Dodgers 1, Reds 0
CINCINNATI -- Zack Greinke allowed four hits over seven innings and catcher Yasmani Grandal drove in the lone run with a bases-loaded grounder, lifting the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 1-0 victory and a three-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday afternoon at Great American Ball Park.
Left fielder Andre Ethier went 3-for-3 for the Dodgers (70-56), who swept a series in Cincinnati for the first time since 2008.
Greinke (14-3) struck out nine and walked two for Los Angeles, which has won three straight games since snapping a five-game losing skid on Tuesday.
Right-hander Jim Johnson earned his 10th save with a perfect ninth inning.
Cincinnati (52-74) has lost 12 of 13.
Right-hander Anthony DeSclafani (7-10), one of eight rookie pitchers to start for the Reds this season, went toe-to-toe with Greinke, allowing one run on six hits and a walk and striking out six.
Grandal marked his return to the lineup with a bases-loaded double-play grounder to drive in a run, putting the Dodgers ahead 1-0 in the second inning. It was one of three double-play grounders for Grandal.
Greinke, coming off a loss Saturday in Houston in which he allowed three runs in seven innings, retired the first seven batters Thursday.
But, the Reds kept the pressure on the Dodgers' ace.
Greinke allowed a pair of singles in the third but fanned third baseman Todd Frazier to end the inning.
Cincinnati had runners on first and third with one out in the fifth, but Greinke fanned two straight batters to end that threat.
The Reds did manage to elevate Greinke's pitch count to 98 through six innings. He came back out for the seventh, allowing only an infield single to finish with 109 pitches.
The Dodgers failed to add insurance runs despite loading the bases with one out in the eighth and no outs in the ninth.
NOTES: Los Angeles 1B Adrian Gonzalez left with a right knee contusion after fouling a pitch off his leg and LF Yasiel Puig departed in the ninth after beating out an infield hit. ... Dodgers CF Joc Pederson made his first start since Friday when the Dodgers were no-hit by Houston's Mike Fiers. Pederson is batting .161 in his past 30 games. ... Dodgers C Yasmani Grandal returned to the lineup after sitting out two games with a sore left shoulder. ... Reds manager Bryan Price indicated that RHPs Michael Lorenzen and Robert Stephenson, the club's top pitching prospect, could be promoted from Triple-A when the rosters expand on Sept. 1. ... Reds RHP Anthony DeSclafani made the 78th start by a Reds rookie this season. Eight rookie pitchers have started at least one game for Cincinnati.