the experience Rosario is gaining from watching and listening to Hernandez is as much a teaching tool as is playing. … The Rockies know about fast starts like the Dodgers are enjoying. They opened 17-8 last year only to fade fast. “You have to be mindful that the season isn’t one month long, it’s six,” Tracy said. “A good month does not a season make.” … The rubber game of the series Wednesday pits Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw (2-0) against Drew Pomeranz (0-1).