The world's second-largest economy expanded 7.5 percent over a year earlier in the three months ending in June, down from the previous quarter's 7.7 percent, data showed Monday. Growth in factory production, investment and other indicators weakened.

The fifth straight quarter of growth below 8 percent is "a clear sign of distress," said IHS Global Insight analyst Xianfang Ren in a report. With investment weak, she said the economy might be "at risk of stalling."

Analysts said growth could fall further, adding to pressure on communist leaders who took power last year. They are trying to shift China from reliance on exports and investment to slower, more sustainable growth based on domestic consumption.

Chinese leaders are likely to launch new stimulus to hit their 7.5 percent growth target for the year, said Credit Agricole CIB economist Dariusz Kowalczyk. He said that might include weakening the Chinese currency to spur exports or pumping money into the economy through higher public works spending.

"We will see some targeted measures to stimulate growth," said Kowalczyk. "They have to do something. Otherwise they will miss their target. And they cannot afford that, because this is their first year in power."

A decline in Chinese economic activity could have global repercussions, denting revenues for suppliers of commodities and industrial components such as Australia, Brazil and Southeast Asia. Lower Chinese demand already has depressed prices for iron ore and other raw materials.

A stimulus would temporarily set back Beijing's reform plans by reinforcing reliance on investment to generate jobs.

Despite the slowdown, communist leaders have expressed determination to stick to their plans, which would impose short-term pain in exchange for sustained, stable growth later.

"Major indicators are within our targeted range but we face a complex situation," said a spokesman for the statistics bureau, Sheng Laiyuan, at a news conference.

Sheng said the government's goal is to "promote restructuring" and make more of the "driving force" of the market.

Growth in factory output slowed to 9.3 percent for the first half of the year, down 0.2 percentage points from the first quarter's rate, the statistics bureau reported. Growth in investment in factories and other fixed assets in the first half declined by 0.8 percentage points to 20.1 percent.

"Further deceleration is possible if reforms and stimulus measures are delayed," said Alaistair Chan of Moody's Analytics in a report.

The International Monetary Fund last week cut its 2013 growth forecast for China to 7.8 percent from its 8.1 percent outlook in April. The IMF's forecast for 2014 was cut to 7.7 percent from 8.3 percent. The Fund's chief economist, Olivier Blanchard, said China was the country at the greatest risk of a "large decrease in growth."

On Monday, Nomura economist Zhiwei Zhang cut his growth forecast for 2014 to 6.9 percent from 7.5 percent and said growth was likely to bottom out at 6.5 percent in the second quarter of next year. He said he expects Chinese leaders to cut their growth target for next year to 7 percent from 7.5 percent.

"The new leaders made it pretty clear that they care more about the quality and sustainability of GDP growth rather than the speed of it," Zhang told reporters in a conference call.

Retail sales are growing but more slowly than Chinese leaders want. Growth decelerated to 12.7 percent for the first quarter, declining by 1.7 percentage points from a year earlier.

"I think it is unrealistic to expect consumption to go up and fill the gap left by less investment," said Nomura's Zhang.

Chinese leaders have promised to launch reforms aimed at making the economy more productive and helping entrepreneurs. But no major changes are expected until after a Communist Party meeting in the autumn.

Growth also has been dented by a crackdown on overly fast expansion in bank lending. Government efforts to tighten lending controls caused a temporary shortage of credit in Chinese financial markets last month.

Further efforts to rein in lending, especially unregulated private lending, could hurt entrepreneurs who generate most of the country's new jobs and wealth.

The ruling party's 7.5 percent growth target for the year is stronger than forecasts for the United States, Europe and Japan, but China's weakest performance since 1991. Finance Minister Lou Jiwei appeared to try to lower expectations last week when he told reporters in Washington that growth as low as 6.5 percent would be tolerable.

Earlier this month, Beijing promised changes in its government-run banking industry, including possible creation of privately owned lenders, to increase the supply of credit to entrepreneurs and more productive companies. It gave no timetable.

