LOS ANGELES (AP) - Ronnie Belliard hit a grand slam, Matt Kemp and James Loney added back-to-back drives off former teammate Brad Penny and the Los Angeles Dodgers routed the San Francisco Giants 12-1 on Saturday.
The Dodgers, who lost the series opener 8-4 on Friday night, began the day with a five-game lead over Colorado in the NL West. The victory reduced their magic number to six games for clinching their third postseason berth in four years.
Loney went 3 for 4 and drove in two runs as the Dodgers improved to 10-7 against their rivals, with their largest margin of victory this season against them.
Jon Garland (11-11) gave up an unearned run and seven hits in eight innings, tying his longest outing of the season. The right-hander is unbeaten in his last six starts, four of those with the Dodgers after he was acquired from Arizona on Aug. 31.
Penny (10-9) defeated the Dodgers 7-2 last Sunday in his first start against them since being signed by the Giants on Aug. 31. The right-hander had been particularly tough on hitters with runners in scoring position and two outs this season, holding them to a .176 average.
But Los Angeles pummeled him with two outs in the first. Loney's RBI single tied it at 1 before Belliard sent a 1-2 pitch into the Dodgers' bullpen for his fourth career grand slam, giving them a 5-1 lead and triggering taunts of Penny. He spent five years in Los Angeles before being traded to Boston last year.
Pitching in 87-degree heat, Penny gave up seven runs and five hits in 2 2-3 innings - equaling his shortest outing of the season. He lost for the first time in four outings with the Giants.
Randy Johnson made his first relief appearance since pitching for the Yankees in the 2005 American League division series. He faced three batters in the sixth, giving up consecutive doubles to Rafael Furcal and Andre Ethier before retiring pinch-hitter Juan Pierre.
The Dodgers extended their lead to 7-1 in the third. Kemp and Loney homered on consecutive pitches from Penny, with Loney clearing the right-field wall for his first at home after 12 on the road. Kemp connected on a 2-1 pitch for his 25th homer and 95th RBI - both career highs.
The Dodgers added two runs in the fifth, taking advantaged of an error by second baseman Freddy Sanchez. Casey Blake hit an apparent inning-ending, double-play grounder to third, but Sanchez dropped the throw from Pablo Sandoval as Manny Ramirez scored to make it 8-1. Blake was credited with a RBI. Russell Martin added a two-out RBI single.
Pinch-hitter Blake DeWitt also homered leading off the seventh for the Dodgers.
Randy Winn hit a sacrifice fly in the first for the Giants. Eugenio Velez reached on Ramirez's two-base error and was sacrificed to third to set up the run.
NOTES: The Dodgers have homered in a season-high nine consecutive games. ... Johnson's last regular-season relief outing came on July 18, 2001, at San Diego, when he struck out 16 in completion of a suspended game. ... Belliard's last grand slam was on Aug. 22 against Milwaukee. ... The Dodgers have hit back-to-back homers nine times this season. ... The Giants need another victory to guarantee at least a .500 finish, something they haven't done since 2004. ... New York City Police Officer Paul McLaughlin visited Dodgers manager Joe Torre in the dugout before the game, recounting how he and another officer caught two babies who were lobbed from a burning building in the Bronx in 2007, when Torre managed the Yankees.