FOR L.A., BILLINGSLEY, SNAKES ARE NO PAIN ROOKIE PUTS AWAY D-BACKS EFFICIENTLY DODGERS 6, ARIZONA 3.

Byline: TONY JACKSON  Staff Writer

PHOENIX -- In the continuing major-league education of Chad Billingsley, it became clear Sunday that two of the most important lessons finally had taken hold: The strike zone is your friend, and so are those seven men standing behind you.

The ones Billingsley used to think were statues there to decorate the lawn.

With the entire weight of a three-city road trip resting on his inexperienced shoulders, the Dodgers right-hander turned in perhaps his most significant performance yet in a rookie season that ought to include before-and-after photos.

He didn't especially dominate, allowing nine hits in seven innings. But the moral of the story -- and of a 6-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in front of 30,337 at Chase Field -- is that the Dodgers didn't need him to.

What Billingsley did do was throw strikes, not walking a single batter until his final inning of work; use his defense, getting a double-play grounder in each of his last two innings and benefitting from several nice plays in the outfield by Andre Ethier, Kenny Lofton and J.D.Drew; and, most notably, trust his stuff.

By pitching to contact rather than trying to paint corners or blow people away with his fastball, Billingsley finished with just one strikeout.

But he also finished with the win, salvaging a 4-5 trip for the Dodgers after they were swept last week in San Diego and dropped a 15-inning spirit- crusher here Friday night.

That allowed the Dodgers to come home with a two-game lead, which they will gladly take even if it hardly qualifies as the driver's seat in the wide-open National League West.

``When (Billingsley) would miss in the same spot a couple of times in a row, he would make the adjustment on his own,'' Dodgers catcher Russell Martin said. ``He got a little quick sometimes and left the ball up. So he made the effort to stay over the rubber a little bit longer and let his arm catch up.

``That's maturity, learning himself, and that's what he is doing right now.''

Billingsley, the Dodgers' top pitching prospect almost from the moment he was taken with the club's first pick in the 2003 amateur draft, forced his way to the big leagues in June, months and perhaps even a year ahead of schedule.

But in his first five starts, he looked like he was months and perhaps even a year away from being ready, going 0-2 with three no-decisions and posting a 5.27 ERA while walking 21 batters in 27 1/3 innings.

That took Billingsley and the Dodgers to the All-Star break.

Since then, he is 5-1 in nine second-half starts, with a 1.88 ERA.

Take away his lone defeat, when he slipped back into old habits and got lit up by St.Louis on July 23, and that ERA shrivels to 1.13.

``I think early on, when this kid joined our ballclub, he was in a little bit more of a strikeout mode,'' Dodgers manager Grady Little said. ``He knows he has a good ballclub behind him that can make plays. All he needs to do is get the balls in play. The tempo in the field is better when he throws strike one, two and three. He is keeping (the fielders) interested out there. That's what good pitchers do.''

In pitching the Dodgers (68-62) to a win in the rubber match of the three-game series, Billingsley walked just one batter for the third consecutive start.

``I concentrated on trying to get groundballs, having quick innings and getting deep into the game,'' he said. ``I know the bullpen has been working pretty hard, especially with that first game going 15 innings. The defense played great.''

Although Billingsley (5-3) allowed the leadoff man to reach four times, including a walk to Craig Counsell to begin the seventh, only one of them scored. Billingsley stranded six base runners, four of them in scoring position.

His most daring escape came in the sixth, when he began the inning by giving up consecutive singles to Chad Tracy and Stephen Drew, and Carlos Quentin's flyball to deep center put runners on the corners.

Billingsley then got Chris Snyder to ground into a tough double play, with shortstop Rafael Furcal flipping to Julio Lugo for the force before Lugo stepped out of Drew's path and relayed to first, just in time to get the lunging Snyder.

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CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) IT TAKES TWO

Rafael Furcal helps L.A. win rubber game vs. Arizona, take two-game lead in NL West

(2) Chad Billingsley managed only one strikeout Sunday, but the Dodgers' starter induced Arizona into several groundball outs.

(3) Dodgers reliever Takashi Saito pumps his fist after getting the final out against Arizona. L.A. took two of three games.

Tom Hood/Associated Press