By JOE KAY
AP Sports Writer

CINCINNATI (AP) - Adrian Gonzalez hit a pair of solo homers off Homer Bailey on Sunday night, powering the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds that let them keep pace in the wild card race.

The Dodgers remained three games behind St. Louis and a half-game behind Milwaukee for the final NL playoff spot. All three won on Sunday.

The Dodgers have dropped 11 of their last 17 games. They're off Monday before starting a three-game series in San Diego. The Dodgers finish the season with six games at home _ three against Colorado, three against NL West-champion San Francisco.

The Reds rested several regulars a day after clinching their second NL Central title in three years. Manager Dusty Baker briefly visited the players in the clubhouse after his release from a Chicago hospital, where he was treated the last four days for an irregular heartbeat.

The 63-year-old manager became ill while the team was in Chicago last week. The Reds won the title without him on Saturday night, raising a toast to him in the clubhouse after their 6-0 victory.

Cincinnati is off on Monday and opens a three-game series against Milwaukee on Tuesday, giving Baker a day to rest. The Reds are a half-game behind Washington for the best record in the NL and the top seed in the playoffs.

Bailey (12-10) allowed five hits in 6 2-3 innings, including the two homers by Gonzalez, who has five in his career off the right-hander. His second homer started a four-run seventh inning that also featured Mark Ellis' RBI double.

Shawn Tolleson (3-1) got the victory with one perfect inning in relief. Ronald Belisario gave up a two-run homer by Denis Phipps _ his first in the majors _ in the eighth inning. Brandon League pitched the ninth for his fifth save in as many chances with LA.

After the loss on Saturday night, the Dodgers changed their pitching plans for the final game of the series, letting their 2011 Cy Young winner see what he could do. Clayton Kershaw hadn't pitched since Sept. 11 because of a sore hip and probably wouldn't have made another start if LA was out of contention.

The left-hander faced a Reds lineup missing four regulars who got the day off after they clinched. Right fielder Jay Bruce, left fielder Ryan Ludwick, third baseman Scott Rolen and shortstop Zack Cozart were out of the lineup.

Kershaw hit Chris Heisey to open the Reds' first inning and needed 92 pitches to get through five innings, leaving with the scored tied at 1. He fanned Joey Votto with the bases loaded in the fourth to keep it tied at 1.

NOTES: Manager Don Mattingly plans to start RH Josh Beckett as planned on Tuesday, then have RH Aaron Harang go on Wednesday. ... Gonzalez is 8 for 15 with five career homers off Bailey. It was his 14th career multihomer game and his first of the season. ... A.J. Ellis snapped an 0-for-30 slump. ... SS Hanley Ramirez fouled a ball off his left shin in the seventh inning, singled and left for a pinch runner, limping as he headed for the dugout. ... Votto missed 48 games while having two operations for torn cartilage in his left knee. He's batting .314 without a homer in 17 games since his return.

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Follow Joe Kay on Twitter: http://twitter.com/apjoekay

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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