Kenta Maeda felt something the veteran pitcher doesn’t always experience .

Stepping into the shoes of All-Star closer Kenley Jansen happens to be stressful work. Even more so in the heat of a division chase.Clayton Kershaw threw six effective innings http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-nolan-ryan-jersey , Maeda finished the ninth in place of Jansen and the Los Angeles Dodgers crept closer to the NL West-leading Colorado Rockies with a 4-2 win on Friday night. Yasiel Puig homered and had an RBI single for the Dodgers, who climbed within a half-game of the Rockies as they began a pivotal three-game series. This is the latest into the season the Rockies have been alone in first place since 1995.“We need to play like we’re in the playoffs right now and close to the World Series,” Puig said.Kershaw (7-5) baffled the Rockies even if he didn’t have his best stuff. The left-hander allowed two runs and six hits as he improved to 22-7 in 39 career starts against Colorado, with a 3.21 ERA.Scott Alexander got two outs in the eighth and began the ninth in place of Jansen, who didn’t make the trip after a team cardiologist recommended he not pitch at altitude after suffering an irregular heartbeat episode in Denver last month.Alexander gave up a long single to Chris Iannetta and struck out Charlie Blackmon before turning it over to Maeda. He got two outs, including a strikeout of Nolan Arenado to end the game and earn his second save.“Still makes me a little nervous,” Maeda said of filling in as closer.Chris Rusin (2-3) took the loss for the Rockies, who had their five-game winning streak halted. They’re chasing after their first division title.“We just need to kick that to the side,” said starter Jon Gray, who went four innings, allowed two runs, walked five and struck out four. “We know what kind of ball club we are. We’re a lot better than we were today.”Reliever Dylan Floro threw one of the biggest pitches of the game when he struck out Trevor Story on a slider with two outs and the bases loaded in the seventh. Story hit three homers Wednesday against San Francisco, including one that went an estimated 505 feet.A crowd of 41,547 saw a game that featured a little bit of everything, including Matt Holliday hitting his first regular season homer off Kershaw, Rockies manager Bud Black getting ejected for arguing a balk call in the fifth and, later that inning http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-yuli-gurriel-jersey , a throwing error by Gold Glove third baseman Arenado which allowed the go-ahead run to score.Puig followed with a two-out, run-scoring single to give the Dodgers a 4-2 lead.TRAINER’S ROOMDodgers: RHP Ross Stripling (lower back inflammation) was reinstated from the disabled list. He got one out in the eighth.Rockies: LHP Mike Dunn is scheduled to have surgery on his pitching shoulder Sept. 19. He’s been sidelined since early July.GOING FOR THIRDKershaw pulled into second with a double in the sixth and thought about stretching it into a triple.“I was thinking about Coors Field and you don’t breathe as well and I don’t want to be tired,” Kershaw said.NO JANSENJansen has experienced an irregular heartbeat several times while the Dodgers were in Colorado. His most recent episode happened Aug. 9 during the start of a four-game series at Coors Field. He ended up having his heart shocked back into rhythm at a Denver hospital. He was placed on the disabled list a day later and began taking blood-thinning medication.Dodgers manager Dave Roberts plans to use a bullpen-by-committee approach this weekend.Jansen is slated to join the team in Cincinnati, the second of three stops on the Dodgers’ 10-game trip.HOLLIDAY’S HOMERHolliday homered off Kershaw during Game 2 of the Division Series on Oct. 8, 2009, while he was with St. Louis.UP NEXTDodgers rookie RHP Walker Buehler (6-2, 2.92) gets another taste of Coors Field on Saturday. He threw seven scoreless innings on Aug. 11 in a no-decision. The Rockies counter with LHP Kyle Freeland (13-7, 2.96), whose 2.27 home ERA season is among the league’s best. NEW YORK (AP) Sonny Gray was chased in the third inning by the team with worst record in the majors, big league-loss leader Alex Cobb ended a nine-start winless streak and the Baltimore Orioles beat the New York Yankees 7-5 on Wednesday.Despite what appeared to be a midgame lecture in the dugout by third base coach Phil Nevin during a rain delay, New York (68-38) dropped 5 1/2 games behind Boston (75-34) heading into a four-game series at Fenway Park starting Thursday.Gray (8-8) allowed seven runs, eight hits and two walks in 2 2/3 innings, raising his ERA to 5.56. He was booed as he walked off the mound and was replaced by Lance Lynn.Cobb (3-14) had been 0-7 since winning at the New York Mets on June 5, losing his last five outings. He breezed against the Yankees with an early 7-1 lead, allowing one run and seven hits in six innings and stopping Baltimore’s streak of 11 consecutive road losses.Gleyber Torres homered twice for New York, a solo drive in the second and a three-run shot in the ninth.ASTROS 8, MARINERS 3SEATTLE (AP) – Marwin Gonzalez hit two of Houston’s four home runs http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-jake-marisnick-jersey , and the Astros knocked Seattle Mariners from the lead for the second wild card in the American League.After a five-game losing streak, the Astros rebounded to win the final two games of the series. Houston has a five-game cushion over Seattle in the AL West and dropped the Mariners into a tie with surging Oakland for the second AL wild-card spot. Seattle led the A’s by 11 games in the middle of June, but has seen the entire lead disappear over the past six weeks.Gonzalez hit a solo home run off Wade LeBlanc (6-2) with two outs in the second inning and added a two-run shot in the fourth. Jake Marisnick, recalled from the minors before the game, added a two-run shot