DENVER — Rather than playing like a team on the brink of elimination from postseason play, the Los Angeles Dodgers have been playing like a team that was out of the running months ago.

Thursday was no exception.

Derek Lowe was lucky to get out of the first inning unscathed after loading the bases on a single and two walks, but he wasn't as fortunate an inning later.

Matt Holliday led the charge in a six-run second inning by hitting a three-run home run as the Colorado Rockies completed a four-game sweep of the Dodgers with a 9-4 victory at Coors Field.

It was the first time the Rockies have swept the Dodgers in a four-game series in Colorado.

"This was the longest three days and four games I've ever been through," manager Grady Little said.

"It was miserable down to the last pitch."

Holliday went 8 for 15 in the series with four home runs and nine RBIs. He has homered in nine of his past 12 games, hitting 11 home runs during that stretch, with 21 RBIs.

The Dodgers will ride their five-game losing streak into a weekend series at Arizona, and with their tragic number at three. Two losses to the Diamondbacks would kill their chances of winning the NL West. The loss, coupled with a victory by the San Diego Padres, dropped the Dodgers to 6 games back in the wild-card race.

"It's not a good feeling," Little said. "It's not a good time. We've just got to keep playing hard and do the best that we can."

Lowe escaped a bases-loaded situation in the first inning by striking out Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe. He retired Ryan Spilborghs to start the second inning before the Rockies took control.

Chris Iannetta singled with one out and and later scored on a double by Troy Tulowitzki. Kazuo Matsui, who took third on Tulowitzki's hit, scored on Holliday's home run.

Holliday entered the game with a .591 career batting average against Lowe, but he hadn't hit any home runs off of him until Thursday.

"Not only has he been hot, but he kills me," Lowe said of Holliday. "The first pitch, I bounced. I was trying to do the same thing. ... I stunk."

Holliday's home run gave the Rockies a 4-0 lead. The Rockies stretched their second-inning lead to six runs when Todd Helton and Atkins scored on a double by Hawpe.

"We struck him out the first time on high fastballs," Lowe said of Hawpe. "In hindsight, we probably threw him that six consecutive times. He's a good hitter, and I think he probably caught on to what we were trying to do. That put us in a huge hole."

Rockies pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez knew what to do from there. Jimenez held the Dodgers to three hits through the first six innings, finally tiring in the seventh. Jimenez improved to 4-4, with two of his victories coming against the Dodgers.

Jeff Kent broke Jimenez's spell in the seventh inning by hitting a double and eventually scoring on a ground ball by Luis Gonzalez.

Andre Ethier cut the Rockies' lead to 7-3 with a two-run home run to center field.

Matt Herges replaced Jimenez and gave up a first-pitch home run to Andy LaRoche. The home run was LaRoche's first in the majors.

LaRoche said he was guessing fastball on the first pitch, and that's what he got.

"That's what I was hoping for," LaRoche said. "It worked out to my advantage."

Notes: Soreness in his lower back kept Dodgers SS Rafael Furcal out of the starting lineup for a third straight game. ... Lowe glared at the bleachers as Holliday circled the bases after hitting a home run in the second inning. ... C Russell Martin leaned a foot over the Los Angeles railing to catch Hawpe's foul ball in the fourth. ... Hawpe reached 100 RBIs in a season for the first time in his career. ... LHP Mark Redman will start Saturday for Colorado in San Diego. ... Tulowitzki's homer gives him 22 and ties him for second place all-time for home runs by a rookie shortstop with Oakland's Bobby Crosby (2004) and Ron Hansen of Baltimore (1960). Current Dodger Nomar Garciaparra (1997) hit 30 as a rookie for Boston.