BIG EIGHTH LIFTS DODGERS TO WIN SIX-RUN INNING PUTS ASTROS AWAY DODGERS 12, HOUSTON 7.

Byline: TONY JACKSON  Staff Writer

The Dodgers finally got the big inning they had been waiting for, finally got a standup effort from their bullpen and finally got a breakout performance from Jeff Kent.

As a result, they finally have their first four-game winning streak of the young season.

A six-run, eighth-inning outburst -- a rally that began with more pinch-hit heroics by Olmedo Saenz and ended with a three-run homer by Kent -- carried the Dodgers from a tense, tie game to a 12-7 victory over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night in front of 55,992 fans, the second-largest regular-season crowd in Dodger Stadium history.

It was the club's biggest inning in terms of runs this season. The score had been tied since the fifth, when Kent delivered a one-out, RBI single to score the sizzling Nomar Garciaparra from third. Kent finished 2for5 with four RBIs. He now has driven in 1,330 runs in his career, tying him with Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk for 77th place all-time.

More important, the once-struggling Kent finally seems to have escaped his season-long doldrums. In four games since being given the day off by manager Grady Little on Thursday night against San Diego, Kent is 6 for 16 with two doubles, a walk, a home run, four runs scored and six RBIs.

Coincidentally, or perhaps not, the Dodgers have won all four of those games.

``I don't know what the reason is, but he is swinging the bat good,'' Little said. ``And, he is able to find some holes, and that's a big difference.''

Kent's single erased a 6-5 deficit that had come as a result of a four-run Astros fourth immediately after Dodgers starter Jae Seo had been staked to a 5-2 lead by a similar outburst from the Dodgers in the third.

Seo didn't survive the inning, giving up two-run homers to Jason Lane and Adam Everett before he had even recorded an out, leading to questions of whether Seo would make his next scheduled start Sunday at San Francisco now that Odalis Perez is available, though banished to the bullpen for his own lack of consistency.

``That decision was made earlier today,'' Little said after the game. ``I don't see any reason to change it at this point.''

The Dodgers lost center fielder Jason Repko in the top of the first when he climbed the wall in pursuit of Morgan Ensberg's two-run homer. Repko hung on the top of the wall momentarily, then landed so hard on the track that he sprained his left ankle and had to leave the game. He will undergo a precautionary MRI today and is expected to miss at least one more game. The injury isn't believed to be serious, and Repko is listed as day to day.

In the bottom of the eighth inning of what had boiled down to a showdown between the respective bullpens, Kenny Lofton, who had come on for Repko in the first, hit a leadoff single. Russell Martin, who four games into his big-league career still hasn't lost a game, tried twice to sacrifice but failed to do so. He then swung away and blooped a single to left, but Lofton was throw out trying to take third.

That brought up Saenz, the Dodgers' pinch-hitter extraordinaire, to hit for Takashi Saito (3-2). Saenz singled to shallow right off Dan Wheeler (0-2). The throw home beat Martin, but the rookie catcher deftly slid around Brad Ausmus' tag, giving the Dodgers the lead.

Saenz is hitting .333 (4 for 12) as a pinch hitter this season, .340 overall and is tied with Kent for second on the club with 18 RBIs, all in a part-time role.

``This guy is amazing,'' Little said. ``He's one of the best hitters I have ever been around. He's always ready. He works hard at his profession, and he gets good results.''

The rally continued with Rafael Furcal's RBI single, Jose Cruz's RBI double and a walk to J.D. Drew. Kent brought down the curtain with his three-run blast -- just his second home run of the season -- giving the Dodgers a 12-6 lead.

The Dodgers got solid performances from relievers Franquelis Osoria, Jonathan Broxton and Saito to keep the game tied after Seo's fourth-inning implosion.

The Dodgers (16-17) remained tied with San Francisco for third place in the National League West, but pulled within 3 1/2 games of division-leading Colorado.

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CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) The Dodgers' Nomar Garciaparra hits a three-run homer against Houston on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.

(2) The Dodgers' Nomar Garciaparra celebrates after hitting a three-run homer against the Astros on Tuesday.

(3) The Dodgers' J.D. Drew blows a bubble on his way to first after hitting a home run against the Astros' in the bottom of the third.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer

Box:

DODGERS vs. HOUSTON

- Tony Jackson