LOS ANGELES — Bases loaded. Two outs in the ninth. Baseball's career saves leader protecting a one-run lead against one of the best hitters of their generation.

The eager Dodger Stadium crowd all but expected Manny Ramirez to add to his Los Angeles lore. Instead, Trevor Hoffman and the Milwaukee Brewers made a remarkable escape.

Hoffman got Ramirez on a fly to right to finish the Brewers' 6-5 victory over the Dodgers last night, winning a showdown that ranks among the best moments of Milwaukee's up-and-down season.

"That's not necessarily the situation you want to be facing Manny in, that's for sure," said Hoffman, who earned his 24th save of the season and 578th of his career despite giving up three hits and a run during Los Angeles' three-run rally in the ninth.

Manny Parra (6-8) pitched eight outstanding innings, but Milwaukee nearly blew a four-run lead after he gave up two hits to open the ninth. James Loney hit Hoffman's first pitch for a two-run double, and Orlando Hudson drove him home with a single to cut Milwaukee's lead to a run.

After the Dodgers loaded the bases on a swinging bunt and a hit batsman, Ramirez came up.

"It's an elevated heart rate when he steps in the batter's box," said Brewers right fielder Bill Hall, who caught the final out. "He's about the last guy you want to come up in that situation, but Hoff made a nice pitch, and I was able to secure the win with a nice, easy catch."

PADRES 4, BRAVES 2:

Mat Latos pitched seven strong innings and fellow rookie Will Venable drove in the go-ahead run and made a run-saving catch to lift host San Diego. Latos (3-1) retired 15 of 16 batters in one stretch and got a huge lift when Venable saved at least one run in the seventh with a diving catch in right to end the inning.

DIAMONDBACKS 6, METS 5:

Mark Reynolds hit two home runs, powering visiting Arizona over New York. Reynolds and Miguel Montero capped Arizona's three-run first with only the second set of back-to-back homers at New York's new ballpark. Reynolds added a two-run shot off Nelson Figueroa in the second.

NATIONALS 8, PIRATES 4:

Adam Dunn and Ryan Zimmerman homered and visiting Washington rallied from a three-run deficit. Cristian Guzman had two hits and two RBIs, and Tyler Clippard (2-1) earned the win with three hitless innings of relief.

CUBS 4, REDS 2:

Rookie right-hander Randy Wells took a shutout into the eighth inning, and Mike Fontenot hit a three-run homer, leading visiting Chicago over Cincinnati. Wells (8-4) allowed six hits over 7 1/3 innings.

ASTROS 4, GIANTS 3:

Geoff Blum and Kaz Matsui homered off Matt Cain and host Houston snapped the San Francisco ace's six-start unbeaten streak. Cain (12-3) allowed four runs and eight hits in eight innings.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

TIGERS 6, ORIOLES 5:

Clete Thomas homered with two outs in the ninth to give host Detroit a victory over Baltimore. The game was tied at 5 going into the ninth, and Danys Baez (4-5) retired the first two batters, but Thomas hit a 1-2 pitch into the shrubs above the fence in center.

ATHLETICS 3, RANGERS 2:

Pinch hitter Rajai Davis tripled down the right-field line to drive in two runs in the ninth and lift host Oakland over Texas. C.J. Wilson (4-5) blew his third save in 16 chances after allowing singles to Jack Cust, Tommy Everidge and Mark Ellis, before Davis' triple.

RAYS 10, ROYALS 4:

Carl Crawford had three hits and three RBIs to lead host Tampa Bay past Kansas City. Willy Aybar hit solo homers from both sides of the plate for the Rays, who won nine of 10 games in the season series with Kansas City.

NOTES

Brewers: Milwaukee right fielder Corey Hart, who underwent an appendectomy in San Diego on Sunday night, was placed on the 15-day disabled list yesterday.
Third baseman Bill Hall, who was optioned to Triple-A Nashville last week, was recalled.
Hart is batting .264 with 11 homers and 40 RBIs in 98 games.
Reds: Cincinnati right-hander Edinson Volquez is expected to miss the rest of this season and the first half of next year, too, after having reconstructive elbow surgery yesterday.
Volquez had surgery to replace a torn ligament and repair other damage in his right elbow, which has sidelined him for the past two months. The typical recovery time is 12 months.
Last season, Volquez went 17-6 with a 3.21 ERA.
Astros: Houston ace Roy Oswalt will skip his next scheduled start because he still felt pain in his lower back after a bullpen session yesterday.
Forced to leave his previous outing because of an irritated disk, Oswalt was scheduled to start tonight against San Francisco.
Oswalt was scheduled to start Tuesday night against San Francisco. But he threw 30 to 40 pitches in the bullpen yesterday and was still feeling pain in his lower back.