off LeBlanc and Max Stassi greeted reliever Nick Vincent with a three-run homer in the fifth.Dallas Keuchel (9-9) improved to 6-1 in his past nine starts, throwing seven innings.CUBS 9, PIRATES 2PITTSBURGH (AP) – Cole Hamels had little trouble in his return to the National League, keeping Pittsburgh in check over five innings to lead Chicago.Hamels (6-9), acquired in a trade with Texas last week, gave up one unearned run on three hits. The four-time All-Star struck out nine and walked two to pick up his first win for a National League team in more than three years.Willson Contreras went 3 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs for the Cubs. Jason Heyward and Ben Zobrist had three hits apiece while Kyle Schwarber and Javy Baez each added two hits and an RBI for Chicago.The Cubs wasted little time jumping on Pittsburgh rookie Nick Kingham (5-6), touching him for four runs in the first inning to give Hamels plenty of breathing room. Kingham needed 51 pitches to get through the first and didn’t come out for the second.NATIONALS 5, METS 3WASHINGTON (AP) – Tommy Milone worked seven strong innings to get his first win in more than a year, Anthony Rendon homered and Washington beat New York to move back above .500.The Nationals followed their 25-4 blowout of the Mets on Tuesday night by jumping on Noah Syndergaard (6-2) early. Bryce Harper singled in the first inning to drive in Trea Turner, who had stolen second. In the third, Rendon got hold of a hanging curveball for his 16th homer this season, scoring Turner.Rendon has six RBIs in two games since returning after the birth of his first child.Filling in for the injured Stephen Strasburg, Milone (1-0) mixed his pitches effectively and faced little stress in the second start of his second stint with Washington. Kelvin Herrera got the save after allowing Wilmer Flores’s ninth-inning homer. Jose Reyes homered from both sides of the plate for the Mets Michael Saunders Jersey , his 11th career multihomer game and his first since Sept. 8.INDIANS 2, TWINS 0MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Carlos Carrasco struck out 10 in 7 1/3 innings, winning his fourth straight start since returning from the disabled list to carry Cleveland past Minnesota.Brad Hand got the last five outs for his 26th save of the season and second for Cleveland. The Indians stretched their lead over the Twins in the AL Central to 10 games.Carrasco (13-5), who missed three weeks with a bruised elbow before his reinstatement July 6, has 63 strikeouts in his last eight starts.Matt Magill (2-2) was the loser.ATHLETICS 8, BLUE JAYS 3OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Sean Manaea pitched effectively into the seventh inning, Jonathan Lucroy drove in four runs and Oakland completed a season sweep of Toronto.Manaea (10-7) allowed five hits, struck out five and walked two. The A’s won all seven games between the two teams for their first season sweep of the Blue Jays.Franklin Barreto homered and had three RBIs for the Athletics. Lucroy added three hits.Toronto starter Marcus Stroman (4-8) allowed seven runs and 11 hits in five innings. Russell Martin homered for the Blue Jays.TIGERS 7, REDS 4DETROIT (AP) – Jose Iglesias drove in three runs, Jim Adduci homered and Detroit survived the loss of pitcher Mike Fiers to an early injury to beat Cincinnati.Fiers left after the second with a bruised left shin, sustained on Mason Williams‘ comebacker. X-rays on Fiers’ shin were negative, and it was unclear whether he will make his next scheduled start.Drew VerHagen (2-2) followed as the first of six relievers and pitched three scoreless innings. Shane Greene worked the ninth for his 23rd save in 26 chances.Sal Romano (6-9) allowed four runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings.RAYS 7, ANGELS 2ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Willy Adames homered and drove in two on the day Tampa Bay gave him the regular shortstop job.Adames drove in a run with a two-out single off starter Nick Tropeano (4-6) in the fourth inning, then scored on Mallex Smith’s triple. Adames led off the sixth with his fourth home run to make it 4-2.Jake Bauers added a two-run homer in the ninth for the Rays, his ninth of the season and third in three games.Jake Faria http://www.royalsfanproshop.com/authentic-ryan-goins-jersey , pitching for the first time since going on the disabled list with a left oblique strain June 22, got the win in the third relief appearance of his career. Faria (4-3) gave up one run on four hits in 3 2/3 innings.ROYALS 10, WHITE SOX 5CHICAGO (AP) – Alex Gordon hit a two-run homer and drove in four, helping Kansas City pound sloppy Chicago.Jakob Junis (6-11) pitched 5 2/3 innings of four-run ball in his first win since May 18. The 24-year-old right-hander was 0-8 with a 6.67 ERA in his previous 10 starts.Chicago lost for the sixth time in seven games. Yoan Moncada broke out of a slump with his fifth career leadoff homer, two hits and two walks, but he also committed one of two costly errors for the White Sox.Dylan Covey (4-7) was charged with seven runs, four earned, and five hits in 4 1/3 innings, dropping to 1-5 with an 8.89 ERA in his last six starts.DODGERS 6, BREWERS 4, 10 INNINGSLOS ANGELES (AP) – Yasmani Grandal hit a two-run homer – his second of the game – in the 10th inning, rallying the Dodgers past the Brewers to snap a three-game skid.The win was also highlighted by Brian Dozier’s homer in his Dodgers’ debut after arriving from Minnesota on Tuesday.All-Star Matt Kemp ended an 0-for-26 skid with a single leading off the inning against Matt Albers (3-3). Grandal followed with his 19th homer after the Dodgers had blown a 4-2 lead.The Brewers tied it 4-all in the eighth. Mike Moustakas doubled off reliever Scott Alexander, who gave up three walks – one intentional – before Manny Pina singled in Ryan Braun.Dylan Floro (4-2) got the win after retiring the side in the 10th.—