Zack Attack Goes Back-To-Back As Dodgers Take Three From Reds [VIDEO]

LOS ANGELES – Joc Pederson and Zack Greinke went back-to-back in the fifth inning and the Dodgers downed the Reds 2-1 on Sunday afternoon to take three of four from Cincinnati at Dodger Stadium.

Greinke flexed his muscles on the mound and at the plate as the Silver Slugger winner could be looking to add a National League Cy Young Award to his already full trophy case.

Greinke lowered his Major League-leading ERA to 1.58 and won his eighth consecutive decision allowing just one run on six hits in seven innings while fanning eight Reds' batters.

"He had to battle a little bit," Greinke's manager Don Mattingly said. "His stuff is so good and he's got such a good mix. But he had to work today and get after it."

Greinke followed Pederson's homer with a blast of his own as all the Dodgers' runs came on back-to-back solo home runs.

"It was a close game, so my homer was nice," Greinke said of the timing of his homer. "I knew I hit it good, and I knew the ball was carrying today. It was a good game all around."

All three runs in the game were scored in the fifth inning as Cincinnati got to Greinke thanks to a defensive mishap by right fielder Yasiel Puig. After a leadoff single by Marlon Byrd, Puig made a diving attempt on a line drive to right field by Tucker Barnhart. The ball got passed Puig and rolled to the track, allowing the runners to advance to second and third.

"It was a close play and I didn't know if he was going to catch it or not," Greinke said of Puig's attempt. "It was a good effort. It didn't cost us and it was close enough that it was probably a good idea he try for it."

Byrd scored two batters later on a sacrifice fly by Billy Hamilton.

The Dodgers got the runs back in the bottom half of the inning thanks to Pederson's 23^rd home run of the season. The rookie center fielder was inserted back into the eight-hole a couple weeks ago and his hit three home runs since being back at the end of the lineup.

Anthony DeSclafani pitched well for a rookie, making his fifth consecutive quality start in the loss. The 25-year-old rookie made only two mistakes, but both of them were hit out of the park for LA's only runs.

"I gave it everything I had, and tried mixing it up," DeSclafani said. "It's just the way the game works. Pederson and Greinke put two good swings on the ball. It ended up costing us the game. It's on me. I knew I had to be pretty good today going against Greinke."

DeSclafani was good, but not good enough as the right-hander picked up his eighth loss of the season allowing just two runs on six hits in six innings.

Dodgers' closer Kenley Jansen came into the game with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning and recorded his first four-out save since August 14, 2014. It was Jansen's 24^th save of the season, passing Jeff Shaw for second place on the all-time franchise saves list with 130.

"It feels great," Jansen said of moving into second on the list. "To be second all-time for one of the most historic organizations feels great."

It was a whirlwind day for Jansen who became a father for the second time earlier in the day. Kaden Isaiah Jansen was born at 9:58AM pacific time, allowing Jansen a few hours of father-son time before heading to the ballpark.

"I talked to Donny and those guys and I told them 'I'm going to come late, but I'm going to pitch this game,'" Jansen said. "It was exciting. I fed off it. I'm anxious to go back to the hospital and see my son."