LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chris Taylor couldn’t have picked a better time to launch his first career walk-off home run.He hit a high-arching Brian Anderson Jersey , two-strike solo shot to left field in the 10th inning, lifting the Dodgers to a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies that extended Los Angeles‘ NL West lead to 1 ½ games on Tuesday night.“In this tight division race that was big,” said the soft-spoken outfielder who has struggled with his swing this season.Taylor raised his right arm in the air even before he rounded first base, watching the ball sail into the cool evening air off Adam Ottavino (6-4).“I had a pretty good feeling it was going long,” he said.Taylor was mobbed by his teammates at home plate as they bopped up and down in celebration. A day after moving past the Rockies into first place, the five-time defending NL champions matched their largest lead of the season on Taylor’s one-out drive.“He really epitomizes what we’re about as a team,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Being prepared when called upon. It couldn’t happen to a better teammate.”The Dodgers won the series opener 8-2 on homers by Joc Pederson and Max Muncy.Dylan Floro (6-3) led a stellar bullpen effort, getting the win by striking out two in the 10th.Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw gave up two runs and three hits in seven innings. He walked five and struck out three while struggling with his command.“I threw the ball OK,” Kershaw said. “Sometimes you’re going to have to work through things. Obviously too much traffic out there.”Kenta Maeda relieved Kershaw and struck out the side on 10 pitches in the eighth. Kenley Jansen worked the ninth, allowing a leadoff hit to Gerardo Parra before retiring the next three batters.“We’ve been sort of inconsistent all year long, so things are coming together at the right time,” Roberts said.The loss dropped Colorado 1 ½ games behind St. Louis for the second NL wild-card spot.“We’ve got to score more runs. We’ve got to get more hits http://www.marlinsfanproshop.com/authentic-miguel-rojas-jersey ,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “This is something we talk about every afternoon when we get to the ballpark. We’ve got to press on.”Rockies starter Kyle Freeland allowed two runs and five hits in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out four and walked four.The Dodgers tied it 2-all in the fifth when Austin Barnes scored on a throwing error by third baseman Nolan Arenado.Colorado took a 2-1 lead on Charlie Blackmon’s 27th homer in the fifth. He extended his hitting streak to 11 games, currently the longest active one in the majors.The Rockies tied it 1-all in the third on errors by third baseman Justin Turner and left fielder Taylor. DJ LeMahieu was safe at first when the ball went past Turner’s glove, which allowed Garrett Hampson to take third and Blackmon to advance to second. The ball went into left field where Taylor couldn’t field it cleanly, allowing Hampson to score.The Dodgers led 1-0 on Matt Kemp’s RBI single in the first.TRAINER’S ROOMRockies: SS Trevor Story has inflammation in his right elbow, but there’s no structural damage and it’s possible he can return to the lineup in a few days. He tweaked his elbow on a throw in the first inning Monday night and aggravated it on a swing in the fourth.BOBBLEHEAD NIGHTKemp began the evening catching a first pitch from his mother, Judy, on the slugger’s bobblehead night. He went 1 for 4.CRUNCH TIMEThe Dodgers improved to 8-7 in extra innings this season with their sixth walk-off win.“Our depth is our biggest strength,” Taylor said. “We’re built for extra-inning games with how many guys we have.”ERROR-ITATINGEach team had two errors, and both of the Rockies’ were committed by Arenado. The five-time Gold Glover tied his career high for the sixth time.UP NEXTLHP Tyler Anderson (6-9, 4.82 ERA) starts the series finale for the Rockies. He held the Giants to two runs over six innings in his last outing after overcoming mechanical issues. RHP Walker Buehler (7-5, 2.88) goes for the Dodgers. He’s coming off an eight-inning, nine-strikeout performance against St. Louis. ST. LOUIS — There will be playoff implications all around when the Los Angeles Dodgers travel to St. Louis for a four-game series starting Thursday Bryan Holaday Jersey , including thoughts of a potential preview for a one-game National League wild-card matchup.Where that playoff game could potentially be played could be decided starting with Thursday’s series opener, which will pit the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw (7-5, 2.42 ERA) against the Cardinals‘ Austin Gomber (5-0, 2.93) in a battle of lefties.The Cardinals won all three games between the teams in Los Angeles three weeks ago. One victory in this series would give the Cardinals a home game if they were tied with the Dodgers at the end of the season in the wild-card standings.Article continues below ...The Dodgers are two games behind the Cardinals, who currently hold the second wild-card position in the National League.The Dodgers, though, remain intent on winning their sixth consecutive National League West title. By finally defeating the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday for the first time this season, the Dodgers temporarily moved one game behind the division-leading Colorado Rockies.The Dodgers had some offensive flow in that game, scoring eight runs, but otherwise it has been a stop-start year for the bats. The Dodgers have scored eight or more runs 11 times since the All-Star break. But they scored have three runs or fewer 25 times in the same span.“Our players have got to accept it because this is the way it’s gotta be with our roster,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, according to the Orange County Register. “I know it’s going to turn. We haven’t had (offensive) consistency all year. September Brad Ziegler Jersey , we obviously have a deeper roster but we’ve had these same inconsistencies all year. So it’s not about just September and this sample of September.”The Cardinals have found far more consistency in the second half as they went from near sellers at the non-waiver trade deadline to definite contenders barely over a month later.When the Cardinals swept the Dodgers toward the tail end of August, they were playing at their best. They lost Wednesday to the Pittsburgh Pirates and have endured a three-game losing streak since their sweep of the Dodgers, but St. Louis has still won 23 of its last 33 games.Not far away from being an afterthought in the NL Central, the Cardinals are still in striking distance of a division title, but still would have to leapfrog the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers to claim that prize.Gomber has been a key contributor in the turnaround. He has solidified his spot in the rotation by going 4-0 with a 2.77 ERA in seven starts since the beginning of August. He faced the Dodgers last month, giving up two runs over five innings in a no-decision while seeing his 15-inning scoreless streak come to an end.Gomber is new to the league so this is his first charge toward the playoffs. But it is also new to the Cardinals’ Marcell Ozuna, who was previously with the Miami Marlins.“I’ve never been in that spot before,” Ozuna said, according to mlb.com. “Every at-bat, I go trying to push my team on top.”Kershaw is far more familiar with the rigors of a second-half playoff drive. He will enter Thursday’s start having not given up more than two earned runs in nine consecutive outings. Kershaw is 6-5 in 16 career starts against the Cardinals with a 2.99 ERA, but he has not faced St. Louis this season.