Dodgers net an even 10,000 victories with 6-4 win over Twins

It was a good night for numbers, if your baseball leanings tend toward the Dodgers.

There were the numbers of the day, the ones that showed them dropping the Twins, 6-4, on a cold, rainy Wednesday night in Minneapolis.

There were ones spanning the last nine months that show right-hander Zack Greinke has gone five or more innings andgiven up two or fewer runs in 18 consecutive starts (21 counting three in the postseason); it’s the longest such stretch since 1914.

And then there were the lifetime achievement numbers, Wednesday’s victory leaving the Dodgers only the fourth major-league club with 10,000 wins in franchise history. That only dates back to their first victory on April 21, 1890.

The Dodgers looked pretty comfortable in the 41-degree weather, pounding out 12 hits and continually coming through in the clutch.

It was the consistent Greinke, however, who led the way. Greinke raised his record to 5-0 to start the season, holding the Twins to one unearned run. In his six-plus innings he gave up seven hits, walked one and struck out six. He lowered his earned-run average to 2.04.

This is Greinke’s best start to a season since he opened 6-0 in the 2009 season, when he went on to win the American League Cy Young Award with the Royals.

Greinke left the game after surrendering a leadoff double in the seventh inning, having thrown 110 pitches. J.P. Howell, Chris Withrow and Brian Wilson held the Twins scoreless over the next two innings before the Dodgers’ bullpen wobbled in the ninth.

Paco Rodriguez, called up Tuesday, was charged with three runs in the ninth inning. That forced Manager Don Mattingly to use closer Kenley Jansen, and he gave up a two-run single to Trevor Plouffe before getting Chris Colabello to ground out and end it and earn his10th save.

Minnesota actually opened the scoring in the second inning on a Josmil Pinto single, Drew Butera passed ball and Eduardo Escobar double.

But the Dodgers were pretty much in control after that. They took the lead in the third inning after Butera singled and Yasiel Puig walked with two outs. Hanley Ramirez singled in Butera and Adrian Gonzalez did the same for Puig.

The Dodgers drove in three more runs, all with two outs, in the seventh inning. After singles by Puig and Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier doubled in one and Juan Uribe singled in two.

Dee Gordon, again batting leadoff, doubled in the eighth inning and scored on an infield hit by Puig when Escobar couldn’t come up with the bouncer at short.

The Giants, Cubs and Braves are the other major-league teams to reach the 10,000-win plateau. The Dodgers have lost 9,082 games.