Agbayani came off the disabled list and hit a grand slam, and Jason Jennings won his sixth straight decision as the Rockies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-6 on today.

Agbayani, who had been out since May 12 with a strained right hamstring, entered the game 9-for-19 with two homers and four RBIs against Dodgers starter Omar Daal.

He opened with a single off Daal in the second inning, then hit a grand slam in the fourth to put the Rockies up 4-2. He finished 2-for-3 before being replaced by Todd Hollandsworth in the seventh inning.

"Sometimes you don't want to be a slave to numbers, but we were looking at them and playing with them the other day," Hurdle said. "I figured if I don't have him back and don't at least give him a shot I would kick myself. Obviously, he didn't disappoint."

It was his second career grand slam, but first in the United States. Agbayani's previous slam came on March 30, 2000, against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo while he was playing for the New York Mets.

"In that situation you don't want to try and do too much," Agbayani said. "The worst scenario I could have done was pop it up or grounded out. It would have just killed the rally right there. I was looking for something to drive out to the outfield."

Los Angeles won the first two games of the series by scoring 15 runs in the final two innings. The Dodgers nearly pulled it off again today with three runs in the eighth, but came up just short to end a four-game winning streak.

"Once again in the seventh inning and eighth inning we put some great at-bats together to get ourselves back in the game," said Dodgers manager Jim Tracy, whose team lost for just the fourth time in 14 games. "We came up short, but the effort was there."

In the eighth, Los Angeles' Mark Grudzielanek hit a two-run single that bounced off pitcher Kent Mercker's hand into right, then Chad Kreuter made it 7-6 with a sacrifice fly off Jose Jimenez.

Paul Lo Duca added a single to put runners at first and second, but Jimenez struck out Dave Hansen and got Alex Cora to ground into a fielder's choice to end the inning.

"Even with a four-run lead, we knew the game wasn't over," Daal said. "I thought we would come back."

Mercker had to leave the game after Grudzielanek's hit split the webbing next to his left index finger. The cut was severe enough that he was scheduled for surgery tonight.

"Mercker experienced a pretty serious injury," Hurdle said. "He caught a ball off the left index finger and it split the webbing pretty dramatically."

Colorado won for just the second time in nine games against Los Angeles this season and avoided its first four-game losing streak under Hurdle.

The Rockies ended a 16-game stretch against the National League West 11-5.

"If you would have told me we would have ended up 11-5, I would have given a body part up. A small body part, but I'd have given up a body part for it," Hurdle said.

Colorado made it 8-6 in the eighth when a throw by Cora at short pulled Eric Karros off first base. Terry Shumpert scored on the error.

Todd Helton made it 6-2 in the fifth with a two-run homer to right, his 15th of the year. He added a run-scoring double in the seventh to put Colorado up 7-3.

Helton finished 3-for-4. He is 14-for-28 with two homers, six doubles and 10 RBIs since May 28.

Jennings (7-2) allowed three runs on 10 hits in 6 2-3 innings to tie for the fourth-longest winning streak in Colorado history. He improved to 5-0 with a 4.46 ERA in seven starts at Coors Field this season.

Jimenez worked two innings for his 16th save.

Daal (4-2) won his first two starts after replacing Kevin Brown in the rotation last month, but has allowed six runs in his last two outings. He allowed six runs in six innings after giving up six in a 6-3 loss to Arizona on Friday.

Los Angeles' Adrian Beltre had three hits to finish the series 8-for-13. Dave Roberts was 3-for-4.

Kreuter had a run-scoring single in the second inning, and Shawn Green put the Dodgers up 2-0 with a single in the third.

Los Angeles pulled within 6-3 on a run-scoring double by Cora in the seventh.

Notes

Hurdle said Brian Fuentes, who was sent to Triple-A Colorado Springs when Agbayani was activated, will be recalled to replace Mercker. INF Brent Butler will be sent to Colorado Springs instead. ... Colorado is 5-12 when a left-hander starts, but all five victories have been at Coors Field. ... The Dodgers failed to homer for the first time in 12 games. ... Colorado's Larry Walker has reached base in 33 straight games. ... Julian Tavarez holds the Colorado record for most consecutive victories with nine in 2000. ... Los Angeles is 73-54 against Colorado.