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Kent's homer sends Dodgers to first win over Astros

Jul 2, 2008 - 6:04 AM By Gene Duffey PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

HOUSTON (Ticker) -- Jeff Kent homered in the 11th inning Tuesday night to send the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 7-6 victory over the Houston Astros.

Kent, who drove in a run with a double earlier in the game, drove a 3-2 pitch off rookie reliever Wesley Wright (3-3) into the left field seats for his ninth homer of the season.

"It was hugely important to win that game," Los Angeles manager Joe Torre said. "There was a lot of noise in that dugout. It would have been very devastating (if we lost)."

In the process, the former Astro - who played with the team during the 2003-04 seasons - was able to stop Houston's three-game winning streak against a pitcher who was acquired with a Rule-5 draft pick from the Dodgers.

Kent enjoyed beating his former team and some of his ex-teammates, including catcher Brad Ausmus.

"He was trying to beat me the whole game," Kent said of Ausmus. "He's a great guy. I really enjoyed the two years I played here. The fans were great. The organization's first class. The teammates I had were some of the best guys I've ever played with.

"There's a lot of love I have for this place. I like hitting here for some reason. I just like the way the layout is."

Torre had complete confidence in his veteran second baseman in that situation.

"He was looking for something he (could) pull," Torre said of Kent, who came to the plate in extra innings with one out and nobody on. "It's technique, and that comes from experience."

The Dodgers improved to 4-3 in extra inning games this season.

Chan Ho Park (4-2) pitched 1 1/3 innings to earn the win before closer Takashi Saito picked up his 13th save with a perfect 11th inning.

Russell Martin drove in three runs and just came up a triple short of hitting for the cycle while the Los Angeles offense - which had scored more than one run only twice in its last seven games - finally showed up, but it wasn't enough to overcome a shaky bullpen.

Martin got things going early for the Dodgers, belting a two-run homer in the first. He also doubled in the third and hit a run-scoring single in the sixth to stake Los Angeles to a 6-1 lead.

"We finally put some runs on the board for the pitching staff," Martin said. "(When) you're up five runs, it's always tough when the other team battles back and ties it up. Not many wins come easy, especially with the offense the Astros have."

Los Angeles' rare offensive outburst came at the expense of Houston starter Wandy Rodriguez, who suffered a rare poor start at home. He entered this contest with a 2-2 record and 1.89 ERA in his previous six starts at Minute Maid Park.

But the lefthander surrendered five runs and six hits with four walks and five strikeouts over five frames.

"I had a lot of problems locating," Rodriguez said. "My breaking ball was not what it usually is. Today was a bad day."

Clayton Kershaw, a 20-year-old lefthander, made just his eighth start in the majors for Los Angeles. He pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed three runs and six hits before leaving with two on and a five-run lead.

"Kershaw was a lot better," Torre said. "He got a little excited at the end, trying to overthrow. I was sorry we weren't able to get him the win."

"I was just glad I pitched good," Kershaw said. "Statistically, it won't look good. But I pitched better tonight and we got the win, so it was a good night. It was tough to settle for the tie (when the Astros rallied), not just for myself but for the team."

However, Houston's Ty Wigginton hit a three-run homer in the sixth off Dodgers reliever Brian Falkenborg to cut the lead to two runs before Carlos Lee doubled in two runs off reliever Jonathan Broxton one inning later to knot the contest at 6-6.