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Jones, Kent homer in Dodgers' win

May 15, 2008 - 9:47 PM By JR Radcliffe PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- Third baseman Blake DeWitt never got in the game Thursday, but his balky back had a lot to do with the Los Angeles Dodgers' 7-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

DeWitt was scratched just before game time, leading to a lineup juggle that inserted backup catcher Gary Bennett into the mix. Bennett responded with four RBI, including a three-run homer in the seventh that helped turn a scoreless pitcher's duel into a one-sided affair.

Los Angeles exploded for six runs in the seventh against Milwaukee starter Ben Sheets, and righthander Chad Billingsley dazzled to give the Dodgers their second straight victory after losing five straight.

"(Third base coach) Larry Bowa (made the) suggestion," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said of the lineup switch. "Initially, I just put (Chin-lung) Hu in the lineup, and then Bo suggested Benny. It was a great suggestion for more than one reason, that you could give Russell (Martin) a day off."

With DeWitt experiencing lower back pain during pregame stretching, Martin moved to third base and Bennett nestled in behind the plate. The reserve backstop's first home run of the year capped a three-homer inning for the Dodgers, in which Andruw Jones and Jeff Kent also went deep.

"Even when you're not playing, you still stretch, go out and throw, hit off a tee and take batting practice," Bennett said. "It's not like you're just sitting on the couch and doing nothing, for a situation just like that. A foul tip in the first inning or a pulled hammy (hamstring), anything can happen. I just try to stay as ready as I can."

Bennett added an RBI double in the ninth, recording four runs driven in for the first time since August 27, 2006, when he was a member of the St. Louis Cardinals.

"'Sheeter' is definitely not an easy task," the former Brewers catcher said of Sheets. "Fortunately today, he got some balls up in the zone. I was just trying to find something up in the zone, hit it in the air and get a sac fly. Just trying to get the barrel on the ball and hit it to the outfield."

"Runs are like gold when you're talking about Ben Sheets, because he was pitching so well and so was 'Bills,'" Torre said.

It was the first loss of the season for Sheets (4-1), and an abrupt turnaround from the first six innings, when the two pitchers combined to allow only three baserunners to reach second base. Billingsley (3-5) lost a no-hit bid with two outs in the fifth when Sheets - a career .076 hitter - lined a single to center field.

Jones connected on his second home run leading off the seventh, and Kent followed with his fourth two batters later. Martin's RBI single was the third of five straight hits for the Dodgers, and Luis Maza's first career base hit set the table for Bennett.

"I'm better than that," Sheets said. "That was a lot of runs to give up in one inning. I made worse pitches in that inning. I would say that's probably my worse inning ever, personally. I don't know statistically if it is, but it wasn't a good inning."

Billingsley did the rest, only allowing one run and three hits in seven innings. The young righthander also allowed four walks and struck out five.

"I didn't really have a whole lot offspeed," Billingsley said. "I had real good command with the fastball and just threw it where I wanted to and keeping it down in the zone. I don't really look at who's pitching across from me."

The lone run against Billingsley came on a double play induced in the eighth by reliever Jonathan Broxton, who also gave up a solo home run to Ryan Braun later in the frame.

It was the 10th home run of the year for Braun, who signed an eight-year, $45 million contract extension announced before the game, and the fifth home run in his last five games.

"It's a tough series to lose," Braun said. "I thought (Billingsley) had really good stuff. I think he was consistent with his command tonight, he was ahead ... he's one of those guys that has really good stuff and tonight his command was on. When you combine those two things, you're not going to have too many opportunities."

Jones finished 1-for-4 and remained south of a .200 batting average, but his second home run of the year seemed to open the floodgates.

"Right in that inning, he started throwing a lot of balls up in the zone, and we took advantage of them," Jones said of Sheets. "He was pitching a pretty good game. We had a great game yesterday coming back and today we were facing a tough pitcher. He kept us shut out until he started making mistakes."