"The payoff from such financial consolidation efforts will most likely show up in the medium and long-term, even if implemented successfully," said Ren of IHS Global Insight. "In the near term, the downside risk for growth has become much more elevated now than a few months ago."

The pardon came after the U.S. and others had said the exclusion of Sam Rainsy from the July 28 vote would call into question the polls' legitimacy. His return is not likely to greatly affect the big picture at the polls, where Hun Sen appears assured of extending his 28-year rule.

Sam Rainsy has lived abroad since 2009 to avoid an 11-year prison term on charges widely seen as politically motivated.

King Norodom Sihamoni pardoned him Friday at Hun Sen's request. The pardon signed by the king, and the prime minister's letter requesting it, were seen by The Associated Press.

Hun Sen's letter requested the pardon "in the spirit of national reconciliation, national unity and to make sure the national election process is conducted under the principal of democracy with freedom and pluralism and jointly by all involved parties."

Yim Sovann, a spokesman for Sam Rainsy's Cambodia National Rescue Party, said the exiled leader would return soon. Some supporters said they expected him back Sunday.

The pardon came shortly after Sam Rainsy declared that he planned to come back before the election, which suggests a deal may have been worked out.

In an emailed statement released by his party, Sam Rainsy thanked the king for his pardon, and said he knew that he had "never done anything wrong."

"I would have returned even in the absence of a pardon to highlight the condition of democracy in my country. My return is no more than a step on a long journey towards achieving self-determination for Cambodia," he wrote.

He also criticized the official election body as unsupportive of democracy and said, "The mere fact of my return does not create a free and fair election for Cambodia."

Hun Sen's Cabinet spokesman Phay Siphan said the pardon had nothing to do with the election or international pressure.

"The prime minister did it for the sake of the country and in the spirit of national reconciliation," he said. "Sam Rainsy is free now; he can come back to Cambodia. We welcome him back."

The pardon would appear to benefit both Sam Rainsy and Hun Sen, longtime bitter rivals.

Though Sam Rainsy is seen as the sole Cambodian politician with the charisma and resources to present any real challenge to the well-entrenched prime minister and his Cambodian People's Party, Hun Sen is still expected to win in a landslide.

Still a return would provide at least a morale boost for Sam Rainsy's party, which has been greatly handicapped by having its leader absent.

"His presence will not make much difference in terms of the election results," said independent political analyst Chea Vannath. "But I can say his presence will reassure voters that he is coming back to stay with them, which will warm the hearts of his supporters."

The opposition was dealt a blow last month when 28 of its lawmakers were expelled from parliament after a committee, run by Hun Sen's party, ruled they had broken the law by running for re-election under the banner of the recently established Cambodia National Rescue Party and not those under which they had won their seats.

They can still run in the upcoming election, but without parliamentary immunity. Immunity from arrest is a great benefit in Cambodia's highly contentious elections, and those without it are at risk of being charged with defamation for remarks seen critical of Hun Sen and his government.

For Hun Sen, the move pre-empts some of the criticism that the election is unfair. He has used similar tactics before, pressuring his opponents until they were in disarray, then making conciliatory gestures at the last minute.

Sam Rainsy went into exile after he was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison for moving border markers at the frontier with Vietnam, seven years for spreading false information about the border with Vietnam and two years for defaming Foreign Minister Hor Namhong by associating him with the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime of the late 1970s.

One of Sam Rainsy's political tactics is to appeal to Cambodian nationalism by speaking out against Vietnam, the country's traditional enemy. Hun Sen enjoys good relations with Hanoi, which helped install him in what was then its proxy regime after it invaded Cambodia to oust the Khmer Rouge in 1979.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Republicans are embracing a step-by-step approach to immigration, in contrast to the sweeping plan passed by the Senate and backed by the White House. But they're offering neither specifics nor a timetable nor any mention of possible citizenship for an estimated 11 million immigrants living in the country unlawfully.

Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and other Republican leaders said in a statement the administration "cannot be trusted to deliver on its promises to secure the border and enforce laws as part of a single, massive bill like the one passed by the Senate."

House GOP lawmakers streaming out of a two-hour meeting on immigration Wednesday also shrugged off a long-distance nudge from former President George W. Bush, who called on Congress to reach a "positive resolution" on the issue.

"America can be a lawful society and a welcoming society at the same time," Bush said at a naturalization ceremony at his presidential library in Dallas.

"We care what people back home say, not what some former president says," declared Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan.

President Barack Obama is to meet Thursday with two authors of the Senate measure, John McCain, R-Ariz., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in the Oval Office.

The Republican meeting in the Capitol was arranged as a listening session for the House GOP, their first such session since the Senate approved far-reaching legislation last month on a bipartisan vote of 68-32.

Lawmakers said afterward there was support for a bill to create a path to citizenship for immigrants who were brought to the country as children illegally by family members, an idea advanced by Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia.

Several members of the rank and file said Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., had made a particularly strong appeal for a comprehensive approach, which includes possible citizenship for the 11 million.

But others emphasized there was virtually no support for the Senate's approach of one sweeping measure that dealt with immigration in all its forms.

And there is no clear timetable.

"I don't sense any urgency," said Rep. John Fleming of Louisiana. Rep. Peter King of New York said that if any legislation came to the floor for a vote this month, it would deal only with border security.

Other lawmakers said even that approach raised concerns. Dealing with border security, they said, could lead to negotiations with the Senate that could morph into a compromise granting citizenship for some of the immigrants in the country illegally. They sought and received assurances from Boehner that he wouldn't let that happen, according to Rep. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota.

Boehner had said he wants the House to pass legislation on the subject before lawmakers go home for a four-week break over August, beginning with a measure to toughen border security. He has also said he won't put any bill on the House floor that doesn't have the support of at least half of the GOP rank and file, a pledge that only increases the challenge for Democrats and others who want to give a chance at citizenship to millions now in the country illegally.

In explaining their piecemeal approach, Boehner and fellow GOP leaders said the administration's recent decision to postpone a key element of the health care law shows it can't be trusted to carry through on commitments, such as the one in the Senate immigration bill requiring the borders to be secured before a path to citizenship is opened.

Unlike the comprehensive, bipartisan bill that cleared the Senate last month, the House Judiciary Committee has cleared four smaller measures in recent weeks, none of which would include the possibility of citizenship.

One would toughen enforcement of immigration laws and includes a provision that would permit local police officers to enforce such laws as part of an attempt to raise the number of deportations.

Other measures would create a new mandatory system for employees to verify the legal status of their workers, create a new temporary program for farm workers and expand the number of visas for employees in technology industries.

By contrast, the Senate bill would increase border security, provide a pathway to citizenship for many of the estimated 11 million immigrants illegally in the country, expand the highly skilled worker program and set up new guest worker arrangements for lower-skilled workers and farm laborers.

___

Associated Press writers Henry C. Jackson, Donna Cassata, Alan Fram, Chuck Babington and Ken Thomas in Washington and Jamie Stengle in Dallas contributed to this report.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A daily dose of powerful anti-HIV medicine helped cut the risk of infection with the AIDS virus by 49 percent in intravenous drug users in a Bangkok study that showed for the first time such a preventive step can work in this high-risk population.

"This is a significant step forward for HIV prevention," said Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which helped conduct the clinical trial along with the Thailand Ministry of Health.

The study, published on Wednesday in the journal Lancet, looked at the treatment approach known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, in which HIV treatments are given to uninfected people who are at high-risk for HIV infection.

The drug used in the study was Gilead's older and relatively cheap generic HIV drug tenofovir. The study was launched in 2005.

Prior studies of this approach showed it cut infection rates by 44 percent in men who have sex with men, by 62 percent in heterosexual men and women and by 75 percent in couples in which one partner is infected with HIV and the other is not. The new results showed that it also protects intravenous drug users.

"We now know that PrEP can work for all populations at increased risk for HIV," Mermin said in a statement.

Based on the results, the CDC plans to recommend that U.S. doctors who wish to prescribe this treatment for their patients follow the same interim guidelines issued last year to prevent sexual transmission among other high-risk individuals.

Intravenous use of drugs like heroin accounts for about 8 percent of all new HIV infections in the United States and about 10 percent of new HIV infections worldwide. In some regions, such as Eastern Europe and Central Asia, injection drug abuse accounts for about 80 percent of all new infections.

The new findings involved more than 2,400 intravenous drug users in Bangkok who were not infected with the human immunodeficiency virus, which causes AIDS, and were being treated at the city's drug treatment clinics.

Half took tenofovir and half took a placebo. All participants were given HIV prevention counseling, risk-reduction strategies such as condoms and methadone treatment, and monthly HIV testing.

At the end of the study, there were 17 HIV infections among people taking the HIV medication, compared with 33 infections among those not taking the drugs, the researchers found.

The researchers also looked to see what factors influenced infection rates among those taking the HIV medication. They found that people who took their medication at least 71 percent of the time had a 74 percent lower risk of becoming infected with HIV.

Although it was not clear how the preventive drug treatment worked - by stopping infections caused by sharing dirty needles or by unprotected sex among drug users - the study produced a reduction in infection rates, said Dr. Salim Abdook Karim of the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa and of Columbia University in New York.

"The introduction of PrEP for HIV prevention in injecting drug users should be considered as an additional component to accompany other proven prevention strategies like needle exchange programs, methadone programs, promotion of safer sex and injecting practices, condoms, and HIV counseling and testing," Karim, who was not involved in the study, wrote in a commentary accompanying the study in the Lancet.

"PrEP as part of combination prevention in injecting drug users could make a useful contribution to the quest for an AIDS-free generation," Karim added.

(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Michele Gershberg and Will Dunham)

Reuters inadvertently published the attached story on Wednesday June 12 at 12.04 pm ahead of the embargo time of 11pm

RELATED:

From the perspective of this lawsuit filed in New York state Supreme Court in Putnam County, Spitzer has spent the last eight years "a long-standing malicious campaign ... to discredit Mr. Greenberg and damage Mr. Greenberg’s reputation and career, while attempting to bolster Mr. Spitzer’s own reputation and career," .

RELATED:

But the lawsuit would also like to remind the court of Spitzer's personal shortcomings, because those are relevant, too. Like, the hooker scandal that caused Spitzer to resign as governor, which is one of Spitzer's "numerous acts of moral turpitude," according to Greenberg's suit, . "The suit also lists Mr. Greenberg's philanthropic contributions," the paper reports. 

RELATED:

"This lawsuit is frivolous,"emailed to reporters Friday night. He also cited a recent New York court ruling as evidence this lawsuit has no merit. 

RELATED:

Greenberg resigned from AIG in 2005 over corruption charges led by Spitzer, who was the state attorney general at that time. The following year, AIG paid $1.64 billion to settle federal and state investigations into its businesses. 

RELATED:

But the former Wall Street fat cat's vendetta against Spitzer is only just getting started. One of Greenberg's senior advisersthat his boss "will get involved" in the campaign against Spitzer, "at the appropriate time." There's no indication what he means by this, exactly.

Spitzer's opponent for comptroller, Scott Stringer, has not commented on earning the possible support of a disgraced former Wall Street titan while running for the city position that's meant to police Wall Street titans. Seems like a great career move. The Spitzer campaign can't wait. 

But until then, the show must go on. And the Spitzer campaign really has been a show so far. While Spitzer's dutiful supporters were out getting , he led amedia blitz all week, appearing on any and every show that asked.

Last night, Spitzer made a campaign stop on the other site of the country, in Burbank, California, to . Speaking about pressure he faced from Wall Street guys who hated how tough Spitzer was during his previous political career, the candidate shared a new anecdote. It seems Spitzer and his wife were out recently when a former AIG executive "came up to me, started screaming at me in the middle of this public event," he told Leno, without naming names. Funny coincidence, that. 

LONDON (Reuters) - Japan may lose this year's top billing on global stock markets as a boost from a weakening yen is likely to wane in a country where exports make up less than a seventh of total economic output.

The correlation between a falling currency and rising local stocks has already dropped back from its peak and the equity market may require a strong pick-up in domestic demand to drive further gains from here.

The "Abenomics" policy agenda pushed by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe - a mix of monetary easing, stimulative spending and growth-inducing steps - has driven the yen lower and propelled the stock market past those in other developed countries.

Well-known brands of Japanese cars, televisions and games consoles support a popular belief that Japan is an export-oriented economy which would benefit from a weaker currency.

Yet goods exports in fact account for only 13.5 percent of gross domestic product, almost the same as the euro zone and not much more than the 10 percent in the United States, according to data from the IMF and JP Morgan.

Moreover, companies on the MSCI Japan index derive 35 percent of sales revenues from abroad, less than 40 percent for the United States and 66 percent for Europe.

"It is a surprise we have this perception that it's an export-oriented economy... Maybe there's overemphasis on the significance of the yen on the equity market," said Dan Morris, strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management.

"It's reasonable to expect the correlation to weaken once people become less obsessed with Japan. Then we go back to (companies) having to improve profitability and domestic revenue growth because it's not going to be enough just to have the currency depreciate."

Japanese stockshave risen 22 percent in dollar terms this year, ahead of the United States which has gained 17 percent. This closely mirrors the move in the yen, which had lost a fifth of its value against the dollar at one point this year.

But the benchmark Nikkei indexis off 8.6 percent from the 5-1/2 year high set on May 23. Correlation between Nikkei and dollar/yen exchange rate peaked at 0.66 in mid-June, before falling to 0.47 this week.

The 13-year average is just 0.1 - meaning almost no correlation between the performance of the stock market and the level of the currency - and it has had negative correlations in the past.

Expectations are indeed running high in Japan. The IMF has just upgraded its growth forecast for Japan, which is going to be the fastest growing economy among advanced nations this year.

According to Thomson Reuters data, corporate earnings are expected to rise 22 percent on the year in the second quarter, compared with 2.3 percent in the United States and just 0.6 percent in Europe.

LONG-TERM MONEY

Money heading into Japan equity mutual funds has fallen back sharply from the Abe-inspired free-for-all of April and May. After two months of net inflows at $12.5 billion, June saw a more sedate $1.7 billion invested, according to estimates by Lipper.

Long-term investors are more confident on other developed markets than Japan. Fourteen percent of pension fund managers polled by Baring Asset Management said the United States had the biggest potential for equity gains over the next decade, compared with 4 percent in Europe. None chose Japan.

Abe is expected to decisively win an upper house election this month. But some fear too big a win may weaken commitment to reforms needed to end the stagnation that has long plagued the economy.

Valuations may also become a problem. The 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio stands at 14.3, below the 10-year average but the most expensive in the world after Mexico.

In the long term, Japanese companies will also need to raise their profitability. Return on equity - the amount of net income returned as a percentage of equity - for Japan, using the MSCI index, stands at 8 percent, half that of the United States and compares with 12 percent in Europe.

"It is fair to say that, with hindsight, the enthusiasm for 'Abenomics' overtook what could realistically be delivered in the near term," said Paul Niven, head of multi-asset investment at F&C Investments.

Niven has halved his overweight positions on Japan.

"While the injection of vast amounts of liquidity is helping consumption and the real estate market, capital expenditure is yet to improve and the yen remains volatile."

