RETURN OF KENT LIFTS DODGERS HE HITS HOMER, GETS 3 RBIS AS L.A. WINS 10TH STRAIGHT DODGERS 7, COLORADO 2.

Byline: RICH HAMMOND Staff Writer

Without a glove or a bat in his hands, Jeff Kent is about as miserable at a baseball game as a squirming, screaming toddler.

By his own admission, Kent is not a baseball fan, so having to sit out for three weeks with a strained oblique muscle and watch games from the dugout amounted to a mild form of torture.

Kent's exile ended Monday night, to the chagrin of the Colorado Rockies. Adding an established cleanup hitter to a team as hot as the Dodgers doesn't seem fair, and Kent helped keep the Dodgers rolling as he homered and drove in three runs in a 7-2 victory over the Rockies in front of 44,593 at Dodger Stadium.

The victory, the Dodgers' 10th in a row, coupled with Arizona's loss, pushed the Dodgers into sole possession of second place in the National League West, 1 1/2 games behind idle first-place San Diego. The Dodgers also pulled into a tie with Cincinnati for the National League wild-card spot.Starting pitcher Brad Penny continued his season-long dominance of Colorado and the Dodgers matched their longest winning streak since May 2003. They haven't won 11 in a row since May 17-29, 1993.

Penny (12-5) improved to 4-0 against the Rockies. He retired the first 11 batters and allowed two runs - home runs to Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe - on five hits in eight innings. Penny, who walked none and struck out four, has allowed three earned runs in 27 1/3 innings against Colorado this year.

Penny even helped himself with a RBI double, just as he did against Cincinnati in his previous start, but left the heavy lifting to Kent, who had been sidelined since July 17 with a strained oblique muscle.

Without Kent, the Dodgers first endured an eight-game losing streak, then started their winning streak, remarkable in that they also have done it without Nomar Garciaparra (sprained knee) in the lineup.

By Kent's standards, this hasn't been a great year, even when healthy. He carried a pedestrian .267 average into Monday, with nine home runs in 68 games, but even in the Dodgers' hot lineup, Kent's bat was potent enough for manager Grady Little to put him back in his traditional No. 4 spot in the order.

Kent didn't need much of an acclimation period against Colorado starter Josh Fogg.

In his first at-bat, with two outs in the first inning and Kenny Lofton on third base, Kent took two balls then drilled a double to left field to score Lofton and give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead.

Penny's RBI double in the second put the Dodgers up 2-0, then in the third, J.D. Drew led off with a walk and Kent blasted a home run to straightaway center field on Fogg's first offering.

That gave the Dodgers a 4-0 lead, and they finished off Fogg in the fifth.

The Dodgers loaded the bases with one out when Drew was hit by a pitch, Andre Ethier walked and Wilson Betemit singled, and Julio Lugo singled sharply for a 5-1 lead and chase Fogg from the game.

Fogg (7-7) allowed the five runs on eight hits, with four walks and three strikeouts, in 4 1/3 innings.

But Fogg didn't go quietly. He jawed with home-plate umpire Sam Holbrook and was ejected as he walked to the dugout, Penny nearly broke open the game with a blast against reliever Manuel Corpas, but Colorado center fielder Cory Sullivan made a diving catch to end the inning.

Still, a four-run cushion was enough for Penny, who has regained his pre- All-Star Game form.

Penny lost three consecutive starts coming out of the break, and allowed 14 earned runs in 16 2/3 innings, but rebounded nicely Wednesday, when he threw six solid innings to beat Cincinnati.

That effort carried over to Monday and the Rockies, who couldn 3/8t have been happy to see Penny.

In their last meeting, Penny shut out the Rockies over 8 1/3 innings and seemed on his way to duplicating that effort. Penny got through the first three innings unscathed, with the help of strong infield defense.

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CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Jeff Kent, right, gets a high-five from third-base coach Rich Donnelly after hitting a homer in the Dodgers' win.

(2) The Dodgers' Kenny Lofton slides past Garrett Atkins into third base after hitting a triple.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer

Box:

DODGERS vs. COLORADO

- Rich Hammond