DODGERS SHUFFLE PRODUCES VICTORY KENT, WERTH GET FOUR HITS EACH.

Byline: Rich Hammond  Staff Writer

With a lineup that seemed straight out a mid-March afternoon in Vero Beach, manager Jim Tracy shuffled his batting order and crossed his fingers Sunday.

``It's a good lineup,'' Tracy said before the game, sounding more hopeful than anything.

Some might say the moves illustrated the lack of depth among Dodgers hitters: Tracy wrote in the names of four players - second baseman Antonio Perez, right fielder Jason Repko, catcher Mike Rose and shortstop Oscar Robles - who came into the game with a combined 312 major-league at-bats.

The Dodgers have been nothing if not unconventional this season, so it only figures that on an afternoon when it seemed pitching would have to carry the day, the hitters stunningly broke through for 15 hits in a 10-6 victory over Milwaukee in front of 40,876 at Dodger Stadium.

The big blows came not from the fill-ins, but from the middle of the order. Jeff Kent and Jayson Werth both had four hits in efforts that, in different ways, represented personal breakthroughs for each.

``We're just rolling,'' Werth said. ``We're a good club, and we don't have anything to worry about.''

That could be just a slight exaggeration, but forgive the Dodgers for feeling good about themselves. Kent, who saw his average plummet 55 points over a three-week span to a low of .255, finished off an outstanding week, going 4 for 4 and driving in four runs.

Key to the Dodgers' 12-2 start to this season, Kent slumped mightily in May but got healthy against the Brewers. He went 10 for 15 with two home runs and six RBI in the four-game series.

Kent's biggest blows came early Sunday. His RBI double in the third put the Dodgers up 2-1, providing a lead they never lost. Kent also had a RBI singles in the first and fourth and a RBI double in the seventh to give the Dodgers a crucial four-run cushion.

``I'm just doing what I do,'' said a typically curt Kent, who also had hits in his final three at-bats Saturday night. ``It's nothing special. It's just what I do.''

The Dodgers hoped to see similar efforts from Werth throughout this season, but a broken wrist, suffered in the first spring-training game, kept him out of action until May 25.

After a lengthy rehabilitation stint, Werth struggled upon his return, with just five hits in his first 30 at-bats. He showed signs of breaking through this week, but nothing like what happened Sunday.

Werth finished a home run shy of the cycle. He doubled in the second and singled in the fifth and sixth, then flied out in the eighth. His big hit came in the third, when his low liner got past Milwaukee right fielder Geoff Jenkins and went for a two-run triple.

``It's just a matter of settling in and feeling comfortable,'' Werth said.

``I've been pressing a little bit and trying to do too much. I was down in Triple-A Las Vegas, and it's easy to hit down there because there's no pressure, but it's different here. I just need to relax and see the ball.''

The triple put the Dodgers up 4-1 and made a winner out of starter Brad Penny (3-2), who had one of those go-figure days. Penny had recorded three consecutive no-decisions despite allowing four earned runs in 22 1/3 innings, and Sunday he won, although he left in the sixth inning.

Penny was charged with five runs in 5 1/3 innings, and the Brewers pulled within 9-6 in the seventh, but Duaner Sanchez pitched two scoreless innings of relief to preserve the win.

``I'm just happy we scored more than I allowed,'' Penny said.

The Dodgers battered Penny's counterpart, Milwaukee's Wes Obermueller, for five runs in 2 2/3 innings.

Rich Hammond, [phone]

rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo, 3 boxes

Photo:

Brewers second baseman Bill Hall, left, and Dodgers outfielder Jayson Werth watch as Milwaukee completes a double play.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer

Box:

(1) GAME RECAP

(2) HOW THE RUNS SCORED

(3) ALMANAC