(Additional reporting by Joel Dimmock; Editing by Toby Chopra)

The view may look bright at the top GOP echelon, but that does not appear to be the attitude of the rank and file. If anything, there is deep unease among activist conservativesthe sort who trudge to the polls in the bitter winters of Iowa and New Hampshireabout the state of the race. At several recent functions in Washington, attendees expressed great enthusiasm for unseating Obama, but hardly anyone was thrilled with their likely standard bearers.

Is it time for the GOP to start panicking yet?

Cains tortured and contradictory response to sexual-harassment allegations was made even worse by the reckless, not-ready-for-prime-time effort at deflection. Rick Perry was behind this! No, it was Rahm Emanuel! No, it was a massive media conspiracy! No, it was Professor Plum with the lead pipe in the billiards room. That Cain remains floating atop the GOP field is less a tribute to his staying power than a cruel indictment of the remaining field of frivolous flops. When you cannot lure voters away from a man who is accused of several counts of disreputable behavior and who seems to lack an understanding of many basic issues, fromto , youve got yourself a problem.

As for Romney, he has finally started to outline some specifics to his proposals, most notably courageous plans to . But even this effort posed an interesting problem for him. If another candidate had talked freely about raising the retirement age for Medicare and Social Security and turning Medicaid into block grants, there might have been a larger outcry. With Romney, there really wasnt. Even the media seem to have decided that nothing the risk-averse, milquetoast Romney says really has anything to do with his presidency. All his ideas feel like consultant-fed pablum free to be ignored the minute the polls turn. When 72 percent of Romneys own voters say they could easily , youve got a problem.

Which means the GOP nominating process may yet take some surprising turns. Overall, about half of Republicans surveyed in a recent Washington PostABC News poll said they may yet change their allegiance in the race. That feels about right. In fact, the number may even grow higher as voters continue to shop for the least unacceptable of the lot.

Of the main contenders, only Perry and Newt Gingrich have demonstrated any signs of resurgence. Since the GOP debates commenced, Gingrich has steadily crept back into double digits in most polls, based on something surprising: ideas. He has little money, he has few ground troops, he has unleashed no attack ads, but he has answered questions clearly, forthrightly, and knowledgeably. And it is not inconceivable that otherseven a Bachmann or a Santorum or a Huntsmanmay finally find their day in the sun.

This year feels very different, as if anything could happen. Who knows: if an establishment favorite like Romney falters early, it is always possible that an entirely new candidate might yet decide to jump into the contest. Hoover, FDR, Kennedy, Nixon, and LBJ each won presidential primaries as write-in candidates. If things continue to be so unsettled, its not impossible that someone may decide to repeat that feat in 2012. Just dont anybody give that idea to Donald Trump.

[More from BGR: ]

[More from BGR: ]

This article was

The league has a moratorium on teams discussing personnel business until players officially sign on Wednesday.

Howard made waves across the league by verbally committing to the Rockets on Friday rather than returning to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Amidst the excitement, both the Rockets general manager Daryl Morey and coach Kevin McHale publicly commented on securing Howard to draw the penalty.

Howard is set to officially sign a four-year, $88 million contract to join the Houston franchise.

(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by Ian Ransom)

To close it out with a dramatic comeback and complete a three-game sweep, they couldn't have scripted it any better.

Hanley Ramirez and A.J. Ellis hit consecutive homers in the 14th inning after Ellis tied the game with two outs in the ninth, helping the Los Angeles Dodgers beat first-place Arizona 7-5 Wednesday night for their first sweep of the Diamondbacks in two years.

"For us to walk out of here fighting and grinding the way we did, it's going to make for a real fun trip home," Ellis said.

Los Angeles won six of its first eight games on the road trip, including the first two against Arizona.

The Dodgers closed it out with a flourish.

With the Dodgers still in it because of Ellis' hit in the ninth off Heath Bell, Ramirez hit the first pitch of the 14th off Josh Collmenter (4-2) just over the wall in right field. Five pitches later, Ellis made it 7-5 with his fourth homer.

