DODGERS GONE WILD OFFENSIVE OUTBURST HELPS TEAM TAKE LEAD IN WILD-CARD RACE DODGERS 11, COLORADO 4.

Byline: TONY JACKSON Staff Writer

DENVER -- The Dodgers' playoff hopes still hinge largely on unanswered questions, such as whether San Diego will ever cool off enough to allow them back into the division race and whether Philadelphia will continue to slip out of their way in the wild card.

But on Tuesday night, in an 11-4 pounding of the Colorado Rockies in front of 20,133 at Coors Field, the suddenly surging Dodgers answered two of their biggest questions resoundingly.

To those who were wondering whether Greg Maddux, at this advanced and possibly final stage of his Hall of Fame career, could come back by the weekend and be effective on three days' rest with a postseason berth on the line, the answer is an emphatic yes. The storied right-hander threw 26 pitches in a shaky first inning, then got through the next five on a total of 50, presumably leaving his 40-year-old right arm strong enough for the daunting task he will face on Saturday at San Francisco.

And to those who were wondering which version of these Jekyll-and-Hyde Dodgers would show up for a season-ending road trip rife with peril, the answer had come by the top of the first inning. Six consecutive batters reached to begin the game, and the Dodgers took a quick, 3-0 lead off erstwhile Rockies ace Jason Jennings.

By the sixth inning, that lead had been pushed to 11-1. That was thanks mostly to a two-run homer by Nomar Garciaparra, a three-run triple by Russell Martin and a two-run shot by Marlon Anderson that landed halfway up the second deck in right field, some 437 feet from home plate.

Anderson fell a triple short of the cycle. But that was OK, because the Phillies, who lost at Washington, fell a game short of the Dodgers in the wild-card standings.

The Dodgers, who still trail the Padres by two games in the National League West, have won four of their past five games. But don't dare call that a hot streak. To the one-day-at-a-time Dodgers, it just means they did their job four times and failed to do it once.

``I think this team just comes in every day and gets ready to play,'' said Anderson, among the most blue-collar of all Dodgers. ``Whether we win or not, every day is the same thing. You just want to continue to play well, to the best of your ability. These are professionals. They take care of business and do things the right way.''

Garciaparra, who already was playing through a painful and debilitating left quadriceps strain, left the game after his fifth-inning homer with a strained right oblique.

``It was hurting him pretty badly a couple of times, including on his home-run swing,'' Dodgers manager Grady Little said. ``It's a slight strain. We'll re-evaluate (today).''

By beating St. Louis, the Padres reduced their magic number for clinching the division title to four -- and effectively to three because they hold the tiebreaker over the Dodgers (83-74). But by taking a one-game lead over the Phillies, the Dodgers set their magic number in the wild-card race at five with five games to go.

Maddux (14-14) got through that first inning unscathed, then gave up only a solo homer to Garrett Atkins over the next four. Atkins' shot cut the Dodgers' lead to 3-1.

But after Kenny Lofton worked an 11-pitch walk to begin the next inning, Garciaparra immediately answered Atkins' shot with a two-run blast into the Rockies' bullpen in right-center, making it 5-1.

After that, Jennings (9-13) bought himself more trouble by walking Jeff Kent, who eventually scored on Anderson's two-out double to make it 6-1. The Dodgers then torched former teammate Tom Martin and Nate Field in a five-run sixth.

In a ballpark where games are seemingly never out of reach, that put the game out of reach.

``I never really got comfortable,'' Maddux said. ``Here, you just battle and try to keep going. You see a lot of big innings in this place, and no lead is comfortable. When you pitch here, you wake up panicking and just hoping you can get through six innings, because this is a tough place to pitch.''

This from a man who now has won six of eight career starts here -- the most victories by any non-Rockies pitcher in the 12-year history of the park -- despite posting a 6.00 ERA.

Martin matched his career high with four RBIs.

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CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) The Dodgers' Nomar Garciaparra, center, runs past Colorado pitcher Jason Jennings, left, and catcher Chris Iannetta to score in the first inning.

(2) Dodgers' pitcher Greg Maddux allowed three runs in six innings Tuesday to earn his 14th win and keep the team's playoff hopes alive.

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

Box:

DODGERS AT COLORADO