With Lima, It Might Be L.A. Time

CINCINNATI —  Manager Jim Tracy has floored the accelerator and the Dodgers have responded, sensing it’s time to end the suspense in the National League West.

Let the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants battle for a wild-card berth, the Dodgers are speeding toward a bigger prize.

They got off to another fast start on a trip Tuesday night in a 5-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in front of 26,295 at Great American Ball Park.

Jose Lima pitched eight impressive innings, providing another spark on the mound as the Dodgers won for the 20th time in 27 games. Lima (11-3) tied Kazuhisa Ishii for the team lead in victories despite giving up the longest home run in the two-year history of the ballpark -- Adam Dunn’s 535-foot blast to center in the fourth inning.

Lima again responded to a challenge in his surprising first season with the Dodgers, retiring six in a row and 14 of 15 after Dunn’s full-count leadoff shot that cleared the 32-foot batter’s eye and ended up in the Ohio River.

Eric Gagne worked a 1-2-3 ninth, recording his 34th save in 35 opportunities as the Reds finished with a single in their last 18 at-bats.

The Dodgers (66-45) also continued their impressive power display, as Adrian Beltre hit his team-leading 31st homer and Steve Finley contributed his first as a Dodger and 24th overall, a two-run shot that overcame an early 1-0 deficit.

After having dropped two of three to Philadelphia in their last series, the Dodgers set a positive tone in the opener of a six-game trip.

Tracy has encouraged the Dodgers to seize the moment and open a huge lead in the division, and it appears they’re intent on achieving that goal.

“Extend it. Extend it. Take it further out,” Tracy said of the Dodgers’ 6 1/2 -game lead in the NL West over second-place San Diego.

“We’ve had our foot on the accelerator prior to the All-Star break. We were 21-7 in the month of July, and that’s taking a run. And 6-2, thus far, in the month of August, that’s continuing the run that you’ve been on.

“That’s 27-9 in your last 36 games. That’s a pretty decent run. Now what we have to do is ... finish it.”

That’s exactly what the Dodgers plan to do.

“We know every time we step on the field that the other team doesn’t have much of a chance,” Gagne said. “We expect to win, and I can guarantee you that the last time this team went to the playoffs [1996] there was nothing even close to that feeling in this clubhouse.

“We know [the division title] is going to be in our clubhouse. We expect it and we know it, but we still know we’ve got to play every game.”

The Reds (54-58) took a 1-0 lead in the first on Barry Larkin’s run-scoring double, but newcomers Brent Mayne and Finley put the Dodgers ahead for good in the third. Mayne, acquired with Finley from Arizona on July 31, had a leadoff single against Cincinnati starter Aaron Harang (7-4), and Finley, who also doubled, hit a two-out homer inside the right-field foul poll on a 1-and-1 count.

Lima was pleased about Finley’s first homer since July 21.

“Last year, I wasn’t here, but it seemed like every time they gave up two runs ... it was game over,” said Lima, who had his ninth quality start in 16 starts and issued no walks for the sixth time.

“Now, we don’t take that. We give up two runs, or whatever, we come back. We score runs and we come from behind. It’s unbelievable now. We just refuse to lose.”

Lima has as well, earning victories in his last five decisions.

“My story might be a big story, but I give all the credit to my teammates,” said Lima, who threw 73 strikes in 105 pitches. “All my hard work paid off.

“I didn’t give up on myself. I took a chance to come here as a minor league invitee. I’m just happy, man, that I get to go out there and show I still can pitch.”

Confident or cocky, the Dodgers said it’s their turn.

“When you get a lead and play the way we’ve been playing, you should be cocky,” Beltre said. “We’re playing ball like we know we’re going to be in the playoffs.”