Kenley Jansen (3-3) pitched the final two innings for the Dodgers, who used all of their position players and had Zack Greinke, Monday's starter, pinch hit in the 10th inning.

A team that was 12 games under .500 and 9 games out of first on June 22, the Dodgers are back to .500 and 1 games back of the Diamondbacks in the NL West after winning 15 of 18.

"Obviously, you want to come in and win a series, but to win three was big for us because it's a two-game swing when you're playing them," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "I really felt like before we got here, we really got ourselves back into it, where we were in the race and we knew it. This has been icing on the cake."

Arizona went through eight pitchers in the 19th game in the majors to go at least 14 innings this season, according to STATS. There were 20 total last season.

Aaron Hill homered and drove in two runs, and Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run double for the Diamondbacks, who went seven innings until two outs in the 12th without a hit.

Arizona appeared to be in position for the victory after Bell got two quick outs.

But, as has been the case lately, the Diamondbacks couldn't hold the lead.

Adrian Gonzalez, who led off the seventh inning with a solo homer, worked a two-out walk off Bell in the ninth inning, then Ramirez moved pinch runner Jerry Hairston to second with a single. Ellis followed with his tying single off Bell, his fifth blown save and the Diamondbacks 19th.

"We have to figure out some things so guys can get some outs later in the game," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said.

The more than five-hour game started with the teams trading leads.

Tyler Skaggs had a superb return to Arizona's rotation on Friday, allowing three hits and striking out five in eight scoreless innings against Colorado after being called up from Triple-A Reno. The left-hander wasn't nearly as good against the Dodgers, giving up a run on Scott Van Slyke's sacrifice fly in the fourth inning and a two-run double to Ramirez that put the Dodgers up 3-2 in the fifth. Skaggs then walked two to load the bases, but reliever Will Harris prevented further damage by getting Van Slyke to hit into an inning-ending double play.

Skaggs allowed three runs on eight hits in 4 1-3 innings.

Hyun-Jin Ryu wasn't much better.

He gave up a solo homer to Hill in the first inning and a sacrifice fly to him in the third. Given the lead back, Ryu allowed a pair of one-out singles in the fifth and Goldschmidt followed with his two-run double. Martin Prado made it 5-3 with a run-scoring single.

Ryu allowed five runs on seven hits in five innings, the second time in 18 starts he's failed to reach the sixth inning.

Gonzalez led off the seventh inning with his 14th homer off David Hernandez to cut Arizona's lead to 5-4, then set the tying run after fouling off five pitches from Bell, who's allowed nine runs his past 11 outings.

"I feel really bad because I left everybody down," Bell said. "We definitely should have won that game."

Even after Bell's blowup, the Diamondbacks had chances, as did the Dodgers.

But, with fans falling asleep in the stands, Ramirez and Ellis finally put the Dodgers ahead for good, sending them home with an exclamation point to their successful road trip.

"We might be the only team in baseball not looking forward to the All-Star break," Ellis said.

NOTES: Dodgers 2B Skip Schumaker sat out and will not play Thursday after having his two-game suspension upheld by Major League Baseball. He was one of eight people suspended following a bench-clearing brawl against Arizona on June 11. ... The Dodgers' Ricky Nolasco and Greinke, who started the series' first two games, were the first pair of starting pitchers to go at least a combined 5-for-5 at the plate in consecutive games since Cincinnati's Tim Pugh and John Smiley did it May 6-7, 1994, according to information provided to the Dodgers by the Elias Sports Bureau. ... Wade Miley will pitch for Arizona in the opener of a four-game series against Milwaukee on Thursday. The left-hander won for the first time in a month by allowing a run in eight innings against the Rockies on Saturday. ... RHP Yovani Gallardo, who will start against the Diamondbacks, has allowed 15 earned runs over his past three starts.