Dee Gordon, Elian Herrera lead Dodgers to 4-3 win over Phillies

When Matt Kemp first went on the disabled list, the Dodgers became adept at continuing to win by getting key contributions from a variety of players.

That formula had seemingly deserted them since Kemp’s hamstring flared up and he returned to the DL, but Monday it returned in timely fashion.

In a bizarre game played in windy, and sometimes rainy conditions, the Dodgers defeated the Phillies 4-3 when Dee Gordon blazed his speed for a triple in the eighth inning and rookie Elian Herrera singled through a drawn-in infield to score him for the winning run.

The victory enables the Dodgers to maintain a three-game lead over the Giants, but neither manager Don Mattingly nor bench coach Trey Hillman was around at the finish to see it all happen.

Several Dodgers had been unhappy with the balls-and-strikes calls by home plate umpire D.J. Reyburn in the top of the fifth, including the normally affable A.J. Ellis. The Dodgers bench was barking at Reyburn, and after Clayton Kershaw had warmed up to start the bottom of the inning, Reyburn just stood outside the batter’s box.

Apparently Reyburn had thrown out Hillman and was waiting for him to leave the dugout. Mattingly, understandably irritated that his starting pitcher had warmed up and was now just standing around, came out to protest and soon he was ejected.

That turned the game over to third-base coach Tim Wallach, with hitting coach Dave Hansen having to take over for Wallach as the third-base coach.

The Dodgers had a chance to take the lead when they loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth, but already out of position players, left-handed James Loney had to pinch hit for Kershaw. He bounced out.

Kershaw went seven mixed innings, allowing the three runs on eight hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out five.

The Phillies scored all three of their runs off Kershaw in the third on a John Mayberry double and Freddy Galvis RBI single. Placido Polanco followed with a two-run homer.

The Dodgers had taken an early 3-0 lead, scoring on a pair of walks and run-scoring singles by Juan Rivera, just activated off the disabled list, and Bobby Abreu. They added one more in the second on an Adam Kennedy double and RBI single by Gordon.

Herrera also made a diving catch of a Galvis sinking liner in the ninth to help Kenley Jansen earn his seventh save.

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