BILLINGSLEY ACES ANOTHER TEST MLB: L.A. ABOVE .500 FOR FIRST TIME SINCE MAY 27, AS DODGERS STARTER GETS FIRST COMPLETE-GAME SHUTOUT. DODGERS 4, SAN FRANCISCO 0.

Byline: Tony Jackson 

Staff Writer

The suddenly soaring Dodgers will kick off their biggest series of the season so far tonight, a four-game showdown with Arizona that figures to put one team or the other firmly in the driver's seat of this riding lawnmower of a division known as the National League West. It should feature an abundance of drama, plenty of intrigue and no shortage of potential heroes.

One thing it will not feature, much to the Dodgers' chagrin, is Chad Billingsley. The promising young right-hander -- who served notice again Wednesday night he is now the unquestioned anchor of the Dodgers' starting rotation by pitching them to a 4-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants in front of 41,282 at Dodger Stadium -- isn't scheduled to start against the Diamondbacks.

And while that fact can't be blamed on anything other than the calendar, it could be a significant factor for the Dodgers, who must contend in the opener with Arizona staff ace and former NL Cy Young Award winner Brandon Webb.

But even if Billingsley can't help them through the daunting task that awaits between now and Sunday, the Dodgers will certainly take the jolt of momentum Billingsley gave them in his latest masterpiece, a game in which he took a perfect game into the fifth inning before ultimately settling for his second career complete game and first career shutout.

That last part was preserved only when Dodgers left fielder Andre Ethier charged and came up throwing on a ninth-inning single by Randy Winn, gunning down Jose Castillo at the plate to end the game. That heroic defensive play came on Billingsley's 118th pitch, easily the most he has thrown in any start this season.

"That last inning, I was getting a little tired," Billingsley said. "I wanted to come out throwing fastballs, here it is, my No. 1 pitch, try to hit it."

Actually, that had pretty much been Billingsley's approach all night, a major reason why he got through his masterpiece without issuing a single walk and without a single Giants runner getting past first base until Castillo doubled off the top of the right-field wall with two outs in the top of the ninth.

It is that newfound aggressive approach, a relentless attacking of the strike zone, that sets this Billingsley apart from the old one, an often tentative youngster who tended to throw too many pitches and walk too many batters.

That Billingsley was a Jekyll-and-Hyde work in progress, a pitcher from whom Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt and former manager Grady Little were never quite sure what they would get over the past couple of years.

This Billingsley has all the makings of a No. 1 starter.

"He is pretty easy to hang your hat on right now," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said.

Billingsley won for the seventh time in his past nine starts, an uncanny stretch of pitching that began June17 at Cincinnati and during which he has a 2.60 ERA.

Take away the one clunker, when he gave up five runs in 5 1/3 innings against Atlanta on July 8, and that figure drops to 1.93.

That blossoming, which was three seasons in the making, is one of the biggest reasons why the second-place Dodgers (54-53) have been able to hang with the Diamondbacks, and why they head into the series opener trailing Arizona by just one game.

Billingsley's latest gem is the sole reason why the Dodgers now boast a winning record for the first time since May 27, ending more than nine weeks of frustration.

Billingsley (11-9) credits his coming of age with experience, maturity and, mostly, learning. He said he now goes into each start not only with a game plan, but also a Plan B and a Plan C. He also has the developed the ability to recognize when to abandon Plan A, when he might not have the best command of his fastball on a given night.

Billingsley credited that lesson to conversations with injured veteran starter Jason Schmidt, who just might be contributing something to this team after all.

"It has been a little over two years now (in the majors)," Billingsley said. "I have learned a lot from the guys on our staff, but I'm also talking to hitters, knowing what they do in certain counts and in certain situations. I'm trying to get a good feel not just for the pitching aspect but also into the hitter's thoughts.

"I can't explain it, but right now, I am just pitching with a lot of confidence."

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DODGERS

TODAY vs. Arizona, 7 p.m., Dodger Stadium.

TV: FSN Prime.

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp gets congratulated in the dugout after scoring a run on Russell Martin's RBI single in the third inning.

(2) San Francisco's Jose Castillo, left, completes a double play after forcing out Andruw Jones.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer