CINCINNATI, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Jason LaRue capped a four-run, ninth inning rally with a two-out, two-run double Thursday, after which Ken Griffey, Jr. produced a two-run homer in the 13th off Omar Daal to give the Cincinnati Reds a 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The loss was especially painful for the Dodgers, who had their closer Eric Gagne and Manager Jim Tracy ejected in the ninth inning after home plate umpire Dan Iassogna ruled that Gagne intentionally hit Adam Dunn with a pitch following a two-run homer by Aaron Boone.
The Dodgers took a 4-0 lead into the inning before Gagne, who is second in the majors with 35 saves, yielded a single to Todd Walker and Boone followed with an opposite-field home run to right.
Gagne hit Dunn with a pitch and Iassogna immediately threw out Gagne, who charged the umpire. Tracy ran out of the dugout to intervene and was also ejected. The decision by Iassogna to eject Gagne was curious since the hit by pitch put the tying run at the plate.
Paul Quantrill relieved and promptly gave up a single to Austin Kearns. When lefthanded slugger Griffey was inserted as a pinch-hitter, the lefthanded Jesse Orosco came in and struck out Griffey on a 2-2 pitch.
The 45-year-old Orosco then retired lefthanded hitting Reggie Taylor on a slow roller to the mound as the runners advanced to second and third.
However, Orosco was not given the opportunity to get the save. Instead, acting manager Jim Riggleman turned to righthanded reliever Giovanni Carrara to face the righthanded hitting LaRue and the strategy backfired when LaRue lined a 2-2 pitch into the left field corner for the game-tying two-run double.
The Dodgers were forced to use Daal (8-6), their scheduled starter Friday, to pitch the 12th and 13th. Daal walked Dunn to start the 13th and, after Kearns failed to sacrifice the runner over, Griffey hit a 438-foot homer over the right field wall.
Scott Williamson (3-3) pitched two scoreless innings to earn the win.
