DODGERS GET A BREAK IN VICTORY L.A. ENDS SKID WITH EASY WIN OVER MARLINS DODGERS 9, FLORIDA 3.

Byline: ARAM TOLEGIAN

Staff Writer

If they were all this easy, nobody around Dodger Stadium would be wondering if the glass is half empty or half full heading into the All-Star break.

Unfortunately, games like Sunday's 9-3 win over the Florida Marlins were an all-too-uncommon occurrence as the first half of the season wound down, with the Dodgers sputtering into their four-day hiatus.

At least their four-game losing streak is over, thanks to five strong innings on the mound by Mark Hendrickson and an offense that wasted no time making sure the seldom-used starter got plenty of support.

"There was a sense of urgency today," Dodgers manager Grady Little said. "That game went just how we would draw it up if we had our wishes before the game started."

The Dodgers hit the break with a 49-40 record and are a game behind first-place San Diego in the NL West standings.

All things considered, 49 wins is probably not a bad total, considering the everyday lineup has become a blend of youth and past-their-prime veterans.

But the Dodgers have lost 4 1/2 games in the standings since owning a three- game lead on May 17. They're 24-24 since then, and under pressure to keep up with the Padres while holding off Arizona and Colorado.

"It's looking like it's going to be pretty tight throughout," Dodgers All-Star catcher Russell Martin said. "I'm pretty sure the Padres are going to keep battling us throughout the year. If we just stay within ourselves and keep playing good baseball, I think we have a good chance of making a run for it."

Hendrickson, unlike most recent Dodger starters, got to do things the easy way on Sunday, as Martin homered in the first inning as part of three-run outburst.

The Dodgers scored five more runs in the second, three of which came on Andre Ethier's seventh homer of the season.

Ethier was only in the game because starter Matt Kemp slightly strained his hamstring while legging out a soft grounder an inning earlier.

Staked to an 8-0 lead, Hendrickson went about collecting outs with an ease that's eluded Dodgers starting pitchers in recent games.

It also helped that Marlins slugger Miguel Cabrera was a late scratch because of a jammed shoulder suffered on Saturday night. Cabrera was also scratched from today's Home Run Derby.

Hendrickson improved to 3-4 after allowing four hits and a walk to go with six strikeouts. He's slated to start the team's fourth game after the break, a home date against Philadelphia.

"I felt pretty good out there for being on three days' rest," Hendrickson said. "I've only done that one other time, and unfortunately, I didn't get an out in the game.

"It was kind of do whatever we could this week just to kind of give some of those guys in the bullpen a rest so we can head into the break and regroup."

The question now will be if Sunday's rout simply stopped the bleeding or proved that the Dodgers weathered the storm. The answer won't be known until next weekend.

In the meantime, Martin, Brad Penny and Takashi Saito will take part in the All-Star Game while the rest of the team prepares for what figures to be an interesting second half.

"We can take a break mentally and get away from the game for a couple of days," Hendrickson said. "It's going to be a dogfight for the rest of the summer."

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) The Dodgers' Andre Ethier is congratulated after his second-inning home run.

(2) Mark Hendrickson allowed four hits and two runs in five innings Sunday.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer